Two Big Reasons Why You Keep Having To Repair Your Kitchen Equipment

If you keep having to call for repair for your kitchen's equipment, initially you could think of a number of reasons — maybe the repair company you've used in the past isn't doing its job correctly, or you're using the equipment so much that it's wearing down. That last reason might be possible if your restaurant is doing tremendous business, but if the level of business hasn't changed much over the past few years, you have to look elsewhere for reasons.

Two issues you might want to look at are how the staff treat the equipment when they use it, and whether there's a pattern of where the repairs are needed, such as equipment near the stove needing more repair than other items.

Mistreatment During Use

If your staff were seriously abusing the kitchen equipment, to the point where things were always breaking, you'd know it. But that's not the only way they can damage the equipment. Minor misuse, happening regularly over time, can create some big problems that might seem sudden but that were actually present for a while. For example, placing downward pressure on a refrigerator door handle, something that many exhausted employees can do toward the end of each day, can subtly wrench the locking mechanism in the handle out of place. You won't notice it for a while until one day, the lock sticks or won't close properly.

Or, whoever is cleaning out the giant industrial-sized mixer bowl in a bakery kitchen might be dropping it back down onto its perch in the mixer apparatus just a little too hard; this is easy to do considering how heavy those bowls can be. That can gradually damage the exterior of the bowl to the point that maybe it starts to rock a little too much when the mixer is turned on as the base of the bowl doesn't fit that well anymore. Someone might be slamming the oven doors closed too hard. All of these seemingly small issues lead to a buildup in damage that you don't notice until something goes wrong with the equipment.

Gummed up With Grease Spatters

You know that you have to clean your stove and deep fryer so that grease doesn't build up on the surfaces around it. But have you checked the appliances nearby for grease as well? Grease can spatter over a wide radius, and it isn't always obvious; the droplets can be very small and create a film, rather than leaving obvious spots. Look at where the equipment that needs a lot of repairs tends to be. If it's near the stove or deep fryer, there could be hidden grease buildup.

A good repair person should be able to tell you what really caused an item to break down, so check with a few companies if you haven't been able to solve why your equipment isn't lasting as long as it should.

For additional information, reach out to a local restaurant equipment repair service.