How to Survive Working in a Restaurant
I read somewhere that waiting tables is the second most stressful job behind being a brain surgeon. After working for years in the restaurant industry in which part of that time was dedicated to waiting tables I can honestly believe it. I wanted to share my knowledge on how to deal with particular situations a waiter/waitress might encounter.
STEP #1: Always start off with a friendly and helpful disposition. You should first introduce yourself, let the customers know you will be there server and ask them if you can start them off with something to drink. Also inform them that if they need anything they should not hesitate to ask you. Light conversation is ok but you don’t want to create an awkward vibe especially if they’re trying to eat.
STEP #2: If something goes wrong in the kitchen and the order tends to take longer it is best to be honest with your customers. Let them know what’s going on and you’ll see what you can do. If you try to cover up the situation that will make the customers feel left out of the situation and they will become mad, confused, and constantly wondering where their food is. Perhaps if you pull your manager aside and explain the situation he/she may give them a discount, a free appetizer, or a free dessert.
STEP #3: The worst-case scenario is having a customer that is high maintenance or they seem to just be flat out agitated. The worst way a server can handle this is to engage in an argument with the customer. Even if you’re right the customer still wins because nine times out of ten when it comes to the customer service industry the customer is always right (and you’ll just end up angry and upset). The best thing to do is to kill them with kindness and if they continue to try and cause trouble it is best just to let them know that a manager will be right with them.
STEP #4: Nothing is more upsetting than at the end of the meal, when you grab the check, and you find that the customers left without paying. Unfortunately this happens more often than people realize. For this reason alone it is important to always keep an eye on your tables to ensure that something like this won’t happen. Sadly some restaurants will actually make the server pay for the meal because the restaurant will end up losing money if they don’t.
STEP #5: So what happens if your customers don’t tip you? I found that it depends on the situation. If you feel that you did an adequate job and you deserved to be paid than there is a dignified way to go about it. If you see the check has been left with no tip you should politely go up to the customer and let them know that you apologize if the service was bad but that you would like to know what you did wrong to make them not want to tip you. If you’re really polite about it and you know you have been nothing but helpful they might actually admit that they may have forgotten to tip you. If they’re stubborn about it you should let the manager know and if they come back again the manager can monitor the situation.
TIPS and WARNINGS: Serving is not the type of job where you should go in to work sick. It is unsanitary to serve food if you are spreading sick germs. Depending on how ill you are the customers will notice and it will make them very uncomfortable about eating. It is best to let your supervisor know that you are really ill and that you probably shouldn’t work.
CREDITS: http://www.ehow.com/how_2102486_survive-working-restaurant.html
