← Operating Systems
Daily Operating Readiness Checklist
Catch the small failures before the guest does.
Build a detailed area-by-area walkthrough for pre-open, leadership handoff, or closing reset. Use it live on a phone while walking the venue, or print/save the finished checklist for the team.
The standard
01
Walk it
Do not review readiness from the office. Verify the actual operation.
02
Fix or own it
Every failed item is either corrected now or leaves with a named owner.
03
Hand it off
Unresolved issues should survive the shift change without needing to be rediscovered.
Configure the checklist
Operating moment
Confirm the venue, team, systems, and guest-facing areas are actually ready before the first guest arrives.
Revenue centers
Select what materially operates in this venue.
Generated checklist
Pre-Open Readiness
11-01-2026
0 of 56 complete
56 unresolved
Exterior, Parking & Arrival
Start where the guest starts. Verify the property is safe, clean, navigable, and presenting the right first impression.
Lobby, Admissions & Guest Entry
Pressure-test the first transaction and first five minutes of the guest experience.
Restrooms & High-Touch Guest Areas
These areas strongly influence perceived cleanliness even when the rest of the venue is performing well.
Leadership, Staffing & Shift Readiness
Confirm that the operating plan matches expected demand and that leaders know what requires attention before the doors open.
Safety, Facility & Maintenance
Identify risks before they become a guest incident or an operating disruption.
Systems, Cash & Operating Controls
Verify the systems and controls most likely to create immediate friction if they fail after opening.
Food / NA Beverage Walkthrough
Walk the kitchen and service path from receiving to guest handoff, not just the dining-room presentation.
Arcade / Games Walkthrough
Walk the entire game floor for uptime, presentation, card-system function, redemption readiness, and guest friction.
Attractions Walkthrough
Verify safety, start-up, staffing, throughput, queue, guest communication, and operating readiness for each attraction.
Events & Party Spaces Walkthrough
Verify the event promise against the physical room, package, food, timing, staffing, and guest expectations.
Unresolved issues / handoff
Anything that is not corrected during the walkthrough should leave with a clear issue, owner, next action, and follow-up expectation.
Issue 1
Issue 2
Issue 3
Leader sign-off
Time completed
Do not confuse incomplete with ready
56 checklist items remain. Resolve them now or document the owner before the operating moment changes.
Results summary
56 readiness items remain unresolved.
The same completion status applies to every leader. The Leadership Lens below changes what each level should inspect, question, and do next.
Leadership lens
MIT / Supervisor
What this level sees: The immediate opening, handoff, or closing conditions: missing checks, active issues, assignments, and the next verification point.
Recommended action: Resolve what is within shift control, assign every exception, and escalate anything that could affect safety, service, or opening readiness.
Department Head
What this level sees: Patterns inside the department: repeated misses, weak routines, training gaps, equipment issues, and unclear ownership.
Recommended action: Correct the department process, coach the responsible leader, and verify the next comparable readiness cycle.
AGM / GM
What this level sees: The total venue picture: cross-department dependencies, unresolved risk, guest impact, revenue exposure, and leadership follow-through.
Recommended action: Decide whether the venue is truly ready, prioritize cross-functional fixes, and assign accountable owners and deadlines.
Director / VP / COO
What this level sees: Recurring readiness failures across locations that point to standards, systems, staffing, capital, or leadership-capability gaps.
Recommended action: Separate local execution misses from systemic defects, then change the operating standard, resources, or accountability model.
Continue learning in FECuniversity
Go deeper into operating readiness, shift control, and leadership handoffs.
Continue into the learning pathway for opening standards, shift-change discipline, closing resets, escalation, verification, and consistent leader ownership.
Help us improve
Love something?Hate something?Think we are missing something?
Our virtual door is always open. Tell us what worked, what did not, or what this tool still needs.