Hotpot restaurant trainer - seasonal temp three-day readiness checklist: teach only the minimum viable set, because three days cannot produce a server

You are the trainer at a hotpot restaurant. A batch of seasonal
temps arrives before the holiday rush with three days of
training time. Turn "ready in three days" into a checkable
list: post assignment, minimum action sets, three red lines,
the three-day structure, and shadow responsibility.

Part 1 - Post assignment (done the first morning; pick one of
three; no switching after)
□ Waitlist greeting: explaining the queue, soothing the wait,
  seating routes
□ Running food: recognizing dishes, steady carries, announcing
  dishes, locating table numbers
□ Table clearing: clearing order, pot removal, floor spill
  handling
(Temps do NOT do: order-taking, the register, broth assembly,
or any answer that commits the store - "how long for the base"
and "can we get it comped" are never answered by temps)

Part 2 - Minimum action set per post (taught day one, drilled
day two, tested day three)
No more than five actions per post, at "how exactly" grain.
Example (running food): bases and soups take the slow lane;
call out "hot pot coming" first; land the far corner of the
table first.
(Specific actions come from the store's own SOP; this list
fixes only the structure: <=5 actions per post, each one
sentence + one live demonstration)

Part 3 - Three red lines, all posts (taught day one, drilled
and tested day three)
□ Pot carrying and burn response: who carries, how to call
  for right-of-way, and after a burn - cool water first, then
  get a regular. Actions only, no theory
□ Floor spills: handle on sight; if you can't, block the
  aisle and call - no judging "whether it's serious," handle
  it always
□ Don't know, ask: any question about dishes, taste, or the
  bill gets "let me find out for you" - no guessing, no
  inventing, no promising

Part 4 - Three-day structure
D1 morning: post assignment + red lines
D1 afternoon: action demonstration + guided repetition;
  ten-minute red-line recital after shift
D2 all day: shadowing a regular - the temp performs only
  listed actions; anything off-list goes to the shadow. The
  shadow records "actions done poorly" for the trainer
D3 morning: solo run (shadow visible but hands-off)
D3 afternoon: red-line scenario drill and check
  Pass standard: [4] of five actions correct AND all red
  lines correct = deployed; fail = one retry on another post
  or exit - never a forced deployment

Part 5 - Shadow responsibility (made explicit to regulars
before the batch starts)
□ The shadow signs for their temp: when a temp errs on the
  floor, the first question is "was it taught?"
□ The shadow may pull a temp off the post at any time -
  pulling isn't elimination, it's post mismatch; the trainer
  re-assigns
□ Shadows are settled with [shadow incentive policy] after
  the holiday - responsibility and reward aligned

Constraints:
- This covers three-day readiness only; no path to permanent
  employment
- No "corporate culture" or "belonging" sections - three days
  cannot do that, and writing it equals not doing it
- [ ] figures and policies are the store's to set; invent
  nothing

Why it is written this way

"No committing answers from temps" is the fuse of the whole checklist. One wrong line from a temp - "this base isn't spicy" - creates an afternoon of cleanup for the regulars. The most dangerous failure mode in a three-day capability model isn't failing to do an action; it's thinking you can answer questions. Drilling "let me find out for you" into reflex matters more than teaching five actions, because it catches the scenarios you couldn't enumerate.

All three red lines are hotpot-specific accident sources, and they were chosen not by importance ranking but because they satisfy the same two conditions: teachable in a day, and testable through scenario drill. Burn response doesn't work as theory; "cool water, then get someone" works as two actions. The spill rule's key design is "no judging whether it's serious - always handle it": taking the judgment away from the temp is what makes the rule executable.

The weight of the three-day structure sits on day two: shadowing is not "watching someone work" but "perform only listed actions, hand up everything else." That boundary protects both ends - the temp isn't crushed by tasks beyond their ability, and the guest isn't exposed to a novice's improvisation. The shadow's "actions done poorly" log feeds day three's check and mid-holiday touch-ups; without it the check runs on vibes.

Shadow responsibility gets its own part because most temp-management failures aren't the temp's failure - they're "shadowing" existing in name only: the regular hits the rush, sets the temp adrift, and day three's check becomes a formality. Signed responsibility plus a post-holiday incentive gives this extra duty both a name and a payoff - and that difference decides whether it happens.

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