Tag Archives: 1111

The Rules of Serving: Rule Six

Posted on August 2, 2010 by David Hayden| 4 Comments

Rule Six: Never spend money you haven’t made.

I am glad July of 2010 is behind me. I cannot recall a month that was less lucrative in my serving career. My income dropped by well over 50% last month. Unbearable heat combined with a disproportionate number of patio shifts took a chunk out of my savings. I had planned for a slow month, but not one this slow.

I was fortunate enough to follow my own advice on saving and budgeting. I keep my living expenses low and save during good months. This allowed me to avoid the month being devastating financially. I stay out of debt and carry no credit cards. My car is paid for and my rent is minimal. My savings was depleted, but not drained.

Many co-workers were not so lucky. In the panic over subpar weeks, my phone has stayed buzzing with people looking to pick up shifts. Trying to keep up with credit cards, car payments, and the other necessities of life has caused people to need to take shifts that they would never consider picking up if not in dire straights. Vacations have been canceled and deposits forfeited. This entire struggle was based upon the anticipation of money that never materialized.

As a server, you cannot afford to anticipate income that you have not yet earned. The occupation we have chosen does not allow you the luxury of a predictable income. Any number of things can happen to dramatically change your income. Nearly all servers are only a complaint letter or two away from losing their jobs. Restaurants are going out of business at an alarming rate. Restaurants are expanding their interview processes and not hiring on first interviews anymore. Fires, floods, and equipment failures in the restaurant can cause otherwise good shifts to produce no income. Even if your income remains predictable, cars break down, furnaces need replaced, accidents happen which are beyond your control and are usually expensive.

The need for income caused by these situations is compounded by the fact that they always happen during slow periods. Murphy and his law pretty much guarantee this. Waiting tables when you need money adds tremendous pressure. It takes you focus off the guests and places it on the money. This never bodes well for income and is why rule one and two are the first two rules on this list. Once you make it through the immediate need for money, then you have to continue to work harder to catch up. It takes a toll on your morale when you are not working for things you want, but paying for things you already have and usually did not want to have to pay for.

One of the wisest pieces of advice I ever received was to always try to live on last month’s income. Have saving set aside and try to stay a month ahead. This allows you to create an accurate budget. It also prevents you from blowing money on good nights or panicking on bad ones. It is a tough habit to get into. Once you are able to achieve it though, you can relieve a great deal of stress from your shifts.

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Posted in Server Waiter Waitress

Tagged 1111, advice for servers, budget, budgeting for servers, how to be a better restaurant server, making money as a server, Restaurant, Rules for Servers, Rules of Serving, saving money as a server, Server, Server Blog, server income, server tips, server wage, Server Waiter Waitress, Service, Tips, tipsfortips, tipsfortips.com, Waiter, Waiting, waitress

The Rules of Serving: Rule Five

Posted on July 16, 2010 by David Hayden| 8 Comments

Rule Five: Always recommend what is in the guest’s best interest, not yours.

(Note: There are many hyperlinks today that will send you to posts were I have previously addressed specifically issues that I address in this post.)

This is the second time in two days I have sat down to write this post. Yesterday, I got caught up in a tangent which I think serves as an important preface to this post. It even inspired a comment immediately that proved its accuracy. In the preface, I discuss how restaurant companies have encouraged servers to focus on upselling and thus significantly damaged the relationship between servers and their guests.

I have written extensively about selling as a server in this blog. I have personally never had a fear of sales. My father is in sales and I grew up reading books by Ziglar, Hopkins, and other great sales people. I have spent most of my serving career trying to determine how to best apply their techniques to a restaurant situation. Many servers fear selling because they feel as if they are trying to make the guest do something they do not want to do. They are also often afraid of rejection. In both cases, these servers give their sales skills far too much credit.

A great sales pitch does not make people do things they do not want to do. No one can really sell ice to Eskimos. The power of sales is helping to justify the decisions people want to make anyway. You are not going to talk someone into something they do not want, but instead you are helping them talk themselves into what they do want. Understanding this means that rejection is not personal and selling is not unethical, if done for the right reasons.

The part of selling as a server that puts a bad taste in the mouth of guests and servers is how it is presented. A fellow blogger posted an example of this yesterday. Any server who has spent time in corporate restaurants has heard a manager recite from a memo how upselling salads can increase their income. Not only do we know that financial incentives like this do not work, but it makes the whole process seem dirty. It encourages servers to look at the people who walk in the door as ATM machines and not guests. No wonder servers find the whole process manipulative.

So when is it safe to sell? It is safe to sell when what you are selling is going to make the guest happy. My recommendations are the source of many jokes around my restaurant. When I present the menu I sell the heck out of a couple items. The reason is simple. They are the best items on the menu. My guests will have a much better experience if they order them than if they order something else. Not all menu items are created equally. Every menu has mediocre items on it that will disappoint guests that order them. Part of my job is to dissuade guests from ordering dishes that I know from experience they will not like. In this way, selling is an important part of service.

Here is a simple test to determine if you are upholding or violating rule five. If your best friend came in for a complimentary meal, what would you recommend? If you are recommending to your guests what you would recommend to your best friend, then you are providing a service to the guest.

You are the expert who has tasted everything on the menu. That expertise is part of the service you provide. You also have to stand by your recommendation. Serving is different than sales in as that your “commission” is determined by the guest in the form of the tip. Recommending a more expensive item that they end up disliking will hurt you by reducing your tip percentage more than they increase in the guest check can compensate for. Conversely, a great recommendation will result in a higher percent regardless of the effect on the check. This is because you are actually providing a higher level of service by sharing your expertise.

When it comes to upselling the line becomes a little blurred. If you are offering premium liquor, house salads, or upgraded sides solely to increase the check, you are violating this rule. If you are offering it because they legitimately improve the meal, you are upholding it. I think baked potatoes taste better with cheese and bacon. Most people seem to. Offering these items should not be seen as offensive. Most guests will not object to the offer. I am intentionally using the word “offer.” You do not sell these items as much as remind the guest that they are available. This is not sales as much as a service. Offering these additional items will not offend guests as long as you are not continuously doing it and they are logical additions to the meal.

Selling is a service when done properly. The key is to do it in the guest’s best interest and not your own. Selling items that are not in the best interest will harm you in the long run. Lower tip percentages will defeat your best attempts to increase their bill. Never forget that the guest determines your commission. This can work in your favor as well though. A guest that has a great meal is a happy guest. You cannot make every guest order an outstanding meal, but you can try. If you do try, your guests and your wallets will both notice the difference.

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Posted in Server Waiter Waitress

Tagged 1111, customer service, how restaurant owners can increase sales, how to be a better restaurant server, how to get servers to sell, How to increase sales, How to increase sales as a manager, increase restaurant profits, increase restaurant sales, increase sales, managing servers, motivating servers., Restaurant, Restaurant Manager, restaurant server, Rules for Servers, Rules of Serving, Sales, sales for servers, sales techniques for servers, sell more, Selling, selling specials, Server Blog, server contests, Server Waiter Waitress, servers sell more, Service, Serving, teaching servers to sell, The Rules for Servers, Tips, upsell, upselling, Waiter, waitress

The Rules of Serving: Rule Four

Posted on June 1, 2010 by David Hayden| 12 Comments

Rule Four: Guests do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care

We have truly become a nation of cynics. We doubt the sincerity of others and feel that no deal comes without a catch. We have good reason. Every special offer comes with fine print. We are constantly being faced with offers that seem too good to be true and usually are. In the modern world, we have decided it is better to be a cynic than a sucker.

Restaurant guests are no different. Deals that seem too good to be true get questioned. The motives of restaurant servers are constantly in question. Is the recommendation honest or to help them win a contest? Is the more expensive wine really worth it? Are the nachos really as awesome as the server says they are? Their concerns are warranted because servers are often more interested in raising their bill than earning the guest’s confidence.

This is particularly troublesome because servers should be one of the most trusted professions. We give guests the opportunity to decide what the value of our service is. While there are societal norms for tipping, the guest is often willing to exceed them if the service we provide merits it (see rule 3). The consequences of being caught making recommendations not in the guest’s interest will be financial. Losing rapport with your table will invalidate all of your speed and knowledge. Clearly maintaining that bond of trust with your table is far more important to earning the exceptional tip than your knowledge or efficiency. Only when that bond is formed does your skill and expertise come into play.

Here are three quick tips for establishing rapport and showing the table you care about their dining experience.

Speak With Sincerity: This post began by describing the cynicism of guests; sincerity is the antidote to cynicism. Sincerity is tough to fake (obviously), but is easy to convey. The benefit of living in an insincere world is that sincerity is much easier to recognize. Greet your guests by asking how they are and then reply to their answer. Ask them if they are celebrating anything. Honor their special occasions. Pay sincere compliments. Speak to them like you would your favorite family member. People appreciate the attention and sincerity.

Talk to Them: Far too many servers fall into a routine of talking at their guests. They might make a half-hearted attempt to ask questions, but it is more reminiscent of filling out a survey than a conversation. When you ask your guests a question, think of yourself as a reporter rather than a census worker. When you tell them information, do so as a tutor not a lecturer. This allows you to avoid the perception of talking down to them while adding significance in their mind to what you are informing them of.

Let them Lead: Serving is like dancing with someone who is not as good as you. You can just take the lead and drag them around the dance floor. A great server knows how to let them lead and compensates for them when they miss the beat. Your role is not to determine how the dining experience should go, but rather how to make their vision a reality. Try to determine the pace and order they want in their meal and provide it to them. By doing this you are using your skill and expertise to give them what they want. Which is the mark of professionalism in the guest’s mind.

Servers often pass up the opportunity to take advantage of the greatest asset they have: Sincerity. We do not have to take advantage of our guests to make money. We do not partake directly in the profits of the prices on the menu, but we also do not shoulder the blame from the guests. They decide what to pay for our service. Sincerity is more important accordingly than skill or expertise. A misstep in service in relatable, but a misstep in sincerity gives them every reason to return to cynicism. Be the person who gives them a reason to let their guard down and you will be rewarded.

Waiter Extraordinaire posted a great blog today about planning for the future that merits a read. Manana espanol para restaurantes.

The Rules of Serving: Rule Three

Posted on May 18, 2010 by David Hayden| 10 Comments

Rule Three: Generic Servers Receive Generic Tips.

We all have seen it before. The server who walks up to a table and lifelessly repeats the corporate approved script when greeting a table. They seem as if they are only about three more repetitions from developing a facial tick from irritation. No inflection or signs of life. Reading between the lines is not difficult and roughly translates to “what do I have to bring you to get you to leave?”

Then there is the other kind. They walk up to the table and give you a more enthusiastic greeting than you got on your last birthday. They ramble on through the generic script punctuating it with adjectives like “awesome” and “incredible.” They suggest 37 specific drinks to start you off with before looking at the table to see you got your first round at the bar. As they turn away from the table their posture immediately changes in a way that translates to, “thank goodness that is over.”

There are many types of generic servers. They all share one fundamental trait. They are putting on a performance that has little or nothing to do with the guests at that particular table. As a result they are viewed as a generic server by their tables. This doesn’t upset the guest. It is not worth complaining about. It doesn’t even stop the guest from tipping the server the same percent they always tip their server. People have an idea of what they tip servers generically. The competent yet generic server receives the adequate, but generic tip.

This is fine for someone who aspires to be no more than a generic server. I am going to operate under the assumption that you, by merits of reading this blog, aspire to be more than a generic server. At the least, I am assuming that you aspire to make more than the generic tip. You cannot put the cart in front of the horse though. In order to receive more than the generic tip, you must be more than the generic server.

Here are three ways to separate yourself from the generic server:

Give them the Experience they Want. The generic server gives every guest the same experience. They have the same interactions with every table. In order to exceed the generic server, you must determine what your table expects out of their dining experience. The sooner you are able to read your table, the better you are able to meet their expectations. Here is a previous post on a great way to do this. Guests’ expectations vary on everything from pacing to the amount of time you spend at the table. Instead of a one size fits all experience, look for clues from your tables and follow them.

Develop a Connection. Find some way to interact with your tables on a personal level. This can be something as simple as asking someone bringing in an umbrella if it looks like it is clearing up or complimenting a businessman on his tie. Try to find the opportunity to have one brief interaction that doesn’t relate to food and let the table decide whether or not to turn it into a conversation. The only way this can be successful is if it is sincere. Guests can smell insincerity from a mile away. They will appreciate the common ground and relate to you as a person rather than as a generic server.

Throw Away the Script. There is a fine line between using the best pitch possible and sounding scripted. When a guest does want recommendations, it is easy to go into a prewritten pitch that might as well be prerecorded. To make things worse, most restaurant companies have certain things they want you to say to every table. The best way to sound unscripted is to change the order in which you mention these things. You want to follow a logical progression, but intentionally change the order of sentences from table to table. This does require more thought, but that time to think will prevent it from sounding too generic and scripted.

Being a competent, but generic server is much like holding most any other job. You can do the minimum in most any occupation and get by. The employee who does the minimum cannot expect to be promoted because of it. They will also get passed on the corporate ladder by those who take the effort to do more than the minimum. Exceeding the actions of the generic server is the best way to have the guest give your tip a promotion.

The Rules of Serving: Rules One and Two

Posted on May 12, 2010 by tipsfortips| 16 Comments

Rule One: If you worry about the guest, the money will take care of itself.

Rule Two: If you worry about the money, the guests will not take care of themselves.

Rules one and two are corollaries of the same basic principle. Your focus as a server must be on the guest and not the money. We all know that the reason for serving is to make money. No one should pretend they are altruistic enough to wait tables 40 hours a week just for the fun. At the same time, the key to making money is to not focus on making the money, but the process by which you make it. Focusing on the guest is the key to insuring that at the end of the shift you have made the money you want.

There is no denying that focusing on the guest can still lead to disappointment. The odds of you making what you need are infinitely more in your favor though if you focus on the guest first and the money second. The only thing you can do to control how much you make is to make every guest as happy as you can. Guest counts, guest spending, and the amount the guest leaves are beyond your control. Instead focus on the guests and trust that it is the best way to make the money work out in your favor.

Here are three commonly violated guidelines to keep your money on track:

Never Count Tips Until The End: This is a terrible habit some servers practice that I will deal with in greater length in a future post. Early tables tend to tip a lower percentage than later tables. Do not let these tables affect you attitude going into your more lucrative second turn. While you still have tables in the restaurant, you have not been paid for all of your effort. Until all you tables are gone you do not have an accurate reflection of how much you will make. In addition, nothing good ever comes of checking the tip while the guest is still in the building.

Never Set Monetary Goals: I have seen many servers make this mistake. If you set a goal on a shift of $100, then making $90 is still a failure. Likewise making $110 will leave you with “extra” money. This mentality leads you to be more upset about coming up short and less likely to save the “extra.” Instead set goals for the week or month. This way a $90 shift is balanced out by the $110 shift.

Never Let Need Affect Your Attitude: As I said earlier, the only thing you can control is the quality of service you give your guests. The most important factor in this is your attitude. Being discouraged by early tables or fear of not hitting a goal will show in your service. Each table should be treated as the key to your income. This prevents any one table from being the final table you need. Instead of relying on that last table to make your night, focus on each table along the way. This will leave you in a much better position when dropping that last check.

The guests must come first in your rriorities. The guests did not come in to tip you. They came in for a great dining experience. Only by providing that can you expect to be compensated in the way you want to be. Focus on the guests first and remember they are the key to your income. You will be pleasantly surprised with how the night turns out.

Budgeting for Servers

The Rules of Serving

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