What I Learned About Inspections; Part 2:
I took my inspections journey to the next level after interviewing one of our customers.
They were kind enough to invite me and our solution expert, Timothy Thai, to join them on one of their inspections to see first-hand what they look for and how their process works.
The supervisors let us follow them around as they conducted their inspection. Here are five more things that I learned:
1. Federal audits are conducted every 3 years.
I am new to the industry, so this was an eye-opener to me! However, as a operator, I’m sure you already know this, so consider this a friendly reminder form yours truly. Take the time to do your own inspections regularly, and make sure things are in tip-top shape when the big guys come in!
2. It’s helpful to have an extra set of eyes.
There is A LOT going on in a kitchen. Whether your kitchen is large or small, you only have one set of eyes. During our inspection, there were three supervisors on site. Not only can you divide and conquer with multiple inspectors, but one person might catch something that another person may have missed.
3. You can make inspections into a fun competition instead of something intimidating.
Inspections don’t have to be intimidating to your staff. One of our customers created a fun competition out of the county’s health inspections. Any site that gets a perfect score of 100, receives a silver spoon award. If the site gets a 99…. Well no award for them! And they do get bummed out about it! Find something similar to do with your district inspections. Everyone loves a little friendly competition.
4. Things move fast!
Your kitchens and serving lines are moving quickly; which means you should too! This inspection required us to observe a lot during the serving period (in this case lunch), and that only left us with a short window of time to gather as much information as possible. I felt like a pinball bouncing around in that kitchen.
Keep in mind; you can’t miss anything, so put a little skip in your step and get to inspecting! This brings me to my final observation…
5. It’s crucial to use the right tools
I didn’t just follow and observe! I inspected with the supervisors! We checked everything from menu accuracy, to uniforms, to food temps, to cleanliness. You name it, we examined it! And like I said, things move fast.
“Yes”
“No”
“Last health inspection, 1-14-19, 100%”
If you’re anything like me, when you’re trying to take quick notes, your handwriting comes out like a doctor wrote you a prescription and a chicken attempted to make it better.
Our customers did mention that they usually use a tablet to access their inspections documents, they just forgot them this time.
When Timothy and I left, we immediately knew they needed the Inspections app. No more writing things down and no more forgetting! They would always be able to access it on their phones because phones aren’t something we easily forget these days. Plus, imagine all the photos and audio recordings they could take!
If you haven’t had the chance to check out the Inspections app, I would highly recommend checking out this webinar where Solution Expert Amanda Freeman gives you an in depth look and goes over questions people in the industry have had about our product. I’m so grateful that I had the chance to go see what an inspection is like. We have the best customers!
Our inspections journey doesn’t end here! My eBook “Inspections: 101” is available for download now!