To be half capable at this job you will need to be able to read your tables.
Customers eat out for a huge variety of reasons. Some need to get out of the house, others are celebrating a special occasion. Some may eat out all the time and others have guests over and want to show off their local joint. If your table is celebrating their first anniversary then I doubt they will want a 5 minute wine explanation. On the other hand, when dining out to impress someone, the customer will expect everything to be perfect. With each table comes a different set of needs, when you figure out how to read these needs you will be ahead of the game and on the way to waiter greatness!
How many times have you wished that your guests read the f…..g dining out rule book? Have you ever felt like screaming out “For god’s sake man, don’t you know I am trying to do my f….g job here and you can’t even get with the f…..g program! Do you want a f……g pre-dinner drink or not? If not then shut the f..k up and tell me so I can serve the other 40 f……g guests in my section!”
Well as much as this can seem appealing at the time it more often than not demonstrates that we have not read the table’s needs. Let them be, let them talk all they want, let them have a good time. Once you know how to read people you will easily morph between wine buff and the casual waiter that is neither seen nor heard.
I have been whistled at, clicked at and yelled at to get my attention. None of them felt good to start with but as I developed my skills I started to feel pissed off with myself when a guest had needed to get my attention. How did I let it get to a point where they needed me and I was not there? DAMN IT! So I quickly learned to read my tables and life became so much easier. Pre-empt everything, this is my room and no one knows it better than me. You come in to my section and I am going to nail you. I will think of it before you do, I will have it filled before it is emptied, I will solve it before it becomes a problem. You will never know the skill it takes because I am going to make it look easy.
I don’t know how many times I have seen meals returned for not being cooked properly when it CLEARLY STATED, RARE BEEF SALAD! But again we blame the guest. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Every single rare beef salad order after that was followed by a very quick, “you are happy with the beef being very rare sir?” and alas, no more returns, no more stressed chef, no more angry waiter and no more uncomfortable guest. It’s not really rocket science is it?
I swear this job is the practical side of psychology. It is ironic really that as practicing psychologists, after a few years in our industry we all generally need to see one?!?!
READ YOUR GUEST!
#1 by simauma at April 27th, 2010
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#2 by Alycia at May 25th, 2010
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I had the same problem with customers asked wether their berries were supposed to be frozen, when it clearly stated on the menu Iced Berries! I have since told the chef he should probably thaw his berries enough that the customer can at least bite into the berry!