It is that time of year. Love — or at least heavy lust — is in the air. And in the restaurant business, that means just one thing: it’s too hot to sit on the patio. Well, that and co-workers are beginning their annual mating ritual. At last count, there are six confirmed couples at […]
Tag Archives | Rules for Servers
Supply, Demand, and Chicken Wings
Yesterdays post on extra charges for the various items a guest requests caused me to ponder on a larger scale. It is remarkably common to hear guests say, could buy that steak/wine/etc at the store for half that much. This is the same principle as walking into a classic car dealership and demanding a price […]
The Rules of Serving: Rule Six
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 […]
The Rules of Serving: Rule Five
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 […]
Selling, Upselling, and Integrity
I sat down today to write about rule five. As I did so I realized that a preface was in order. This morning I sat on my patio drinking coffee and reviewing the outline that I have scribbled on a legal pad. I began thinking about why this post was even necessary. It should be […]
About The Author
David Hayden was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He took his first serving job in 1996. Since that time, he has worked for over a dozen different restaurant companies. He has held both hourly and salaried positions at independent and corporate restaurants. He has waited on over 100,000 guests and trained hundreds of servers. He has been named "Best Server in Kansas City" the last three years by the local weekly paper.