Pre-shift huddle notes from yesterday's data
A good pre-shift huddle is short and specific: what sold, what guests said, what we missed yesterday, who's where today. The trouble is gathering it. The sales are in the POS, the reviews are on Google, the checklist notes are in the task app, the lineup is on the schedule, and the huddle starts in five minutes. So most huddles fall back on "let's have a good one, team".
If all of that lives in Mays, one prompt to your AI app gathers it.
Part of our series Run your restaurant with your AI: one real situation per post, with the words you type and what happens in Mays. The prompts and results are illustrative examples.
What the shift lead types
At 10:50, before the 11 am open at Harbor Lane Café's Riverside location, Jordan R. writes:
"Give me 5 pre-shift huddle points for Riverside: yesterday's top sellers and what sold together, anything guests said in reviews this week, anything the checklists flagged yesterday, and today's lineup by position with any open shifts. Keep it positive and short."
What the AI does in Mays
Four read-only questions, each on the location's own clock:
- Item sales, yesterday. Best and worst sellers from the POS orders, with quantity, net sales, share of sales and how often each item is in an order, plus the pairs most often ordered together. It can split the top items by daypart, too.
- Google reviews, the last 7 days, with the rating and the text, and whether each has a reply.
- Yesterday's checklists: tasks done out of the total, what was overdue, and any task a manager sent back, with the reviewer's note.
- Today's schedule: each shift with its position, who's on now, and how many open shifts are still unfilled.
What you see
The AI turns it into notes you can read out, for example (illustrative):
1. "Yesterday's star: the iced oat latte, 64 sold, 11% of sales. It sold together with the almond croissant 19 times, so suggest the pair." 2. "Bottom seller: the lentil soup, 4 bowls. Let's mention it at lunch." 3. "Two 5-star reviews this week mention fast service at the window; one 3-star says the pastry case was empty by 2 pm." 4. "Checklists: closing was 100%. One task came back: 'Wipe down the pastry case' needs a clearer photo." 5. "Today: 2 on bar, 1 on register, 2 in the kitchen. One open shift, 2–6 pm, is still up for pickup."
The facts come from Mays. The tone and the suggestions are the AI's, so read them once before you say them.
Keep it about the work
A huddle is a team moment, not a performance review. Leave out who was late or called out, and keep any conversation about one person's attendance for a one-on-one. Mays can answer attendance questions when you need them as a manager, but they don't belong in front of the team. Ask the AI to keep the notes to sales, guests, tasks and today's plan, as in the prompt above.
After the huddle
The same chat can follow up on what came up. Questions are answered straight away; changes come with a preview and wait for your yes (when your connection is allowed to make changes):
- "Who could take the 2–6 pm open shift at Riverside without going into overtime?"
- "Create a task for whoever is working today: restock the pastry case after the lunch rush, answer with a photo."
What it replaces
Before | With Mays connected to your AI |
|---|---|
Print the POS product mix | Top and bottom sellers, and what sells together |
Scroll Google reviews on your phone | This week's reviews, summarized |
Ask the closer what got missed | Checklist notes from yesterday |
Read the schedule off the wall | Today's lineup and open shifts |
For what makes a huddle worth showing up to, see Running a pre-shift meeting people actually listen to, and for a ready agenda, the pre-shift huddle agenda template.
What it needs
- A connected POS (Square or Union) for item sales, and someone who can view reports in Mays.
- Google Business Profile connected for reviews.
- Checklists and the schedule in Mays.
- People appear as first name and last initial. The AI never gets phone numbers or emails.
What Mays doesn't do here
- It doesn't run the huddle. It gathers the facts; you bring the energy.
- It doesn't send the notes to the team. Read them out, or put them on the board.
- Item names are your POS catalog's. If the POS calls it "LG ICD OAT LTT", so will the answer.
Try it before your next shift
- Connect Mays to ChatGPT, Claude or Grok from mays.app/ai (ChatGPT, Claude, Grok). Connect Mays to ChatGPT, Claude or Grok has the details.
- Keep the prompt above handy and change it to fit your huddle.
- Ask at ten to open, and read out the five points.
Try Mays free for 30 days, with no credit card, and connect it to the AI you already use.