Everyone here at One Fat Frog Restaurant Equipment shares a common bond with anyone else out in the world: we’ve all been to good restaurants that are known for good service. You don’t have to be a four-star restaurant and charge four-star prices to still give four-star service, however. Going to a sit-down restaurant is about the experience as much as it is about the food and the atmosphere. Of course, all good service starts from the top down, so here are some useful hints to restaurant managers on how to give your customers a four-star experience.
-When you go to hire someone, obviously you want someone with the experience you prefer for your business. Of course, sometimes you can’t always find those people. Something worth remembering is that there are always those hiding in the weeds, so when you need someone, don’t fear straying outside of the norm to find people. You might get that gut feeling about someone from talking to them and take a shot with them, and sometimes you might be right.
-Once your people are in line, make sure they are well trained. While little things can be delegated to other staff who have been there for a while, make sure you take up the bulk of the training yourself. If you can’t, have another manager do it. Show them everything from the kitchen to the service stations, and make sure they know the ins and outs of the facility. Also get them up to speed on the menu and various parts of it. We’ve all heard our servers run through the list of sides that go with different meals, so make sure you know them as well.
-If something changes, make sure your staff is aware of it. An uninformed server leads to misinformation to the customer, and that break down can lead to a problem. If you run out of turkey or the popular beer, make sure everyone knows right away so they are aware. Not only should they be aware of changes, but also every other thing. I’ve once heard a story about a bartender who worked at a bar for a year and didn’t know where the ice machine was. Don’t let that happen to you!
-Your service staff needs the right attitude. Make sure that the people serving are in good moods and show it, and that will translate to the customers. Also, keep morale up. Teamwork is vital to that. If you see a server, particularly a new one, who seems a bit overwhelmed, make sure that he’s not left out in the cold. Have someone help him, or help him yourself. There is no ‘I’ in your team, so keep it together.
-Lastly, keep an eye out with that ‘sixth sense’ of serving. If you can read a guest, you know what needs to be done to either make their experience a good one or improve something that is off. This can be so important to the view of the restaurant; a place that can understand and attend to a customer without a word being spoken is the epitome of four-star service.
A lot of this stuff is obvious, as it should be. But you’d be amazed how often this stuff can be missed or neglected. Don’t let that happen to your restaurant. Make sure you’ve got the right staff, as the right staff leads to a good experience, and a good experience leads to repeat business, which is then referred to new business, which leads to a profit. And that’s really what it’s all about.
One Fat Frog Restaurant Equipment
One Fat Frog • 11473 S. Orange Blossom Trail • Orlando, FL • 407-480-3409
One Fat Frog • 1137 W. Airport Blvd. • Sanford, FL • 407-936-2733
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