Restaurant Talking Points

Last week I was watching Cinderella with my daughters during our Friday Family Movie Night. I love the part where the fairy godmother uses her magic wand to create the carriage and ensemble to take Cinderella to the ball. While I was watching that I was thinking to myself; I wish I had a magic wand!

That wand would be helpful when we receive calls to discuss how to get a service team to be Remarkable. I could then just wave my wand and poof, your old service team would be gone and a shiny, new and Remarkable service team would appear.

Ok now back to the reality. Let’s take your current service team and prepare them to be Remarkable.

In our Elements of Service workbook we teach the Remarkable Service Cycle. Maybe it’s because the first stage of the cycle isn’t “sexy” but for whatever reason we’ve only had one article written about the Preparation stage in four years of Service Talk.

It’s because of an experience I had yesterday that I feel we need to talk about the Preparation stage. (I’m not going to talk about that experience. It may take a magic wand but I’m hoping they will read this article and think “a-ha, we need to change some things around here”)

There is no guest interaction during the Preparation stage but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. Ben Franklin said “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

The Service Cycle is repeated for each new guest so the server will go through the Preparation stage several times during the shift. And if done correctly you will see a more engaged service team, better guest impressions, increased sales and the guest will be more apt to leave having had a Remarkable experience.

3 Steps to A Successful Preparation Stage

===> 1. Prepare Yourself

A well-groomed appearance communicates professionalism and creates a great first impression. Uniform or clothing should be pressed and spotless. What’s that saying, “The Clothes make the man”? This can certainly be true for servers.

Stained aprons are a no-no, hair should be tied back and please wear a belt when possible. Hand washing is important for many reason and don’t forget to clean the fingernails.

Owners/Managers, put a mirror where the staff can check themselves during their shift.

===> 2. Prepare the Dinning Area

It’s a big turn-off to be seated at a dirty table. I also tell servers that even if you have bussers cleaning and setting the table, it is ultimately your responsibility to make sure everything is prepared correctly for the guest. If it’s not clean or there aren’t plates on the table for the bread or the seats are wet, guess who gets blamed……YOU!

===>3. Know the Daily Menu Changes

It’s very discouraging to hear a server say “I’ll have to go check with the kitchen” when my wife asks about the soup of the day. Lots of blame to go around for this but I tend to blame management. A servers lack of knowledge around the daily items and specials means management isn’t pre-shifting.

Every server on the floor should know the soups, daily specials and 86′d items. Managers should be quizzing their staff before and during the shift. It’s hard to maximize a ticket average when you don’t know these simple things.

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Remarkable Service doesn’t just happen in your establishment. There is no magic wand to wave around. There is no silver bullet. It’s takes training and consistent reinforcement. Now go prepare to be Remarkable!

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?

Running a pre-shift meeting is like flossing your teeth. Everyone knows you need to floss at least once a day but for whatever reason some people just don’t do it. And just as there are consequences for not flossing, skipping pre-shifts can impact your bottom line.

If you are not interested in building service consistencies, or teamwork, or even educated and motivated team members then maybe pre-shifts aren’t for you. But for the rest of you they should be an integral part of your daily operations and part of your communication strategy.

Communication is very important to any business and pre-shifts are a great communication tool. A tool that creates a structure to assure the whole team is aware of what is going on in the business, market and community.

Here are some guidelines for running a successful Pre-Shift. By Following these simple Do’s and Don’ts you will achieve success in this important training function.

Do Plan - I’m sure you have heard the saying “managers don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan”. Our clients utilize a pre-shift template that helps them plan the meetings. Having a template tends to help ensure a very smooth & consistent running pre-shift.

Specific things to talk about include the daily specials, soups of the day and any 86x items. Talk about restaurant goals, team goals and any goals or objectives you have for different areas of your team, like Servers, Cooks, Bussers, Hosts and such.

Do KISS - Not figuratively of course because kissing all of your team members could lead to some legal issues. KISS stands for Keep it Short and Sweet. And by short I mean really short. Two minutes, three tops. These meetings should be quick hits that inform, instruct and motivate right before the revenue period starts.

When your staff hits the floor you want lots of positive energy so keep the meeting sweet & positive. No sour grapes during these gatherings. There is a time and place for reprimand and negative issues and this isn’t it.

Do Focus - Focus on one primary area to talk about. Whether it’s maximizing sales, providing remarkable service or menu knowledge, pick one topic and focus on that area during your meeting.

Don’t do all the Talking - You want to keep your teams attention so make the meetings interactive. For example when you mention the daily specials have someone give a sales presentation around one of those specials or ask servers what their check average goal for the day is. Try and come up with questions you can bounce off your team where they have to respond.

Don’t Forget to Recognize Team Members - Everyone likes to be hear that they are doing a great job. When that recognition is done in front of their peers that makes it even better. Look not only for individuals to recognize but teams as well.

There, no more excuses about not knowing how to run or what to talk about during a pre-shift. We will also soon be releasing a DVD that will not only talk about how to run an effective pre-shift but will also show real examples of our clients engaged in a pre-shift. Until then follow these guidelines and you will soon be reaping the benefits of a well coached wait staff team. And don’t forget to floss!

I celebrated my wedding anniversary last week. As I look back, two things amaze me. Number one, I convinced a beautiful, smart woman to be my wife and number two, how important timing has been during our relationship.

Timing played an important role when I asked her out on our first date, leaned in for the first kiss, called for the second date, asked for her hand in marriage, and timing was critical when I broke the news that during our last garage sale I accidentally sold a few things that her mother had given us. Yes, timing was and is very important in our relationship.

In the restaurant world timing is everything. From the guest’s point of view, timing can be the difference between an average experience and a remarkable one.

Timing is important when delivering drinks to the table, delivering an entree after a salad, checking back to make sure their food is OK and on and on. But there are 3 critical timing periods during a guest experience that I want to make sure you focus on when training your service staff.

==> 1.  Initial greeting

Technically this isn’t a timing issue because there shouldn’t be a lapse in time. :) A top priority should be an immediate greeting for guests who enter your establishment. Guests want and need to feel welcome and important. A big first step towards meeting those needs is a prompt and gracious greeting.

A common mistake I see owners and managers make is letting the staff believe that the greeting is only the job of the host or hostess. A huge pet peeve of mine is when I walk into a restaurant and the host is seating someone but there are servers near the front that don’t offer a greeting. Train your service staff to always be looking for ways to create hospitality.

We work with one client that has their entire team greet the guests when they enter and depart the restaurant.

==> 2.  Service greeting

This is the point where the server greets the table. I’ve talked about this before so I’ll keep this point brief. Once the guests are seated, keep the wait time under two minutes. And if you want to be better then average, keep the service greeting time under 30 seconds and the drink delivery time under two minutes.

==> 3.  Check Please

If you keep a guest waiting for their check after they have finished their meal you will see the tip percentage fall. We’re not a patient society and when a guest is ready to leave they want the check and they want the check turned around now! Managing time during this stage of the service cycle is critical. There are a couple of steps we teach in our training:

    1. Calculate the check beforehand so that you can present it to the guest without delay.
    2. Inquire first if there is anything else you can bring for the guest. Don’t rush the guest. Say, “This is just for your convenience. I’ll take care of it when you’re ready.”
    3. Monitor the table to be aware of when the guest has finished with the check so that you can process and return in under 2 minutes.

Make sure your staff doesn’t dampen an otherwise outstanding service experience by neglecting a guest that mentally has already left your establishment.

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Timing is everything during the dining experience. Make sure you talk with your staff about how to use timing to create a positive experience for your guests. And if the timing is right, those guests will remain regulars for at least 11 years!

As a business that works directly with restaurants I have the opportunity to talk with owners and operators from all over North America. They call us for a variety of different reasons. Some want to talk about the details our new Quick Service training program. Some want to learn more about how email marketing can help their establishment. But most call to see if we can help them with their service training needs.

All of these “Service issue” fall into one of three categories.

1. The service team is full of order-takers.
2. Their service team is less then remarkable.
3. Restaurant isn’t open yet but looking for staff training resources. (Good for you! Be sure and contact us if you fall into this category.)

Does your establishment fall into any of these categories? For this article let’s talk about service issue #1, order-takers.

I was talking on the telephone recently with an owner who was complaining to me about his staff, and I quote ”I have a bunch of vending machines with legs walking around here”. Now that’s a great visual!

Unfortunately this is a very common problem that we see and hear about. But there is some good news. It’s easy to fix because your team wants to fix it.

That’s right. You have a problem that your staff wants to help you fix. Before you call me crazy let me explain.

Restaurants and their service staff share the same goal; both want to make as much money as possible.

Both sides know the best way to do this is to build customer loyalty. And you build that loyalty by providing guests with the best possible experience. In order to provide that experience your team has to drop the order-taker attitude and become server-sellers.

Being a successful server-seller is not a skill that one is born with. It’s not something you wake up one day and decide to be or do. No, the only way to get your staff to the promise land is through education and training. Any service training you provide your staff should include a section on becoming a server-seller.

A Server-Seller:

=== > 1. Knows that selling is a part of providing Remarkable Service

Selling doesn’t have to refer to the kind of hard sales pitch you might hear at a used car lot. Selling, in this context, can be a matter of making the right suggestion at the right time. It can be recognizing that your guest has a need and coming up with the best way to satisfy that need.

This isn’t pushing something unwanted on your guest, it is understanding exactly what he or she wants and guiding them to it.

===> 2. Knows that selling is a triple win

The guest is happy because they had a wonderful experience. The restaurant is successful because the guest will become a regular. When your restaurant is successful, the wait staff has an opportunity to serve more people and thus make more money. And with an increased check average they make more in tips. That’s a triple win.

As a final benefit, when the restaurant is successful, working there is more enjoyable for team members which cuts down on turnover which saves money.

 ===> 3. Makes the guest feel pampered

There’s a difference between someone who merely takes orders and someone who is successful at serving guests. The person who merely takes orders is missing the opportunity to make the customer feel cared for and pampered.

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A good server-seller helps your guests to make decisions that will increase his or her satisfaction. Bottom line: The guest leaves happy with the experience they had at your establishment. And make no mistake; your guests are looking for an experience. Food they can buy at the grocery store for far less money. What they get from you is an experience that the server-seller provides.