How to Wait Tables

Video Transcript

"There are a few other things that you need to know about, what a server should be doing, what a server shouldn't be doing. Number one, a server should show up for work at least fifteen minutes before the shift, that's on time, they should be in uniform. A lot of places have solid color uniforms. No buttons, no nothing to to distract from the customer interaction. The customer is forced to look at your face if everything else on you is black, everything else on you is white. Not a lot of distractions. Second thing, you want to make sure that you're not too bummie, buddy-buddy with a with a customers. You can have a a very pleasant time with them, but you are not their best pals, and you never want to sit down at a chair and take an order from a customer. That is very unprofessional. You find the host or the hostess of the party, you you speak with them, you say, you know, you welcome them to your establishment. You tell them your name, because you know what? If you do a great job, they're going to come back and ask you, ask for you specifically next time and if you build those regular customers, those are the kinds of employees that restaurant owners love because people will seek them out. Always make sure to offer cocktail drinks before, anybody would like a cocktail or anything like that. Put the wine list down, put the menus out, talk about any of your specials. In the mean time, once, if somebody's ordered cocktails, the customers could be looking over the menu. At that point, one thing that I find is a big pet peeve of mine, personally, when I go out, is that people want you to choose your wine before you've picked out your food. I've made no bones about it and told servers before that I will be happy to choose my wine after everybody has ordered their food so we can pick some, pick a wine, hopefully, that will match everybody's pallet, everybody's taste for the food that they picked out for that evening. After the food is down, go seat another table really quickly, check on them or maybe pour somebody a, refill their water, and then come right back because if somebody's food is not correct, there's nothing worse than having to wait for ten minutes while everyone else's food is going, they consume or or everyone else's food is getting cold because they're waiting for the incorrect food to be fixed. Clear the table as shown before, and then go ahead and bring out the next course from the left side, if it's eaten with a fork, from the right side if it's eaten with a spoon. Always clear from the right. Refill drinks often. Never ever empty a bottle of wine on the first round around the table because then it seems like the host or hostess may be cheap and you never want them to look that way in front of their customers, in front in front of their guests. Even if there's fifteen people, you make that fifth, you make that one seven-fifty milliliter bottle make it for fifteen pours so everybody gets some and then you leave it back with a with a host or hostess and then they can tell you if they would like to have another bottle of wine for the table or not. Check back often but not in a pushy way. Just come back and, a lot of times, just eye contact will will make customers very happy. You know when they may be looking for something else, they have that look where they're looking around for you, you want to make sure they don't have to look around for you long, then you want to make sure that when you are not busy, which is never in a restaurant, but when you don't have anything pressing right then, you want to be where you can be seen by the people at your tables to make sure that, you can get that eye contact and don't pull one of these if you see somebody with eye contact and and turn away. That is the worst, 'cause that, anybody whose whose in the restaurant business knows that knows that trick and they'll be really mad at you. And who tips better than restaurant employees? Bring the check out, put it down, wait for the tender on the payment, never ask if people want change for that. They will volunteer that if they do...if they say "keep the change" if it's if it's cash. Never a you know, say they pay with a hundred dollar bill and a the tip the the bill itself was ninety dollars, you bring back ten dollars. You bring 'em back exact change if it was ninety-five forty-two, you bring 'em back the exact change. That's a, it's not rude that way. Once they've once they're have finished everything up, you clear up the table, thank them, ask them, make sure you ask them to return. You can tell them your name again and wish them on their way."