How to be a good waiter! UPDATE ABOUT TIPS

Since COVID-19 most reastaurants trippled their take out orders, They have increased their menu prices, and yet, they expect a 20% tip on a take out order. The Machine is in front of you to decide between 20%, 25% or even 30%.  

TIPS was created To Insure Proper Service. 

At a buffet, no one is serving you anything other than a drink. Why should you tip 20%? Yet, they have jars in every station. This is more like extra TAX  on top of the prices. 

• Restaurants should pay the minimum wage to all servers. No tip is expected. If there is a tip, good for them (servers). 
• Hi-class restaurants will perform accordingly with the clientele, and therefore deserve more money than a fast food restaurant or take-out.
• Fast food restaurants must earn their 15%.

I want to stop this lack of service along with high expectation. Stop the IPAD from deciding what you want to add. (The IPAD at times calculate a percentage over the total - and we do not tip on TAXES). 

Now see what to expect:

At the Dining Room -

 Welcome the Guest! Meet or greet your customers immediately after they sit. Smile! Do not make them wait to be acknowledged by you - the server. There is nothing more annoying than be ignored at the table. If you are very busy, acknowledge their presence, and let them know that you will be back in a few minutes. If you can not make it back to their table within 3 minutes, send someone else over to take their cocktail order.

• In this case make sure they got bread or whatever your restaurant serves. Train your bus person or bread person to ask for the "type of water" they want to drink. Always ask this question. Many customers like to drink sparkling water, others like flat/still water. You usually ask this question when giving them the menu. Most people would drink tap water, but you never know.

Take Drink orders! As you learn what type of water they want, you can "sign with your eyes" to the bus person to fill up their glasses or to get sparkling water or flat water. It is important to ask if they want to drink water, and what type. Then ask, "may I take your cocktail order?" This is the proper way to ask. It is a positive manner, and it encourages them to make a decision about a drink.

•  Make sure to use a pattern when taking drink orders. Number each guest in your pad, and write their drinks down in accordance with their seats. When serving your drinks, you will know who gets what. You should not ever ask - Who gets what.(?) A good waiter never asks this type of question when serving food or drink. This is your job, therefore you have to know who asked for what, and deliver it, without interrupting their conversation. It is not your  

Open the Wine! I am not an expert in this matter, but I am going to share how I do this. At first, I present the wine unopened to the guest who ordered it. Then I open it and immediately smell the cork to sense vinegar or wine. While placing the cork on front of the guest, I then pour a taste. If approved, I fill up his glass first, and move around the table in any order.

• After opening and serving the wine, about 3/4 of a regular glass, or less, let the bottle sit at the table in case it is red wine, or use an ice bucket to keep the bottle of white wine inside. Make sure to check constantly for their consumption. You have to add wine into their glasses as needed. It is not appropriate for the guest to refill their own glasses, simply because the bottle is sitting in there. It is your job and a form to sell more wine. You are a salesperson!. This is your job. Keep your eyes on the bottle! Keep your eyes on their glasses. Refill less white wine, so it stays cold.
• So far, your guests are nicely seated, having a good conversation, sipping on their drinks. Everything seems to be OK. Take this time to check on your other tables. Remember to check whenever they stopped looking at the menu and approach to take the order. At this point the menu was presented to them by you! You judge timing.

Take the food order! Now you can share information about specials, soups and whatever you want to sale. Make sure to become an expert on certain dishes to make it easier to make a selection. Make suggestions. Be friendly and be assertive. Help them to make a decision.

• They are at your place, and you have the obligation to help them to choose what they want to eat. Pay attention to their request and write it down. Make sure you write the "no" request. Most people like to change the item written in the menu by removing something, such as onion, or butter, or whatever they do not like to eat. You can not forget to write this down and make sure they get it as they ordered. This will reflect on your restaurant and more importantly, on you. You can change from one restaurant to another, but your habits will follow you. Practice makes good habit. Follow a system! Be prompt. Be courteous and be nice to your co-workers. Treat everyone as a guest. EVERYONE, even your boss.

Time to Eat! The food is about to be served by the food runner. Check the table for missing table wares. Some guests order appetizers before their main course, and it is your job to retrieve those plates from the table when they finish eating. It is your job to observe when they finish. It is your job to observe how they eat. Some guests eat faster than others, and your job is to serve the main course just a few minutes after the appetizer. So, after serving the appetizer, you will inform the kitchen when you will want the main course to be served. Do it by computer or by telling it to the food runner. If the kitchen is backed up, make sure to expedite your order through the computer system while they are almost done with their appetizer. It is all matter of timing, and you must master it.

Observation! To be a good waiter you need to be attempt to your guest's request. More importantly, you need to be attempt to your entire station as if it was a large party. Before doing a trip to the bar for one table, check if you can also do the same for another table, and another. Come back with drinks for more than one table. The same goes when refilling Iced Tea or coffee. Do not just visit one table and close your yes for the others. It will save you and your team's time. Walk around your station and pick up anything that doesn't belong on the table. Pick up used lemon, used straws, used sugar packages. Be the master of that (your job/ table).

• Refill glasses at all times. Make eye contact with your customer, for they may need something or they may be looking for you.

Food served! Assuming you did your duties well, they have the proper and clean table ware, and that they are about to experiment their meal. This 1 minutes is crucial to your job. Approach them as soon as the plate is presented and make sure the kitchen sent as you ordered. Do not let the guest decide that they asked for spinach and you sent them carrots. So, whether you serve the main course or a food runner does it for you, you should be there when it is presented. If you approved it, tell them to enjoy it. In about 3 minutes you return to the table to make sure the flavor is acceptable. If you just go to the table to remove the dirty dishes, you must work in a buffet-type restaurant.

They probably will say: It is great! Now, you can relax! but before you do it, check once again for anything that could require another trip to the table. Have that in mind!

However, because the entire idea is to sell, make sure you offer whatever could increase your check. "Would you like a glass of chardonnay with your fish dish? It will go well."

•  Let them be alone for another 5-10 minutes checking with your eyes from afar if they are OK, and whenever possible walk around to try to make eye contact. Do not burst into the table interrupting their conversation to pay attention to you. Do not remove plates that they may want to keep. Read them! Do not assume anything. Do not follow this procedures like a robot. Make eye contact!

HINT - Be available when food is served! Come ass soon as you can to acknowledge that they got their food. Do your refills now! Ask if there is anything else you can bring to the table.

Time to clean the table! Use a bread Crumb remover to make sure the cloth is clean. Present dessert menus and ask for coffee. Offer after dinner drinks! Offer Cappuccino or Expresso. Serve everything using the same process! Clean forks and clean spoons. Make sure they have it at the table prior to serving the dessert.

It is imperative that you clean the dessert plate before presenting the check. You own that table, and you ant more people to use it. Maintain control and be assertive is the key. Do not present the check just because you assumed they are finished. Do not assume anything. Talk, ask, sell.

Time to pay the Bill - Assuminf food and service were great! Now it is time for them to leave. Do not be on the way!

• Do not let your guest wait while the credit card is sitting with the check you have presented. They want to get out! Either present the check when requested, or present the check when you see that it is appropriated, but stay near to get the credit card processed pronto.
•  They already said that they do not want anything else. Make sure to let them know that they can stay as long as they want, but you are presenting their check, so they do not have to find you when they are ready; they will like that. Do not let your guest wait for you with a credit card on the table! Do not let them wait for you to charge their card for too long! Remember that they area ready to leave! Do not make this time painful. It can destroy an elegant and charming dinner! PAY ATTENTION.

1. - Smile
2. - Greet the guest
3. - Take drink orders
4. - Offer menus
5. - Talk about specials
6. - Serve drinks
7. - Keep your eyes on the drinks
8. - Take the order using a pivot number system
9. - Leave the table to place order in the computer
10. - Return to the table to see if their drinks need refill
11. - Be at the table when food is served
12. - Remove dirty dishes and replace used silvers
13. - Remove anything that doesn't belong to the table, such as used sugar packages, etc.
14. - Make eye contact whenever possible
15. - Do not interrupt
16. - Do not bad mouth your restaurant
17. - Do not engage in lenghty conversation with the guest
18. - Do not share private information with guest
19. - Do not wear perfume
20. - Have your nails clean
21. - Have your hair to yourself
22. - Do not use too many rings
23. - Do not make your guest ask for whatever he needs
24. - Be ahead on your game
25. - Make sure you do your side work, so you do not run out of items when needed
26. - Make sure the dining room is ready to receive guest - and it means glass polished and silvers clean.
27. - Do not stand around
28. - Do not go outrside to smook when customer are seated
29. - Do not serve cold food in front of hot food to the same table (when taking it from your tray).
30. - Make one trip to the bar and try to serve as many guests as possible
31. - Do not go to the kitchen empty-handed Always take a tray with something from the dining room and return with something, be it a pitcher of water, or aced tea, or coffee. A good waiter never goes to the kitchen empty handed.
32. - Know your menu
33. -Visualize each dish in your mind and learn to describe them
34. - Be clean and take a shower before and after working in a restaurant
35. - Make sure to go to bed after a good shower. You do not want to share the smell of a kitchen with your bed.
36. - Have your shirts pressed! Be a star - It is a show room and you are the star!
37. In other words, make sure that the job of being a server fits your personality.
38. It is not for everyone! If you choose to become a server, be a good one. Even if it is temporarily. You owe to yourself to be the best that you can. So, be it.

 

In summary, every job requires dedication. You decide whether you are up to par or not. If you do not decide it, someone else will decide it for you. So, be good at what you do. Learn your trade, even if it is for a short while. Honor the Assurance of a good service and be rewarded with the "tips". Which means, To Insure Prompt Service.

 

BE PROMPT - do not be lazy.

Hugs

Milton Laene Araujo