Tag Archives: Rules of Serving

The Rules of Serving: Rule Ten

Posted on June 10, 2011 by David Hayden| Leave a comment

 

Serving

The long awaited rule ten

Rule Ten: Pessimism is a self-fulfilling prophecy

Every restaurant has at least one server who is chronically pessimistic.  They come in for every shift expecting the worse.  Even when they are proven wrong they find a reason to complain.  If the ceiling started raining hundred dollar bills, they would complain about having to pay taxes on it.  When there are a large number of reservations on the books, they complain about having a bad section.  These are the people who can see a rainbow and still be complaining about the rain that just ended.

Oddly enough, these people are far more accurate about their predictions than anyone else in the restaurant.  They predict that they are going to make less money than they should and their attitude helps it to occur.  I am not saying that having a positive attitude going into a shift will guarantee that you will make all the money you want.  A positive attitude will not make the restaurant busy or cause guests to come pouring through the door.  A negative attitude will almost certainly mean that you will make less money from the guests that do arrive.

Even when the pessimistic server is correct, they are still a drag on the staff.  The pessimist is far less fun to work with.  They start to drag everyone else on the shift down.  These negative predictions about the evening often influence their opinions about the guests that do come in.  They determine in advance that a certain guest won’t tip well or won’t order the items they want to sell.  This reduces their desire to deliver top notch service and earn the tip they want.  They would often rather prove their pessimism right than put in the work to make better tips.

The real threat is if the pessimist is wrong.  Their attitude leads to them not properly preparing for a busy shift.  They are caught off guard when the rush hits and they have failed to adequately stock the items they need.  They are not mentally prepared and up to speed when the rush occurs.  After they start off behind in this way, they use it as a reason to prove their pessimism.  The poor tips they received are presented as evidence that they were correct about their guests.  They fail to acknowledge that their pessimism robbed them of the energy to prepare for the shift and provide top notch service.  When the guests’ tips reflect this, they blame lays with the guest and not their attitude.

The key to providing exceptional service is to set realistic expectations.  Most evenings you cannot predict whether or not the restaurant will be busy.  This is the nature of the restaurant industry.  Unrealistic optimism is not the healthy balance either.  The key is to be realistic.  Enter every shift knowing that you are prepared for whatever happens.  Determine that you will focus on giving exceptional service to every table that arrives.  Whether you wait on one guest or one hundred, they will receive the best service you can give them.  Know that they will tip accordingly.  If they do not, understand that it is not an accurate prediction of what the next table will do any more than a great tip would mean the next table will leave you just as much.

One of the very few things you can control in the restaurant industry is your attitude.  Being realistic as you enter a shift will leave you in the best position possible to leave with the most money you can.  Pessimism can rob you of this ability.  A bad attitude virtually guarantees that you will make less money than you could have.  Be optimistic when you can, be realistic when you can’t, but never be pessimistic.  You restaurant and your bank account cannot afford the luxury of pessimism. 

Check out the other Rules of Serving

Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips is the new book from the author of The Hospitality Formula Network.  It contains the 52 essential skills of the exceptional server.  This book teaches the philosophy to turn average service into an exceptional guest experience that will rapidly increase your tips.  This book shows how you can provide better customer service and dramatically improve your tips.  Enter the coupon code “squared” to receive 20% off your copy today.

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The Rules of Serving: Rule Nine

Posted on May 5, 2011 by David Hayden| Leave a comment

Rule Nine: Never Get Just One

Some of the most influential philosophers of the last five hundred years have done some of their greatest writing on the concept of a “social contract.”  Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Rawls, and many other have written at length on the subject.  The notion of a “social contract” pertains to the obligations that we as citizens and humans have to our government and fellow humans.  While these philosophers do not agree entirely on what the social contract entails, they all argue that such a contract exists. 

If there is a social contract for servers, the most basic tenet of it is expressed in rule nine.  Whenever you are getting an item you need that is out of stock in the place it should be, you should never get just one.  This goes beyond a simple courtesy.  This is a necessary function of a server to maintain the smooth operation of a restaurant and a shift.  In order to keep your shift moving efficiently, you must obey this rule.

The power of this concept is that it increases the efforts of each server exponentially.  Rather than simply moving quickly to get the items you need, taking the time to stock the items you need frees up time later in the shift.  Bringing out a dozen of the item you need will often mean that the item will be where you want it the next time you need it.  It will also lead to your co-workers being able to avoid making the same trip.  This is where the power of this rule begins to be apparent.

If you need a series of items at a side station, but one of them is not present you have two options.  You can grab one of the item you need or you can stock many of the item at the side station.  The first option leads to the other items you needed running out of stock at the side station.  This means on your next trip the first item you needed is still not there, but other items you need are also out of stock.  As this process continues, the amount of time you spend taking trips to get items you need take away from the service you can provide to your guests.  This is also made worse because your co-workers are forced to make the same trips.

When you take the time to stock the items you need many of the trips to the back can be avoided.  It also saves time for your co-workers.  This will often lead to them also stocking items rather than taking one trip at a time to the back.  As they follow this rule as well, trips to stock are minimized.  This leaves each server more time to spend taking care of their guests and maximizing their income.

This rule is an important part of rule seven: be the co-worker you want to have.  The effect is also very similar.  Choosing to lead by example will cause others to follow.  As you show the extra effort to help your co-workers, they will often provide you the same assistance.  The energies of a group of servers acting as a team will greatly exceed their individual efforts.  This will allow you to focus your energy where it belongs: your guests.

Return to The Rules of Serving

Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips is the new book from the author of The Hospitality Formula Network.  It contains the 52 essential skills of the exceptional server.  This book teaches the philosophy to turn average service into an exceptional guest experience that will rapidly increase your tips.  This book shows how you can provide better customer service and dramatically improve your tips.  Enter the coupon code “squared” to receive 20% off your copy today.

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The Rules of Serving: Rule Seven

Posted on December 8, 2010 by David Hayden| 3 Comments

Unfortunately, none of the class could read the rules. Those who cannot read Animal Farm are doomed to repeat it.

Rule Seven: Be the coworker you want to have.

 

Once you have been at a particular restaurant for any length of time, the floor chart can tell you a great deal about how your shift will go.  Most servers can see the people they are working with and find reason for either optimism or frustration.  Some shifts, you see names that you know can take care of whatever is thrown at them and still be able to help you if you need it.  Other shifts, you are surrounded by people who are lazy and unwilling to help.  The difference between a smooth shift and one you have to struggle through can often be just a couple of coworkers.

Which begs a question.  When your coworkers see your name on the floor chart are they put at ease or anticipating extra work?  No one likes to work with a person who is a ball of stress and can barely keep ahead of their own section.  No one likes working with someone who does only the minimum to keep their guests happy.  If you are not someone who people feel confident working beside, then you are part of the problem.

You cannot control the actions of all of your coworkers.  You can control your own actions though and lead by example.  When every server on the floor behaves with the best interest of the team in mind, shifts can run incredibly smoothly.  The best method you have for making that happen is to set a standard for others to emulate.  Being the coworker you want to have is the best way to get others to do the same.

Here are some tips for being the coworker you want to have:

Default To “Yes”: Many servers when asked to help will instinctively try to come up with an excuse to avoid it.  They are then often surprised when someone else responds the same way to a favor they ask for.  The easiest way to get help when you need it is to offer it when other people do.  By changing your default setting to “yes” you will find others much more likely to help you.

Get Extra: One of the most selfish moves any server can make is to only grab one of something they know others will need as well.  Finding a side station out of glasses or silverware is a call to restock it.  A server who goes to the back and grabs only what they need is almost explicitly sending the message to their coworkers that they do not matter.  A great server knows that if they need one of something, they will soon need another.  The best way to insure that what you need is where you need it is to restock instead of grabbing just one.

Be Calm In The Storm: Everyone knows when the restaurant is busy.  Stress levels begin to rise and many of your coworkers might be struggling to keep on top of everything.  This is the point where a great server knows the value of being calm.  Being that relaxing and controlled influence is often the key to keeping others above water.  Countless times entire staffs have been thrown into the weeds by the panic and stress of a single member.  Be the calming influence in the storm and others will react in kind.

Pay A Compliment: One of the most important skills of a great server is to make the others around them perform better.  One of the simplest ways to do this is to help put everyone in a good frame of mind before the shift.  It takes only a second and costs nothing to say something nice about a coworker’s new haircut or how their tie compliments their eyes.  A single brief sentence can do wonders for a coworker having a bad day.  Be the person who makes others feel more confident and you can watch morale skyrocket.

These are four very basic qualities for a server to have.  None of these require great deals of skill or expertise.  When you think to the people who make your shifts easier, don’t they have these qualities?  How many of the people you dread working with have all four?  Now which group do you want to be in?

The key to all of this is leading by example.  You cannot make all of the other servers in your restaurant step up and do all of these things.  You can do them first.  When someone steps up and sets the example others will follow suit.  Acting in this way robs others of their excuses not to do the same.  Be the coworker that you want to have and you will find others doing the same.

Click Here To See The Other Rules Of Serving

Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips is the new book from the author of The Hospitality Formula Network.  It contains the 52 essential skills of the exceptional server.  This book teaches the philosophy to turn average service into an exceptional guest experience that will rapidly increase your tips.  This book shows how you can provide better customer service and dramatically improve your tips.  Enter the coupon code “squared” to receive 20% off your copy today.

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Memorizing Orders

Posted on August 26, 2010 by David Hayden| 18 Comments

When I started my first serving job years ago I worked for a company I will affectionately refer to as “Five Four.”  That isn’t what it says on the signs out front, but it what we all called it.  My first day a manager who introduced himself as “CSV” told me that if I couldn’t figure out how to carry three plates at once by the end of the shift, I was fired.  I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth, but I learned to carry three plates.  A couple days later I was training with a guy named “Timmy” who never wrote down his orders.  I asked him why and he said, “Only rookies write down orders.”

There are any number of managers who would read that last sentence and be horrified.  The thought of not writing down orders puts fear in the heart of managers who are responsible for the rise in food costs related to misrung food.  A former boss once put it this way; “I would rather have a stubby pencil than a sharp mind.”  The debate on whether or not to write down orders has pretty much been won by the side of managers who want to eliminate mistakes.  I do not disagree with them, but I also do not write down orders.

The problem most companies have with memorizing orders is the mistakes that can come from doing so improperly.  I would never advocate memorizing orders unless you had the skills to do so.  In my next post, I will disclose my technique for memorizing orders.  It is an acquired skill, and not a talent you are born with.  Anyone can be taught to do it, but it takes practice.  In the meantime, here is my reasoning behind still memorizing orders.

There are three primary reasons why I memorize orders.

Professional Skill: A large part of what brings your tip to higher levels is demonstrating that you have a higher level of skill than the average server.  Memorizing orders is a trick that impresses your guests.  Guests will ask me all the time if I have a recorder in my pocket.  This is a trick that reminds guests you are a professional.  This makes the value of what you are doing seem greater to guests who appreciate such things.

Maintaining Presence: With most sales jobs, one of the first things you learn is how to fill out an order form.  The reason why is that you do not want to take the focus off the customer at that critical juncture.  The same is true in serving.  Guests have an inherent fear that you are more concerned with selling them something than recommending items for their benefit.  Being more concerned with writing down the order than remaining focused on the guest only confirms this fear.

Avoids Dependence: I have seen great servers who were unable to take an order without pen and paper.  They have had to ask a guest who was ready to order (buy) to wait for them to come back with paper.  I have even seen some who have former coworkers swipe them order pads from their old employers.  They are so used to using a particular format that they are somewhat dependent on it.  Having the skill of memorizing orders, even if you do not use it every time, enables you to avoid this.

Keep in mind that all of these are contingent upon being able to remember the order accurately.  Failing to do bring the guest what they ordered more than wipes out any goodwill you have gained.  Tomorrow I will address in greater detail how to do this accurately.  In the meantime, what is your opinion on memorizing?  Do you write everything down or memorize?  Drop me a line in the comment section and let me know if you agree or disagree.

Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips is the new book from the author of The Hospitality Formula Network.  It contains the 52 essential skills of the exceptional server.  This book teaches the philosophy to turn average service into an exceptional guest experience that will rapidly increase your tips.  This book shows how you can provide better customer service and dramatically improve your tips.  Enter the coupon code “squared” to receive 20% off your copy today.

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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.

Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips is the new book from the author of The Hospitality Formula Network.  It contains the 52 essential skills of the exceptional server.  This book teaches the philosophy to turn average service into an exceptional guest experience that will rapidly increase your tips.  This book shows how you can provide better customer service and dramatically improve your tips.  Enter the coupon code “squared” to receive 20% off your copy today.

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