Tag Archives: sales techniques for servers

The Lost Art Of Suggestive Selling

Posted on November 18, 2010 by David Hayden| 2 Comments

This will be relevant by the end of the post.

“Subtlety is the art of saying what you think and getting out of the way before it is understood.” –Anonymous

 

We as a society have really lost the power of subtlety.  It could be because we have lost the patience to unravel it.  We receive far more information on a daily basis than our ancestors a hundred years ago could even process.  Most of this information is not subtle.  It is blasted at us with bells and whistles to get our attention.  The news channels do not just report the news, they also tell us what to think about it.  Movies no longer imply that a couple is about to “make whoopee”, they show us the scenes in the trailer.  In a few generations we have gone from Marilyn Monroe standing over a vent to Britney Spears getting out of a limousine.

With all of these changes, we have forgotten what it means to be “suggestive.”  This is particularly true in restaurants.  A few decades ago, corporate restaurants determined that they wanted their servers to be sales people.  The also determined that they had no interest in paying for the training necessary to actually accomplish this.  Instead, they decided to teach their servers to use adjectives and “suggestive selling.”  One of the first posts on this blog was declaring my disdain for the overuse of adjectives.  I recently realized that I never discussed my equal dislike for the corporate restaurant incarnation of “suggestive selling.”

As with most great restaurant ideas of the last couple decades, this was based on “research.”  No one will ever accuse upper level restaurant managers of being scientists or sociologists.  When they set up this “research” they will generally have one group follow the protocol they want to introduce.  The other group will do nothing different.  When the first group produces results greater than the second, they view this as proof of success.  This result is then broadcast as fact and soon becomes conventional wisdom.  They seldom look for the actual mechanism that produces the result or how their hypothesis can be altered to produce greater results.

Before we go any further, I want to try an experiment of my own.  I will not claim it to be scientific, but I will use it for a point later on.  This is not a trick and there is no wrong answer.  In your mind, I want you to picture a glass of wine, a cocktail, and an appetizer.  Your first instinct is all that matters.  Try to remember for just a few minutes what each of those items are.  Is the wine red or white?  A particular varietal?  What appetizer and cocktail were your first responses?  Are these the ones that sound most appealing to you at this particular moment?  We will return to this point in a minute.

It is probably necessary for me to clarify what suggestive selling is and conversely what it is not.  Restaurants have inaccurately labeled any number of things as suggestive selling.  Suggestive selling is not asking a guest if they would like to add a salad or soup to their meal.  While it is making a suggestion, it is not suggestive selling.  Suggestive selling is using the power of suggestion to manifest an idea in the buyer’s mind of something they want.  People have a negative reflex towards being sold something.  They on the other hand will gladly buy something that they determined on their own that they wanted.  The art of suggestive selling is to create the idea in their mind while allowing them to take credit for the idea.

White Zinfandel, Margarita, and Chips and Salsa.  The law of averages tells me that because I picked the most common response to each of those categories I should have guessed one right for about a third of you.  Additionally, about one third of you would alter your answer because I guessed it.  Most of you I struck out on.  Let me follow up with another question.  Do any of you think my guesses are more appealing than the ones you had in your mind originally?

The commonly used statistic in restaurants is that suggesting a specific glass of wine, cocktail, or appetizer will increase the sales of that item by ten to twenty percent.  This is compared to walking up to a table and asking them, “what can I get you to drink?”  While I already discussed why the word “drink” kills sales.  I think there is a third option the “research” does not account for.  Using words that trigger a response in the minds of your guests.

When I asked you to think of those particular items earlier, you most likely picked the ones you liked most.  Just as the word “drink” produces an instinctive response, so do “wine”, “cocktail”, and “appetizer.”  While “drink” probably produces a reply of your favorite non-alcoholic beverage, the other words open up a new world of possibilities.  If when I said “cocktail” you started salivating for a Dewars and water, I would not produce the same results by recommending a top shelf margarita.  In fact a margarita was the opposite of what you were thinking and now I have labeled myself as someone who is trying to sell you something you do not want.

Suggestive selling is making subtle statements that lead people to decide on their own to buy things you want to sell.  It is not pushing particular items on them.  Letting the guest have the thought on their own makes them feel like they are in control.  It also prevents you from looking like a salesperson.  Oddly enough the mark of excellence as a server who sells is the guest not being aware that you are selling them anything.  A good server provides their guests with what they want.  A great server leads their guests to want things that they did not even know they wanted.

Other articles on how to sell more as a server:

I Make A Mean Cherry Limeade

Using Words That Sell

The Most Important Phrase You Are Not Using

Selling Away and Selling Up

How To Sell More Desserts

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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How To Memorize Orders

Posted on August 27, 2010 by tipsfortips| 6 Comments
brain

I know that order is in here somewhere

(Note: In yesterdays post I discussed why I feel it is beneficial to memorize orders.  I will not recap to avoid redundancy, which itself if redundant in this post.)

I am terrible with names.  Not particularly good with faces either.  I will forget three things every time I take a trip.  I promise I will remember to bring that CD I was telling you about next time I see you.  I have left the house in my slippers.  This seems like a good chance to wish a happy belated birthday to everyone who had one before the days when Facebook reminded me.  There was a point to this paragraph, but I am not sure what it was.

If you ask most of my friends, they will gladly tell you how forgetful I am.  If you ask my guests, they will tell you I am some sort of memorization genius.  Memorizing orders is skill rather than a talent.  A talent is something you are born with.  A skill is something you get better at through technique and practice.  I am an absent minded person who has trained himself to be highly proficient at memorizing orders.

When I started memorizing orders I was not taught a particular method.  No one has written the book on it (although I have written a chapter in a book on it) and no technique is generally passed down through training.  Even the servers I have asked could not explain how they do it.  This led me to wonder how I did it.  Over the past few weeks I have been working on defining my technique.  Paying attention to what is happening in my head as I receive this information has allowed me to understand how I do it.  Through this understanding, I think I have developed a method that can be duplicated by others with enough practice.

Here are the six steps I use when memorizing orders:

Answer Questions: In order to effectively memorize orders you must put yourself in a mental state where you are receptive to information.  If you are asked a question, you must shift back to providing information.  This transition can scramble everything you are putting in your brain and cause you to lose details.  For this reason, I make a trip to the table while they are deciding to answer questions.  Approaching the table by saying, “Are there any questions over the menu?” allows for them to ask the questions in advance.  If they have questions, you can answer them and then let them decide if they are all ready to order.  This will alleviate 90% of the questions they will normally ask while ordering.

Visualize the Plate: When a guest orders something off the menu, picture the plate in your head.  As they modify the side items or the entrée, visualize that as well.  This is incredibly effective for visual learners.  Your experience seeing the entrees at your restaurant comes in very handy for this step.  This is my primary method of memorization with the other steps serving as redundancies.

Visualize the Menu: Mark the spot on the menu they are ordering from in your head.  This is a safeguard against any distractions that may occur before completing the other steps.  If for any reason you lose an order in your head, this will allow you to retrieve the mental picture.  This also allows you to keep straight any often confused items that can be found on separate places on the menu.

Repeat Mentally: For non-visual learners this may be your primary method.  After the guest tells you their order, repeat it in your head. Now you have the order in their voice and in your mental voice.  Use a clear mental voice to state it in the proper order for the computer and with the name you are familiar with.  By this step you should have a mental picture of the plate and how you will order it in the computer.  Take a brief second before looking to the next guest to “lockdown” this information.

Confirm: Repeat the order back to the guests.  This step serves three purposes.  First, it confirms their order in front of the whole table to prevent future problems.  Second, it allows you to clarify in what order you will be delivering courses to provide a roadmap of the meal.  Third, some guests seem to think it is the coolest trick on earth.  For tables that mention I have not been writing down the order, I will often skip the person who pointed it out.  This allows them the excitement of thinking they have me stumped, before I come back to them.  Showmanship is always good for tips.  If the table is large and confirming would be time consuming and annoying, step back and mentally confirm to yourself from a distance.

Write it Down: This may be the real secret to memorization.  These tricks have a limited lifespan in your brain.  Inevitably you will walk by a cook shouting out orders and confusion will set in.  If for any reason you cannot ring your order right away, write it down.  This is especially important if you work in a restaurant where you are responsible for pacing your own courses.  When you write it down, make sure to take the time to note all modifiers.  Failing to do so is the most common source of mistakes.

Over the years I have used some of these methods independently.  The key is redundancy.  The more methods you use simultaneously, the more likely it is that one of them will make it stick.  Even if you have your own technique, try blending in a couple of these steps to improve your outcomes.  While you are at it, why not share your techniques with the rest of the class?  Did you give this method a try and want to report on your results?  Do you already do something oddly similar and want to compliment me on my coincidental brilliance?  The comment section is open, let me know what you think.

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.

People Who Read This Post Also Enjoyed:

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Wine Apps for your Phone (Foodie Knowledge)


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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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Foil To Go: The Shark

Posted on August 6, 2010 by tipsfortips| 10 Comments

It’s “Shark Week” from all indications. The time when a certain television network rolls out a weeks worth of shark related shows that everyone feels the need to watch and discuss over dinner at my restaurant.  Personally I would love to see the same principle used on “National Debt Week” or “Health Insurance Reform Week” or “We Are Still Fighting Two Wars Week.”  But I digress.  I guess sharks are more interesting.  Which is why this post is on foil sharks rather than foil preexisting conditions.

My post on the foil swan received a great deal of comments from people I have met that read the blog.  It is by no means the only foil animal I have done over the years.  Swans are pretty easy to make though.  I intended to make it a recurring feature of the blog.  Then my roommate used the last of the foil for cooking or something completely unimportant like that.  Well, a new roll has been procured and today I give you the foil shark.

Step One: The foil needs to be significantly longer than the food you are wrapping.  Width is less important, but you do need to be able to wrap it securely around.

Step One

Step Two: Wrap the foil around the food while trying to maintain a tubular shape.

Step Two

Step Three: Fold the excess foil over leaving plenty beyond the food itself.  Ideally the ends should recover approximately 2/3rds of the food portion.

Step Three

Step Four: On one end, slice the foil down the center approx 1” to create your pectoral fins.

Step Four

Step Five: On the side you used for your pectoral (bottom) fins, form the head of your shark.  Do this gently to avoid crushing the shark.

Step Five

Step Six: With the other side, form you dorsal (top) fin with the loose end.

Step Six

Step Seven: Once the dorsal fin is in place, pinch the end to create the space between the body and the tail.

Step Seven

Step Eight: Shape rear foil into a tail and you have made a shark.   I am so darn proud of you.

Step Eight

I am by no means the most creative guy in the world.  That means that I am sure you could make an even better shark.  If you do, send me a picture and I will use my very limited powers to attempt to make you famous (or anonymous, it’s up to you).  Also, expect to see some more foil critters gracing the digital pages of this blog soon.

My Foil Army Will Take Over The World

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.

People Who Read This Post Also Enjoyed:

The Economics of Tipping (Tips Squared)

How To Memorize Orders(Tips Squared)

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Foodie Friday: Types of Crab (Foodie Knowledge)

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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.

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.

People Who Read This Post Also Enjoyed:

Recommended Reading 11/1 (Tips Squared)

How To Make Hostile Guests Love You (Part Two) (Tips Squared)

Weird Restaurant Stories 11/6 (Restaurant Laughs)

Independent vs Corporate Restaurant Priorities(The Manager’s Office)

Seafood During Pregnancy (Foodie Knowledge)

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