What Does it Take to Be a Server in a Restaurant?

Many skills and qualities are necessary for a person to become a great server in a restaurant. These include Suggestive selling, upselling, and balancing priorities.

Skills required

A good server will be able to handle a variety of customers. They can give advice about alcohol pairings, answer questions and take orders.

Servers are the face of a restaurant. They need to be polite, friendly, and attentive. Customers will return if the server can provide them with a good experience.

The best servers can deal with various customers, including unhappy ones. You can only be a good server if you handle criticism well. Your attitude is vital to the success of the restaurant.

An excellent memory is one of the most important skills you can have as a server. You need to be able to remember what your customers ordered. It’s also important to memorize the menu and specials.

Tip culture

The history of tipping in the restaurant industry is a complex one. Historically, racial segregation has disproportionately affected women and people of color.

Tipping is a common expectation in restaurants. Although the concept is not legally required in the United States, most customers are okay with leaving a few dollars on the table. Leaving a tip is common in Canada, too.

Tips are a sign of good service, but they also play an important role in the income of most restaurant workers. In a study of the United States, one in five women could not earn the minimum wage without a tip.

The practice of tipping has been around for centuries. It has become a social norm in some countries, such as Canada, where the average server makes about $17 to $18 an hour in tips.

Upselling

Upselling is an important part of a server job. Although it isn’t always required, it can be a good way to earn extra cash. As long as you approach it the right way, you can be successful at upselling and making your customers happy simultaneously.

For starters, you should know the menu well enough to offer recommendations to your customer. Make sure to keep up with what is new and popular. When you suggest an item from the menu, show a photo so the customer can easily see what it looks like.

It would help if you also considered recommending a complementary beverage or side dish. This is a small way to upsell a customer. Customers will appreciate the courtesy and may be more likely to try a side dish or drink that complements their meal.

Suggestive selling

Suggestive selling is a technique that can be used by restaurant staff to improve customer satisfaction and make more money. It’s also a great way to build customer loyalty. A loyal customer is more likely to return to your restaurant and spend more, which will help your overall sales.

Using suggestive selling in your restaurant requires careful preparation and training. You’ll want to ensure that all your staff is well-trained in this practice. For starters, ensure they know what is on the menu, how to serve and present the items, and how to create good food pairings.

When using suggestive selling, it’s important to avoid being pushy. Customers prefer to avoid feeling pressured into making a decision. Instead, use descriptive language when explaining a dish. In addition, make sure that you use gestures to show your customer that you care.

Balancing priorities

If you’re in the food service industry, you have been in the business for at least a few years. In those days, you probably had a job title that didn’t involve the front-of-house service. As such, you’re not exactly privy to all the latest technology, and you’ll be relying on your brain power to get the job done. Luckily, there are a few nifty tools of the trade that can help keep you in the game. Getting a handle on these may take some of the grit out of your hands, but it will pay off in the long run. The most common challenge in this job is getting your mind out of the gutter, but luckily, there are a few simple solutions that you can use to keep your head in the clouds.