Posts Tagged ‘service’
Sometimes it feels like a war, them against us. Imagine - Saturday night and a waitlist; horde of angry customers demanding food and satisfaction. It is one of those days when half of the staff called in sick , plus you have the worst busser who “doesn’t get it” after a month of training.
How to save precious time at the table? How to spread out your attention equally, so nobody gets left out besides assholes who deserve it? I found the following script or “canned presentation” extremely useful when you physically and mentally cannot spend sufficient amount of time at the table.
1. If you cannot get to table right away, simply pass by, smile – eye contact- and say “I will be right with you”.
2. Approach the table. Smile, but look determined.
Me (M) - How are you today?
Guest (G) – Good. (They will most likely : “how are you?”)
M – Wonderful. Can I start you off with a cocktail or glass of wine? We have a full bar.
(This line is great, because you are pushing alcohol and giving them information of the bet. It prevents stupid questions like “What do you have?” They order or tell you that they need more time to look over the wine list. If they do so, it means they are not in such a rush. If they order drinks right away – offer two signature appetizers to choose from)
3. Come back with drinks and ask them if they have any questions about the menu. You want to have control over the time when you can answer questions, you definitely don’t want to be stopped in the middle of rush to explain the special or elaborate on vegetarian options. If somebody snaps at you or raises a hand to get your attention, NEVER stop at this table before you are done with your previous task. Otherwise, your will loose your focus and the mistakes will follow.
4. Always have two dishes to recommend and make sure that the way you describe them sells. E.g.
Bad: Mahi Mahi is really good today. It is served with rice and vegetables.
Good: Our pan seared Mahi Mahi is SOO delicious. It is topped with a homemade orange buerre blanc and served on the bed of wild rice pilaf and fresh garden mixed vegetables. (pause) Will be perfect with your glass of Chardannay.
5. If a customer is indecisive and stares at the menu for more than 20 sec without saying a word, don’t be afraid to tell in a friendly manner : “Let me give you a couple of more minutes to make your choice”, then move on to another table
6. Learn to say NO. Some special requests are easy, some difficult and some impossible. Know exactly what kitchen can and what it cannot do, especially when it is slammed.
7. Use your floor manager to help present and open wine or entertain guests while you’re in the weeds. That’s what he’s getting paid for, not for standing around.. lazy ass 
8. Offer desserts, but have you check ready. People rarely order dessert during a rush hour. The best way to ruin a perfect dining experience is to drop off dessert menu and forget about the table for 15 minutes, when all they want is a check. This often results in at least 5% lower tip from my experience.
Finally, remember, no matter what you do always keep your cool. If you dropped a plate in the middle of dining area or spilled a glass of red wine close to the most scandalous person in the restaurant, apologize first, but then make it clear that it is not a big deal. Shit happens. If you start kissing your customer feet saying how sorry you are, they will take full advantage of this situation and will ask to comp their dinner. Avoid this trap!
Sometimes you just simply cannot handle it and its nobody’s fault. If it comes to this point, you just do your best, but hopefully this little secrets will help decrease crazy moments at work. Waiter doesn’t have to make a list of the most stressful jobs. It is lots of FUN…Really!
Once me and my buddy stopped by for a quickie dinner @ Reno local casino café – everything else was closed and this nasty place still had a line. Place smelled of disgust and unholliness and a middle-aged hostess kept smiling at us frequently. I clearly remember that because she was missing a middle tooth. We were finally seated at the dirty table and a busboy with greasy hair didn’t bother to clean our table for another ten minutes. We debated for while on what is safe to eat in the place like that and settled down on seafood linguine, burger, and spinach-chicken dip for appetizer. Bad choice…
Our waitress moved chaotically from table to table dripping sweat. How did we know that she was ours before she even approached our table? Just because she was the only waitress in the dining room full of desperate and hungry people. We pushed menus aside and silently watched her nervously jumping from table to table like a yo-yo. Finally, she came close to us and her first words were not: “How are you?”, not even “Good evening!” She gave us a hateful look and spited: “So, what do you want?” We ordered.
The best part of our dinner was a flask of cognac we brought with us not that I am picky or expect a lot from cafeteria. Terrible food, however, was easy to forget; shocking service still haunts my dreams. She never ever checked on us, she forgot everything she could forget, including our check. When we were finally able to flag a busboy and ask him to call our waitress, she came over and asked if anything was wrong. We looked at our half-empty dirty plates, which we thoughtfully stacked on the table and said that everything was excellent. We just wanted our check and to get the f…. out of this trashy place. She was patiently waiting and looking over my shoulder while I was scribbling a 15% tip. The only time she smiled was when she saw the tip. Apparently, 15% tip was a rare accomplishment for her. She was so grateful that she even came back to the table and said: “I will check back on you later.” Both of us simultaneously thought: “Please, don’t”.
It was one of the worst and funniest dining experiences in my life. Was I mad at our waitress? Not at all. Although I am thousand miles far from being the best waiter in the world, she made me feel better about my skills
Some of my friends after listening to this story argued that I shouldn’t have left her a tip at all. What do you think?
Many establishments foolishly assume that providing the lowest prices will inevitably attract the regulars and make them stay. However, besides premium tequila there are several more components of the perfect margarita. Small details will come into play and will ultimately decide which place will be more populated on Tuesday night. When I go out I take notice of the staff demeanor, ambiance and finally quality of the drinks or food. Does it mean that the price is not important? Of course, not. However, given our everlasting recession, I suggest that sooner than later prices will become less of differentiator as EVERY SINGLE hospitality business, from burger joint to the most spectacular fine-dining venue, will have to start charging less to compete for scarce customers. This is especially true in regards to non-traditional hours and slow seasons. So, let’s spend some time on the secondary ingredients which will satisfy or disgust your potential customers.
Today we will focus on staff demeanor and more importantly on the dynamics of interaction between a service industry employee and a customer.
It doesn’t matter where you work, how good your food or drinks are, if you have a shitty bartender or server with attitude you will lose. Many business owners are confused in prioritizing professional qualities of their staff. They believe that besides service knowledge, all you need is a friendly attitude. From my experience, the one most important quality of any hospitality industry employee is ability to read a customer. It’s almost like poker. When you see a couple having a romantic dinner or wine at the bar, you don’t want to bother them with your jokes and tricks. How do you know if they need some attention? Believe me, they will tell you or will give you a sign. On the other hand, a single guy who comes to a bar and orders vodka on the rocks most likely needs some attention. The key to the game is never to be rude and annoying and to enjoy people’s company.
A few days ago, me and my buddy decided to discuss our new project over a few beers at the first bar we could find. It was happy hour, of course, and drafts were around $3.50. It was busy; we couldn’t get a table, so we had to seat by the bar and a middle-aged hippy bartender assumed that entertaining us was his duty. Unfortunately, his jokes were disaster and he never bothered to take notice that we were trying to have a private conversation. You might say that we shouldn’t go to the bar for a business meeting, especially, during the happy hour, and you’re right – I won’t, probably do it again. But my point is that the simple skill of reading a customer and anticipating his needs is extremely underrated and should be paid more attention while training your staff.
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