How To Prevent Food Truck Staff Fighting

Working in the confines of a food truck can be a frustrating experience, especially when seemingly straightforward conflict devolves into personal disputes. Staff fighting in the workplace has serious consequences for a food truck business.

Constant employee bickering and the tension it creates causes a hostile work environment, and employee morale and production suffer as a result. Act quickly if employees begin fighting in the workplace, before the problem intensifies and becomes difficult to handle.

Before your staff members start throwing punches, take these steps to get them to stop staff fighting and get back to work.

6 Steps To Prevent Food Truck Staff Fighting

Set a firm policy regarding workplace fighting. Post the policy in the truck, and send a copy to all workers. Outline the possible effects of fighting, such as disciplinary action, and highlight the need for teamwork.
Meet individually with each employee involved. Allow each employee to explain what is causing the fighting, and take notes. Ask the involved employees if they can resolve the problems themselves.
Tell each employee that you will not tolerate fighting in the workplace. Explain how the tension harms production and affects other coworkers. Use polite but firm wording to avoid creating more tension.
Go over the notes you took. Look for a resolution to the problem. You can’t do much about personality conflicts, other than warning the workers involved or shifting positions, but you may resolve other situations with a proposed compromised.
Meet with the fighting employees to propose a solution. Listen and try to address any concerns. Tell the employees what further action you will take if the fighting continues.
Keep an eye on the workers. Take the disciplinary action you mentioned if the fighting persists.

Have you had to deal with staff fighting on your food truck? How did you handle it? We’d love to hear your advice. You can share your thoughts in the comment section below or on social media. Facebook | Twitter

About the Author: Richard Myrick

Richard Myrick is an architect by degree (Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan) who began his career in real estate development and architectural planning. In September of 2010 he created Mobile Cuisine Magazine to fill an information void he found when he began researching how to start a mobile hotdog cart in Chicago. Richard found that there was no central repository of mobile street food information anywhere on the internet, and with that, the idea for MCM was born. Richard also wrote the "Running a Food Truck for Dummies" available in bookstores everywhere and Amazon. You can reach out to Richard by email at: [email protected].