Taking Your Service to the Next Level
Everyone has good days and bad days, but the greatest thing about working in the hospitality industry is how much control you have over doing your job. Your shift is truly your shift to manage, your tables truly your tables, with nobody looking over your shoulder too much (hopefully).
Given how much we rely on tips in the industry, it’s fair to say you are self-employed in many ways. Adopting the attitude that you are your own boss when it comes to how you work your tables can go a long way toward upping your job satisfaction and empowering you to truly take your career to the next level.
Here are some tips to help you take on the vibe of being the boss of yourself:
Have a Consistent Schedule
As hard as it can be, try to keep your schedule as consistent as possible every week. This can allow you to develop relationships with regulars, who in turn will continue returning to your restaurant and start requesting your section. That’s how you become the server or bartender people ask for, and that’s how you rise to the top.
Once your shifts are scheduled, be there! Of course, be your best, and all that, which you already know, but the key here is consistency over time to build a clientele for yourself. Even one customer asking about you will raise your reputation hugely.
Own Your Tables
Worry more about whether “your people” are taken care of than whether it’s “your job” to do whatever they need. If someone is falling short and it’s impacting your tables, definitely address it directly after your shift is over, but do everything you can to keep it from splashing on your customers during your shift.
If there’s something you can’t do or something you don’t know, say so but that you’ll be right back with the solution or answer. Just because it’s not “your fault” something isn’t ideal doesn’t mean you don’t still take ownership for your own tables.
Use Time Where It Counts and Save Time Elsewhere
Try to steal time in ways customers don’t notice. Anytime you’re in your section, be sure to check on all of your tables before heading back to the kitchen. That doesn’t mean you have to say something to every table each time you’re in your section. Rather, make sure you’re at least looking at all of your tables for anything they might need so you can consolidate your work. Don’t make multiple trips back to the kitchen if you can get everything at once. Never bring anything to the table without also taking something away with you.
Ask about condiments when you take an order and bring them with the order rather than waiting until the food is placed and coming back. Cover your whole section at once, not table-by-table.
Don’t go back to the kitchen or to the bar multiple times for different tables. Consolidate your steps as much as possible. Of course, it’s impossible to do this 100%, but try to move in a regular pattern to the extent possible.
More Server Skills to Master
A few of the real-world skills you’ll find will greatly improve your performance — and your tips!
- Technology Literacy: Utilize point-of-sale systems, reservation software, and other digital tools efficiently. If you can’t get training or practice time, find helpful videos online.
- Communicate with Confidence: One of the most under-appreciated skills of being a restaurant server is how much public speaking it involves. Every shift requires you to stand in front of your guests, sometimes many of them, command their attention, and speak to them about their dining experience. This can be nerve-racking, but it’s a crucial part of the job and a skill that you can master and utilize in other parts of your life and career.
- First Aid and CPR Certification: Respond effectively in emergency situations, ensuring the safety and well-being of guests and colleagues. CPR Certification can be essential for a public-facing role like yours.
No Problems, Only Solutions When It Comes To Restaurant Serving
Don’t just simply identify a problem and complain about it to management — propose a solution. You’re on the front lines and know which solutions will work best and which won’t.
Do what you can to take control of your circumstances by proposing the solutions that let you to serve your customers the way you want to.
Same principle applies with customers — Don’t just say why they can’t have what they asked for, give them a better suggestion of what they can have.
BASSET On The Fly Has Your Back
At BASSET On The Fly, we’ve been exactly where you are, and we’ve got your back! Our online On-Premise and Off-Premise BASSET certification courses are only $12.99 and completely self-paced, so you can proceed through the course material as quickly or slowly as you want. Enroll today!
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