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Archive for category Blog - Life as a Waiter

Milk the Customer

Sep 5

Posted by Shaun Cooper in Blog - Life as a Waiter

I was recently out and about in the lovely city of Gothenburg, Sweden.  My wife and I were showing an Aussie friend around our new town. 

Inevitably it came to the point in the day when our thoughts turned to where we can have a feed and a few drinks.  We found a place called the Avalon Hotel, which is a boutique style hotel in the heart of the city centre.  It has quite a large outside seating area, which is perfect on a warm (Swedish style) Summer’s day. So we stroll in, looking for a table, with the full intention of parking ourselves there [read more...]

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Greeting guests as they arrive at your restaurant

Jun 22

Posted by Mark Wilson in Blog - Life as a Waiter

Our industry is a very personal one. We are working face to face with our customers in an upfront manner. This emphasizes the influence of First Impressions.

 

A waiter that walks straight past a guest at the door or someone trying to get your attention is stating “we do not prioritize you or your needs, so you should go some where else” which is exactly what they’ll do! Rude & arrogant waiters that don’t acknowledge people immediately will automatically get people off-side. No amount of [read more...]

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Ten Basic Rules Of A Good Waiter

Jun 18

Posted by Mark Wilson in Blog - Life as a Waiter

Here are 10 basic rules to help you be a good waiter. These rules are a combination of industry standards, tradition and cultural expectations. We acknowledge that in many cases these rules do not or cannot apply. However it is important to know how something is done correctly before you start making decisions to do it differently.

I advise that where ever possible that you do things the right way & do them with pride. Professionalism is created by the choices we make and the actions we take.

A more comprehensive explanation on each of these topics will appear in Waiter/Manager Support.

1   [read more...]

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Selling dishes that must be moved

Jun 4

Posted by Mark Wilson in Blog - Life as a Waiter

In most venues waiters are asked to sell certain dishes. There are a number of reasons for this. Perhaps the chef has found a great bulk buy on a product or a cheap cut of meat to maximize profits. Perhaps the particular dish was ordered for a cancelled function or there was excess from that function. Maybe the oysters need to be sold fresh and will spoil if not sold. All of this is necessary to ensure the venue is profitable and your job is viable.

A guest may ask what is good on your menu so rather than answer with [read more...]

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Reading Your Guest

Apr 15

Posted by Mark Wilson in Blog - Life as a Waiter

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 [read more...]

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Presenting the Menu

Feb 22

Posted by Mark Wilson in Blog - Life as a Waiter

There are no right or wrong ways to present a menu but it is important that you know the house rules and the kind of service that your establishment is looking for in order to have consistency.

There are a couple of ways to present a menu.  If you have a nice menu cover you may wish to present the menu closed so the customer may admire the cover.  If this is not necessary then you may wish to present an opened menu for the customer.  It is a little bit of extra service.

This can be very helpful when a dessert page [read more...]

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Serving Wine

Feb 21

Posted by Lee Middendorf in Blog - Life as a Waiter

I think it’s a fair comment that over the last ten years there has been quite a decline in the manner in which wine is being served, especially in the Australian café scene.  Here are a few examples - I’ve sat at a ‘table service’ eatery and ordered a bottle of wine.  When the ‘server’ returned with the wine it was merely plonked on the table in a wine bucket, quickly followed by the departure of said server.  Sure the wine had a screw cap closure so we didn’t need to be carrying any ‘fancy’ old school equipment like, lets say, ‘a [read more...]

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Ten Tips for Better Tips

Feb 19

Posted by Mark Wilson in Blog - Life as a Waiter

1.  If a guest is celebrating a special occasion, print out a copy of the menu and sign it on behalf of the staff & offer it as a memento.  Anniversaries are perfect.

2.  When a cocktail is ordered that no one knows how to make, or a guest says, ‘I had this amazing cocktail at………’ - call the venue they just talked about and ask them how to make it or look it up on the web.  We once called a hotel in the U.S from Australia to get a recipe.

3.  Whenever you sense that a male is taking his [read more...]

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Dietary Requirements

Feb 17

Posted by Shaun Cooper in Blog - Life as a Waiter

As a waiter, every single night you will come across a guest that has some form of special dietary requirement.  Some of these requirements may seem a little far fetched, however it is imperitive that we listen to the guests’ needs and do our very best to accommodate them in order to avoid any unwanted health incidents.

We would like to name a few that we have come across on a regular basis, and specify the needs associated with each.  Of course there will be other requirements that I do not cover and would love to hear comments from other waiters out there in [read more...]

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Presenting a Bill

Feb 15

Posted by Mark Wilson in Blog - Life as a Waiter

There are a few potential sensitive spots that relate to bill presentation;

1.  A BILL SHOULD NEVER BE PRESENTED UNLESS REQUESTED BY A CUSTOMER!

2.  Don’t retrieve the bill too quickly, unless it is obviously ready to be paid.  This can seem pushy and some guests take their time in paying!

3.   Always return any left over cash to the table - don’t assume it has been left for a tip.

A good waiter will always know where their tables are up to.  This form of anticipation is important for any good, professional service.  If desserts have been ordered or menus offered then it is a [read more...]

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