The April Fix List

If you take a look in the rearview mirror on last season… what was 2025, really?

Was it the Overtime Olympics?

The Season of Zip Ties?

The Discount Spiral you couldn’t quite get ahead of?

Maybe it was a mix of all three.

Here’s a place to start your April Fix List so you’re not walking into this season with the same problems, just hoping they behave differently this time.

You already know where things got messy last year. You just haven’t had a clean window to sit down and actually look at it.

April is that window.

No crowds yet. No chaos to hide behind.Just enough breathing room to fix what cost you.

And before we get into it…

For some of you, this will feel obvious.

Good. That means you’re ahead.

For others, this might hit a little closer to home.

Also good. That’s where the upside is.

Not everyone is in the same mistake bucket. But everyone has something they carried forward that they shouldn’t have.

1. Staffing: Did your model actually work… or just survive?

Most teams reuse last year’s staffing plan because it didn’t fully break.

That’s a low bar.

Take a real look:

• Where did overtime actually spike?

• Which roles were constantly short?

• Were your supervisors stepping in to cover shifts more than they should have?

• How many hours went to mid-season training just to keep things afloat?

  
  

You’re not looking for “we made it through.”You’re looking for where the cracks showed up first.

April move:

• Build schedules around pressure moments, not averages

• Overstaff early where burnout showed up late

• Lock training before the season, not during it

  
  

2. Payroll: Where did you quietly lose control?

Payroll rarely explodes all at once. It drifts. Then suddenly it’s a problem.

Go back and find the drift:

• Which weeks blew past your labor targets?

• How much of your labor was overtime vs planned hours?

• Where did you rely on last-minute coverage at premium cost?

• How often were managers filling hourly roles?

  
  

If your labor costs “crept up”… that wasn’t creep. That was structure.

April move:

• Set weekly guardrails now, not mid-season

• Define when overtime is acceptable and when it’s a miss

• Clean up scheduling rules before emotions and fatigue kick in

  
  

3. Maintenance: What did you see coming… and still got hit by?

Every operation has at least one of these.

The thing everyone knew was risky. The part you meant to order. The PM that got skipped “just this once.”

Then peak hit.

Look back honestly:

• What failures actually impacted your operation?

• What parts were backordered or overnighted at a premium?

• Which PMs fell off once things got busy?

• What “temporary fixes” are still sitting there right now?

  
  

If your preventative maintenance disappears in peak season, it’s not preventative.

April move:

• Build a critical parts list based on last year, not guesswork

• Reinforce PM schedules that hold up under pressure

• Call out your “if this goes down, we’re in trouble” assets

  
  

4. Training: Where did you pay for it twice?

This one’s sneaky.

You trained in spring. Then trained again in summer when things went sideways.

That’s expensive.

Take a step back:

• What were the most common mistakes from new hires?

• How many hours went to retraining mid-season?

• Where did training rely on “they’ll figure it out on shift”?

• Which roles struggled the most early on?

If your team is learning under pressure, your training didn’t stick.

April move:

• Identify the top 5 mistakes from last season and train directly against them

• Standardize training so it’s not dependent on who’s available

• Keep it simple and repeatable so it actually gets used

  
  

5. Revenue: Where did you move too slowly?

This is usually the one that stings.

Because you can see it clearly… just a little too late.

Think about last season:

• Where did demand shift faster than you responded?

• What pricing changes came after the opportunity passed?

• Which promos:

  • Ate into higher-value sales?

  • Trained guests to wait for discounts?

  • Solved short-term gaps but hurt long-term revenue?

And be honest about this one:

• Did your system help you move… or slow you down?

If it takes days to adjust pricing or packaging, you’re reacting. Not leading.

April move:

• Tighten your response time. Hours, not days

• Cut promos that “rob Peter to pay Paul”

• Simplify offers so your team can execute them under pressure

  
  

6. Systems: What did your team work around?

Your team already told you what’s broken.

They just didn’t say it out loud. They built workarounds instead.

Look for:

• Side spreadsheets

• Manual reporting that takes longer than it should

• “Don’t use that feature, just do this” instructions

• Slow points at POS or online checkout

Every workaround is a tax.

Most teams just accept it.

April move:

• Identify your top 3 friction points

• Decide what you’re actually going to do about them:

  • Fix it

  • Replace it

  • Or accept the cost (rarely done honestly)

    
    

This isn’t about adding more to your plate. It’s about removing what already cost you last season.

Some of you are tightening small things that turn into big wins.

Some of you are staring at structural issues you’ve been working around for years.

One question to close this out

If this season plays out exactly like last year…

Are you good with that?

If the answer is yes, you’re in a great spot.

If the answer is no, this list isn’t optional.

Drop a comment on where you will start or add your own April Fix List for the rest of us.