Restaurant Talking Points

Yes, it’s a well-worn road to say that service is of paramount importance, but it’s a road that must be traveled often to ensure a restaurant’s success. Quality of service immediately impacts a restaurant’s bottom line, and instilling a Remarkable Service attitude not only benefits the restaurant, but also the server.

With that thought, let me share a conversation that occurred after a recent Maximizing Sales session at a Minneapolis restaurant.

One of the class participants came to me after the program to share her exuberance for the event. She was thrilled that her employer cared enough about the guest experience that training was ongoing, relevant and timely. The service professional was clearly demonstrating an attitude of gratitude and was excited to get to share this learning with her guests. The discussion advanced, and I asked her to share with me her goals for 2008.

Her answer?

“I will earn $100,000 as a server!”

Yes, you read that correctly. Of course, this conversation led to more questions, such as, “How much did you earn last year?”

With great pride, she responded, “$92,000.”

And no, she was not working more than 40 hours per week. It should also be said that the Minneapolis restaurant in which she works is definitely upscale, but not fine dining. Still, $92,000 last year, with a goal for $100,000 in 2008? What does a server do to earn that level of compensation? Her answer:

“I write 17 to 25 personalized, handwritten ‘Thank You’ notes every shift that I work. Over 70 percent of my tables on a given night are repeat guests who I have developed a relationship with. My employer even mails my ‘Thank You’ notes for me and puts on the stamp, and we also enclose a bounce back card!”

From this conversation, some questions for all restaurateurs to ask themselves are:

• What is this frontline employee worth to this restaurant?

• Based on a 20 percent tip factor, what sales dollars need to be generated to earn this return?

• How many $100,000-a-year servers do I have on my team?

• And, finally, perhaps the most important question: What would I do to keep this server representing me?