It's very discouraging to hear a server say "I'll have to go check with the kitchen" when my wife asks about the soup of the day. Lots of blame to go around for this but I tend to blame management. A servers lack of knowledge around the daily items and specials means management isn't pre-shifting.
Every server on the floor should know the soups, daily specials and 86'd items. Managers should be quizzing their staff before and during the shift. It's hard to maximize a ticket average when you don't know these simple things.
Remarkable Service doesn't just happen in your establishment. There is no magic wand to wave around. There is no silver bullet. It's takes training and consistent reinforcement. Now go prepare to be Remarkable!
How to Deal with an Unhappy Customer
By Miriam Silverberg
Sooner or later a customer is going to complain about your food. How will you react? A few years ago one Saturday evening after a show a friend and I decided to try a bistro that had just opened. At the end of our meal, being the last customers there, the owner joined us. He asked how we liked the food, and we told him that we had some complaints. He told us we were lucky the chef had left or he might kill us.
I asked whom he felt was more important, the customer or the chef. "Why the chef, of course," he replied, "I can always get customers, but a good chef is hard to find." Obviously, customers were also hard to find because he closed shortly after.
Here is a list of do's and don'ts to make sure a customer doesn't turn viral and tell the immediate world how bad your food is.
DON'T...
1. Do not get defensive and say, "everyone else likes it, why don't you?"
2. Do not simply say, "I'm sorry' and walk away.
3. If the customer expresses his dissatisfaction to the wait staff, Do not avoid him.
4. Do not get angry.
5. Do not tell him that the chef knows how to prepare the dish and he, the customer, doesn't really know how it should taste.
DO...
1. Do ask what the customer doesn't like about it.
2. As soon as you hear a customer is unhappy, Do go to him immediately.
3. Do offer to make amends. Offer to do the dish over.
4. If you feel you have an honest explanation of what went wrong, Do offer it, but without belaboring the point
5. Do offer something extra as a good will gesture. This could be an after-dinner drink, dessert on the house.
Depending on the complaint, and how good the customer is, you might even consider picking up the check.
Restaurant Service: The Do's and Don'ts of Running an Effective Pre-Shift
By Jeff Hookham
R unning a pre-shift meeting is like flossing your teeth. Everyone knows you need to floss at least once a day but for whatever reason some people just don't do it. And just as there are consequences for not flossing, skipping pre-shifts can impact your bottom line.
If you are not interested in building service consistencies, or teamwork, or even educated and motivated team members then maybe pre-shifts aren't for you. But for the rest of you they should be an integral part of your daily operations and part of your communication strategy.
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Communication is very important to any business and pre-shifts are a great communication tool. A tool that creates a structure to assure the whole team is aware of what is going on in the business, market and community.
Here are some guidelines for running a successful Pre-Shift. By following these simple Do's and Don'ts you will achieve success in this important training function.
Do Plan - I'm sure you have heard the saying "managers don't plan to fail, they just fail to plan". Our clients utilize a pre-shift template that helps them plan the meetings. Having a template tends to help ensure a very smooth & consistent running pre-shift.
Specific things to talk about include the daily specials, soups of the day and any 86x items. Talk about restaurant goals, team goals and any goals or objectives you have for different areas of your team, like Servers, Cooks, Bussers, Hosts and such.
Do KISS - Not figuratively of course because kissing all of your team members could lead to some legal issues. KISS stands for Keep it Short and Sweet. And by short I mean really short. Two minutes, three tops. These meetings should be quick hits that inform, instruct and motivate right before the revenue period starts.
When your staff hits the floor you want lots of positive energy so keep the meeting sweet & positive. No sour grapes during these gatherings. There is a time and place for reprimand and negative issues and this isn't it.
Do Focus - Focus on one primary area to talk about. Whether it's maximizing sales, providing remarkable service or menu knowledge, pick one topic and focus on that area during your meeting.
Don't do all the Talking - You want to keep your teams attention so make the meetings interactive. For example when you mention the daily specials have someone give a sales presentation around one of those specials or ask servers what their check average goal for the day is. Try and come up with questions you can bounce off your team where they have to respond.
Don't Forget to Recognize Team Members - Everyone likes to be hear that they are doing a great job. When that recognition is done in front of their peers that makes it even better. Look not only for individuals to recognize but teams as well.
There are no more excuses about not knowing how to run or what to talk about during a pre-shift. Follow these guidelines and you will soon be reaping the benefits of a well coached wait staff team. And don't forget to floss!
Restaurant Service: Dining Room Staff Scheduling Tips
By Richard Saporito
Restaurant service staff scheduling is crucial and closely tied to excellent restaurant customer service.
In every way, a balance must be achieved by matching the dining room service labor needs to forecasted business, and I'd like to offer 2 concepts that can improve restaurant dining room service immensely.
The first concept is the "on call waiter" who can be scheduled for any shift necessary. The "on call waiter" function is to call the restaurant about 1/2 - 1 hr. before the work shift commences food service to see if he/she is needed to come in and work that particular shift.
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The "on call" function is useful in many ways as in the case of outdoor dining where business literally depends on the weather. If the weather is right for outdoor seating, the "on call waiter" will be asked to come in to work. If it's raining, then the "on call waiter" will not be needed, though the phone call to the restaurant should still be made. Basically, if the staff is sufficient for that restaurant shift, then the "on call waiter" will not be needed.
Another useful function for the "on call waiter" is when there is an extremely important event scheduled, and there can be positively no staff shortages for that event. Simply by communicating properly and timely over the telephone, the dining room will be covered saving the service staff time and the restaurant wasted payroll.
This system is flexible, and should be used with common sense, not haphazardly. Depending on the situation, there can even be more than one "on call waiter" for a shift, and by the same token, you may not even use an "on call waiter" for many of the work shifts. Every restaurant must figure out what system works best for them, and make the adjustment.
The second restaurant service staff scheduling concept is the "maintenance runner" which works best when there is more than one food runner working per shift. Once again, this concept will prove how proper staff scheduling is directly tied to improving dining room service.
In a small restaurant, there may be only one food runner needed for the shift taking food from the kitchen areas to the dining areas. He/she is responsible for keeping those dining areas and floor areas clean, since it is be part of the sidework.
If this sidework doesn't get done, it is obvious where the blame lies. (Technically it's everyone's job to keep the restaurant clean, but it's ultimately the food runner's job to keep the service/ kitchen areas, waiter food prep areas, and floor areas clean.)
Now, on the other hand, a large restaurant that uses 3 runners per shift is definitely bringing a higher volume of food from the kitchen areas to the dining areas. So, things will get a bit messier because of the added food traffic. To compound the problem, with more than one runner, things will get confusing as to whose responsibility it is to keep the above restaurant areas clean.
The simple solution to this headache lies within the restaurant service staff scheduling. Simply put "maintenance runner" on a pre-designated schedule spot, and rotate fairly. For easy labeling on the schedule, a simple MR abbreviation next to the name or shift--- and it's good to go for each needed shift.
The "maintenance runner" will ultimately be responsible for the sweep up and wipe-up jobs-especially before and after each shift. Cleanliness, especially floors, will also lessen the risk of bodily injury such as slippage from an unclean floor.
These simple dining room service scheduling tips will help ensure that the restaurant is properly staffed while maintaining safety and sanitation.
