(Note: This is the first of a new weekly series called “Skills Focus.” The purpose of these posts is to revisit a skill that has been discussed on this blog. This will allow you to take a moment and make sure you are using this skill to increase your tips. Taking the time each week […]
Tag Archives | training
Bringing It All Together
In the time that I have been writing this blog, I have provided a large number of tips on sales and describing food. Each of the individual posts provides tools and guidelines to help you sell the food most likely to create happy and returning guests. Used individually these techniques can help you increase the […]
Food Allergies: A Responsible Approach
I have one hard and fast rule when it comes to waiting tables. No one dies on my watch. I have had several guests leave the restaurant in an ambulance, but none of them have died. It is a simple thing, but it helps me sleep better at night. I may not be changing the […]
Chef Nicolette: An Introduction
A few years ago I had the opportunity to work with a very talented and passionate pantry cook named Nicolette. She left not long after I started to attend culinary school. I advised against it. She has since graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and become an accomplished pastry chef. I asked her to […]
Set Schedules As A Manager
One of the most time consuming tasks a manager faces during the week is writing the server schedule. Hours can be spent digging up scraps of paper and consulting server availability just to get coverage for a particular shift.  This is followed by the inevitable complaints from people who work too little or too much. […]
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.