Communication Issues Among Top Challenges in Commercial Kitchens Across the US and Canada

• 62% of restaurant workers said miscommunication between the front and back of house is a regular occurrence.
• 72.25% of all workers identified lack of efficient communication as the key driver of conflict between front- and back-of-house teams.
• Last-minute order changes are killing your team’s workflows—55.75% of all respondents reported it as the top operational challenge in their role.

Today’s restaurant operations are more complex than ever, with higher food and operating costs, changing customer expectations and new revenue streams like takeout and delivery to manage. 

New research from Lightspeed Commerce, Inc., reveals that many restaurants are still struggling to efficiently manage challenges like last-minute order changes, balancing dine-in vs pickup and delivery, order modifications, competing priorities, and miscommunication or lack of communication between the front (FOH) and back of house (BOH).

Communication breakdowns continue to disrupt service 

In a recent survey of 400 restaurant workers across the US and Canada, 62% of all workers reported that miscommunication between FOH and BOH about customer orders was a regular problem. In the US, 19% of all restaurant workers said this “always” happens versus only 8% in Canada, signaling some important regional differences in how teams interact and operate. 

Communication breakdowns between FOH and BOH are a significant issue, given that a whopping 72.25% of all workers identified lack of efficient communication as the key driver of tensions between front- and back-of-house teams. 

Last-minute order changes, reported as the most frequent operational disruption by 55.75% of respondents, can wreak havoc behind the line, disrupting what the late great Anthony Bourdain described as “a high-speed collaboration resembling, at its best, ballet or modern dance.” Misunderstood orders—often stemming from unclear instructions—and a lack of timely updates on order statuses (cited by 42.5% and 22% of respondents, respectively) compound the issue.

According to respondents, the impact of last-minute order changes on employee workflows and service is significant:

• service delays (60.5%) 
• frustration between FOH and BOH teams (55.5%)
• increased stress (49.75%)
• higher risk of errors (48.75%)
• frustration with customers (37.75%)

Other frequently reported operational challenges include competing priorities (41.25%)—for example, food quality vs speed of service—order modifications (34.25%) and balancing dine-in vs pickup or delivery orders (22.75%).

Impacts on employee morale and team dynamics

Communication breakdowns don’t just impact the customer experience—they cause unnecessary stress and frustration for workers on both sides, erode trust and morale, and contribute to higher employee turnover. 

For example, would it surprise you to learn that 53.75% of your workforce are always or regularly stressed because of tensions between the back and front of house? And, maybe unsurprisingly, your servers (58.5%), line cooks (56.36%) and prep cooks (56.82%) feel it more acutely than most. 

Consequently, both servers and line cooks reported being negatively impacted by interdepartmental stress at rates well above the average, 53.06% and 52.73% respectively, compared to 31.18% on average among hosts, chefs, prep cooks and expeditors. 

Heavy workloads, lack of internal support and ineffective technology exacerbate the problem; but here again, we see some important regional differences. In the US, for example, 48% of workers identified heavy workloads as a key driver of tensions between BOH and FOH teams, but this figure climbs to 58.5% in Canada. On the other hand, 20% of US workers identified lack of internal support as an important factor compared to 13.5% of Canadian workers. 

Let’s dive into some interesting outliers:

• It might be time to check in on your prep cooks. 68.18% reported that heavy workloads were a key factor in cross-departmental tensions, compared to ~54% among servers, hosts, chefs and line cooks. Only 33.33% of expos identified this as a significant issue.
• Chefs and hosts identified lack of internal support (22% and 27% respectively) as a key factor in cross-team conflict, compared to 16.75% on average. Interestingly, prep cooks were the least likely to identify lack of internal support as a significant issue—only 9.09%—followed by 12.24% of servers. 
• Your hosts are more likely to be frustrated with your tech solutions than any other role. 20% blame inefficient technology for BOH and FOH conflicts, versus ~14% of servers, chefs and line cooks. Prep cooks, who generally interact less with your POS system, barely registered inefficient technology as an issue at only 6.82%. 

The way forward

Despite most workers (72%) finding their communication tools effective, a notable minority (11.75%) highlighted gaps that hinder operations. And frankly, when 50% of your most frequent operational challenges could be solved by more efficient and timely communication between your front and back of house, it’s probably safe to say your communication tools could be better. 

“Kitchens can be chaotic,” said Adoniram Sides, SVP of Hospitality at Lightspeed in a recent press release. “But with the right tools, they don’t have to be.”

For example, Lightspeed’s next generation Kitchen Display System (KDS) helps restaurant teams thrive, even under pressure. KDS combines the best of human-driven service and automation, enabling restaurants to stay on top of orders, optimize workflows, and reduce both paper and food waste.

“With instant updates from your POS to your KDS, communication flows seamlessly from the front to back of house” continues Sides. “Restaurants can reduce errors and food waste, diners get even better service, and staff can work in a more peaceful, cooperative environment. Whether it’s dine-in, pickup or delivery, KDS ensures all orders are instantly communicated to the kitchen, and any last-minute order changes are updated on the KDS in real time.”

*Methodology

Lightspeed initiated a survey from October 31 to November 8, 2024. The research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 400 restaurant workers (aged 16+) across the US and Canada. (200 respondents respectively). Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct and ESOMAR principles. All responses collected were anonymous. 

For the purposes of this analysis, we combined the responses for ‘always’ and ‘sometimes’ to represent occurrences that happen regularly—reflecting situations that are frequent enough to meaningfully impact day-to-day operations.