Trainees
In my three years of expirience at the restaurant game; at the same restaurant. I have developed seniority. There are only 4 or 5 other people, including managers, that have been here longer than me. This means a few things. First, I get fair game on my schedule. Second, people ask me EVERYTHING. Last, I have to train a lot.
Today I had a nice guy, ill call him danny. He is the younger brother of an old bartender that used to work with me. Hes one of those guys thats physically old but you doubt their mental age. Or at least some neurons arent firing properly. Being on his fourth day of training (out of 5), I assumed it would be a breeze and he would take all my tables. My manager begged to differ. She mentioned that he had quite a bit of trouble with the computer. This makes the basics and training very difficult. If you arent at least somewhat profficient with the basics of the computer, your tables wait longer for everything from being greeted to getting refills. Im proud to say that by the end of the shift, he had more than the basics down.
There are a few things that always happen with newbies if this is their first waiting job.
1 - They are scared to talk to total strangers
2 - They run away from tables without finishing what they are supposed to do
3 - They are quiet talkers
4 - They have yet to create a routine and so they must remember every step
5 - They dont know where anything is
Now the last one is a "Duh" kind of thing. That is just a matter of learning things as you go along. The first three bullets on the other hand are more of a matter of them not being used to talking to complete strangers. In a restaurant you need to be confident enough to talk to a patron to get the necessary information to make sure they have a good time. It takes a certain level of self worth to do more than just ask what they want to drink. You should put personality to it. After all, waiting tables is probably the closest thing to legal prostitution. You sell yourself, not just the food. If you arent sure of what youre doing, newbies tend to run away to hide themselves from such a social situation.
My biggest peeve are those who dont talk loud enough. There are no free tables around you and everyone in the whole place is talking, how is anyone going to hear you mumble the soups we have today? Again, this is confidence. Quiet talkers do not think that what they have to say is worth while or they are just too scared to say it any louder. I try to beat this out of my trainees as soon as possible. It will save them grief and it will help out their customers. Any good waiter can easily be heard down a large booth ment for 8 without being annoying sounding or too loud.
Number 4 is one of my favorite things to teach my pupils. A well oiled routine will help you not only get things efficiently but also gets every base you need to touch. In the waiting game, the more tables you can take, the more money you can make. The only reason newbies cant take a lot of tables is because they havent established a routine yet that will allow them more time to get more tables.
Heres a good example. One table wants the check, one table needs drinks, one table needs some mustard and you just got sat a fresh table for two. There are a few ways of doing this but here is what I do. Put the check in my apron, put drinks for the other table in my left hand while I have mustard and two sets of silverware in the other. Drinks and condiments go first, then I greet the new table, then I drop the check off at the desired table. The trick to this is what I call "The Tier System". Certain things come before others. Of course, your tiers are up to you. Universally some things are at their respective ends.
Granted, your table wants to leave asap. Theres usually someone else they can talk to at the table, it isnt horrible to make them wait if you are busy to give them their check. Refills on drinks are also something that can usually wait unless someone has a dead empty glass and is eating a salt sandwich. The ones that are the "must do" end are things like greeting tables as soon as they are sat and giving a table any condiments or extras that they might need in order to start their meal. Some people will not touch their burger without enough mustard. Some people think they need a spoon to eat soup. Those are things that must be done first.
I could go ooon and on about training but I will end there today.
Moral: Elders at a restaurant generally know what they are doing. Trust them. Well, dont trust me. I like to play jokes.
Today I had a nice guy, ill call him danny. He is the younger brother of an old bartender that used to work with me. Hes one of those guys thats physically old but you doubt their mental age. Or at least some neurons arent firing properly. Being on his fourth day of training (out of 5), I assumed it would be a breeze and he would take all my tables. My manager begged to differ. She mentioned that he had quite a bit of trouble with the computer. This makes the basics and training very difficult. If you arent at least somewhat profficient with the basics of the computer, your tables wait longer for everything from being greeted to getting refills. Im proud to say that by the end of the shift, he had more than the basics down.
There are a few things that always happen with newbies if this is their first waiting job.
1 - They are scared to talk to total strangers
2 - They run away from tables without finishing what they are supposed to do
3 - They are quiet talkers
4 - They have yet to create a routine and so they must remember every step
5 - They dont know where anything is
Now the last one is a "Duh" kind of thing. That is just a matter of learning things as you go along. The first three bullets on the other hand are more of a matter of them not being used to talking to complete strangers. In a restaurant you need to be confident enough to talk to a patron to get the necessary information to make sure they have a good time. It takes a certain level of self worth to do more than just ask what they want to drink. You should put personality to it. After all, waiting tables is probably the closest thing to legal prostitution. You sell yourself, not just the food. If you arent sure of what youre doing, newbies tend to run away to hide themselves from such a social situation.
My biggest peeve are those who dont talk loud enough. There are no free tables around you and everyone in the whole place is talking, how is anyone going to hear you mumble the soups we have today? Again, this is confidence. Quiet talkers do not think that what they have to say is worth while or they are just too scared to say it any louder. I try to beat this out of my trainees as soon as possible. It will save them grief and it will help out their customers. Any good waiter can easily be heard down a large booth ment for 8 without being annoying sounding or too loud.
Number 4 is one of my favorite things to teach my pupils. A well oiled routine will help you not only get things efficiently but also gets every base you need to touch. In the waiting game, the more tables you can take, the more money you can make. The only reason newbies cant take a lot of tables is because they havent established a routine yet that will allow them more time to get more tables.
Heres a good example. One table wants the check, one table needs drinks, one table needs some mustard and you just got sat a fresh table for two. There are a few ways of doing this but here is what I do. Put the check in my apron, put drinks for the other table in my left hand while I have mustard and two sets of silverware in the other. Drinks and condiments go first, then I greet the new table, then I drop the check off at the desired table. The trick to this is what I call "The Tier System". Certain things come before others. Of course, your tiers are up to you. Universally some things are at their respective ends.
Granted, your table wants to leave asap. Theres usually someone else they can talk to at the table, it isnt horrible to make them wait if you are busy to give them their check. Refills on drinks are also something that can usually wait unless someone has a dead empty glass and is eating a salt sandwich. The ones that are the "must do" end are things like greeting tables as soon as they are sat and giving a table any condiments or extras that they might need in order to start their meal. Some people will not touch their burger without enough mustard. Some people think they need a spoon to eat soup. Those are things that must be done first.
I could go ooon and on about training but I will end there today.
Moral: Elders at a restaurant generally know what they are doing. Trust them. Well, dont trust me. I like to play jokes.
posted by Peppers waiter at 7:26 PM
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