Case Study Root Cause Analysis

I decided to write about a conflict I had at work recently and will use root cause analysis.

I bartend and wait tables at a Chili's restaurant and have found that damage control is just a way of life at work. The incident I will be talking about involves me inheriting a table from a coworker who was at the end of their shift. These women had been drinking alcohol for some time and I was told they hadn't ordered any food. When I approached them to introduce myself, I could tell they were already pretty intoxicated. You could make the case that the previous server over-served them since in the course of two hours, they each had three 22 ounce beers and two shots with no food to counteract any of it. They proceed to try to order another beer

Other guests are not happy, new guests refuse to sit in the area because of the foul language, decreased income from no new guests. Possible danger to themselves and others on the road if they leave intoxicated.

Step Three: Identify Possible Causal Factors

What sequence of events leads to the problem?

My co worker over serving the guests and not making sure they ordered food as well. Me evaluating them and deeming it unsafe to continue serving them. Alerting management. Management talking to the table. Manager and I being accused of racism.

What conditions allow the problem to occur?

Not counting drinks for the guest, poor education and awareness of the guest, having a less experienced manager handle the situation

What other problems surround the occurrence of the central problem?

I believe I've mentioned most issues regarding this but I'll list again: poor education and awareness of problem guests, less income from other guests not wanting to sit in my section, unhappy other guests, lack of awareness of previous server, inept manager, loss of dishware and glasses,

Step Four: Identify the Root