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| Waiter Training Newsletter |
“Tricks” and Treats of the Trade
Happy Halloween! It’s that spooky time of year and little ghosts and goblins will soon be knocking on our doors asking for treats. If we treat them well, as expected, we won’t get tricked! I think the same goes for restaurants and how well we treat our guests.
Many times I’m asked to go train in places where morale is low or the hiring pool is rather shallow – sometimes both situations are happening. Sometimes, it’s as simple as a lack of education and empowerment.
Recently, I had a class of servers who didn’t understand the power they had when dealing with guests and the occasional “sticky” situation. They didn’t understand that a manager is probably not needed when a guest’s eggs are simply not cooked to order. We devoted much time to dealing with these small issues and bigger ones, too. Basically, the company and management wanted their staffs to be empowered to handle any situation until it was clear they couldn’t make a guest happy – then they could get a manager to step in. They thought they had conveyed this message in orientation and initial training.
However, they’re dealing with many young people for whom this is their first serving job. They weren’t given the tools to deal with even the smallest situation. I don’t believe the corporation did anything wrong; I think they underestimated the amount of confidence and knowledge their servers actually possess.
We role-played everything from the greeting to the salutation, of course; when it came to the “Calming the Cranky Customer” session, many discrepancies were discovered. Managers knew going in that they were giving too many discounts and freebies to rectify situations that, if handled properly in the beginning, would not have gone as far as they did. We dealt with some awkward and uncomfortable situations that even some managers admitted they weren’t comfortable doing!
These are the most fun to work with! If it’s awkward and uncomfortable in the safety of a training session, imagine how awful it must be on the floor in front of actual customers! So we worked it and worked it – ad nauseum – and we had some breakthroughs – treats, if you will! One manager in particular realized he didn’t have to give away so much free food and give so many discounts. He learned some “tricks” to keep the customer happy and make sure he wasn’t giving away the house. He tried it the very next day and, much to his delight, it worked!
That was the highlight victory; there were many more small ones. Management agreed that we could tell most people had more confidence and walked with a little more pride in their steps. It’s amazing what a little knowledge and practice can do for a team!
Just for clarification purposes, the “tricks” I’m talking about aren’t deceptive or under-handed in the least. They are merely words and techniques to control the guest and his dining experience with your restaurant. Most people don’t go out with the intention of having a problem and getting their meals for free; most of them want to have a seamless dining experience. If something goes wrong, people just want someone to care enough to correct the situation quickly and without a big to-do.
You might be wondering what those “tricks” are. Hey! This is a free newsletter – not a free training session!
Training and information is the key! Contact me, Susie, at Waiter Training, either by phone or email. My business number is (720) 203-4615, and email address is Susie@waiter-training.com. Web address is http://www.waiter-training.com.
Excellence is an act won by training and habituation.
We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence,
but rather we have those because we have acted rightly.
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.- Aristotle
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