Professional ethics 20 Most Common Restaurant Service Mistakes

Professional ethics 20 Most Common Restaurant Service Mistakes

POOR GREETINGS Staff who greet guests with “how many? ” or “do you want to sit in the dining room or bar? ” rather than a proper welcome. Restaurant employees should be warm, friendly and play the role of “host. ” Hosts and hostesses are there to greet people and make them feel welcome. Studies indicate that 38 percent of a person’s first impression is established by tone of voice, and 93 percent of a person’s overall judgment of someone else is determined by non verbal communication – so make sure hosts are standing up straight, smiling and personally greeting each guest. Hosts who seem bored or busy can be enough to keep people away in the future.

“MAY I HELP YOU? ” I often respond “Uh, yes, I would like a haircut please. ” to this question. “May I help you? ” may be appropriate for customers in a department store who look lost, but it comes off as curt and rude at a restaurant. The vast majority of people who enter a restaurant are there to eat, and team members should greet them appropriately. Instead of “May I help you? ”, host staff should try something more along the lines of “Welcome to our restaurant! How many people will be in your party? ”

“JUST ONE? ” A host or hostess shouldn’t ask a solo diner “just one? ” Instead, they should try “will you be dining alone today? ” It isn’t safe to assume all single diners are sad to be eating alone. Hosts or hostesses should also never sit single diners at the bar unless they expressly ask to be seated there. This can make solo diners feel awkward and prevent them from returning.

REMOVING THE DINER'S DRINK Taking the diner’s drink away from the table to replenish it, rather that replacing it or refilling at the table derails the meal and conversation. Removing diners’ glasses from the table essentially halts their meal. Waiters should also bring water as soon as possible once customers are seated, and should refrain from bringing other drinks before bringing water.

“No problem” Saying “No problem” implies that the guests’ requests are inconvenient. Restaurant staff is there to provide a pleasant experience for visitors, and responses like “My pleasure!” are much more appropriate. Employees should use similarly elevated language whenever they interact with diners, and team members should focus on making each guest feel as comfortable and welcome as they do at home.

TOUCHING THE TOP OF THE GLASS Even though restaurant employees wash their hands regularly while at work, customers don’t want someone else touching the upper half of their glass. The top portion is where they are going to put their mouths – this area shouldn’t be handled by anyone but them. Servers should only ever handle the bottom half of a guest’s glass or cup. Fingerprints near the rim of a glass can be enough for a customer to send the drink back.

LACK OF EYE CONTACT Catching a guest’s eye when he or she enters a restaurant is, for many customers, the first human point of contact with a brand. This signal the guests that the host knows they have entered and are waiting for attention. A host or hostess should be able to establish a personal connection with each customer, and focus on making them feel appreciated and valued.

OVER-FAMILIARITY Servers often use overly friendly and disrespectful names such as “dude, ” “buddy” and “pal. ” Eating in a restaurant is a business transaction, not a budding friendship – servers should be welcoming, polite and professional. Using nicknames and overly casual terms for guests is rude and off putting. Sitting down with customers is another overly familiar, invasive gesture that will almost never be appreciated.

NOT HAVING RECOMMENDATIONS Suggestive selling is an important skill for waiters and waitresses. Seventy percent of the people who enter a restaurant don’t know what they are going to order ahead of time, and many guests are open to server suggestions. For example, they may ask whether the smoked salmon or the tri tip is better. Staff should never respond with a bland “everything here is good. ” If they don’t have a personal favorite, they should be able to respond with which item is most popular. This doesn’t just help direct the customer; it also validates the customers’ taste.

COMMUNICATING PERSONAL DISLIKES Servers are salespeople for a restaurant, and those who are unfamiliar with the cuisine they serve or express that they dislike a particular culinary style (i. e. “oh, well, I don’t eat seafood”) reflects poorly on the restaurant as a whole. While guests can get information about the food from the menu, they often look for a human opinion. Instruct wait staff to suggest items they do like or popular dishes, rather than pointing out menu items they don’t enjoy.

OVERUSE OF PERFUME/COLOGNE Visitors should smell the cuisine, not the waiter. Just as it wouldn’t make sense to put fragrant lilies at the center of a table, waiters should not be wearing half a bottle of cologne when serving food. If a server is wearing strong cologne or perfume, it could literally affect how patrons taste the food at your restaurant.

GOSSIPING Waiters who gossip or talk loudly can ruin the atmosphere. The waiter diner relationship is a business transaction. Guests pay to enjoy the food and the atmosphere, and waitstaff is there to serve patrons and represent a restaurant. If servers are speaking inappropriately or speaking so loudly that guests can’t enjoy their own conversations, guests will view it as a reflection on a restaurant rather than a reflection on individual servers. After a meal dominated by staff’s conversations, guests will be unlikely to return.

SLOPPY UNIFORMS A restaurant should be built around a story, and staff should reflect that brand. If staff is wearing sloppy clothing or their personal appearance speaks louder than their uniform, the impression they give is one guests will apply to the establishment. To help avoid such discrepancies, make sure to hire people that align with the desired message and brand image. Also, ensure that standards are up to par, including a well designed uniform and a clearly defined and enforced dress code.

BEING UNDERPREPARED Servers who are ill prepared when delivering food, such as forgetting to bring a steak knife with steak or a spoon with soup, seem sloppy. If a server does forget something, they should bring it as soon as they remember – as soon as the customer inquires – and ask what can be done to fix the situation.

NOT CHECKING-IN Guests usually discover a missing item – dipping sauce for fries, lemon for fish or extra napkins, perhaps – right at the start of the meal. If visitors have to wait longer than 60 seconds for the server to return, they will eat the meal without the item and have a less enjoyable experience, or allow the food to grow cold while waiting for attention. Either situation is enough to deter customers from returning, so make sure staff checks on visitors within one minute of delivering each course.

INEFFICIENT STAFFING OF STATIONS Too much or too little help can both be costly, and there is a fine line between having too few servers and too many. It is just as annoying to have three different servers ask if you needed anything as it is having to wait 30 minutes to see a server again. Either mistake can drastically affect guests’ dining experiences and can prevent them from returning.

Truly successful restaurants don’t just serve good food; they also provide fantastic hospitality. A guest more likely to return to a restaurant if they felt welcome and appreciated. Make sure another staff member makes eye contact and gives a genuine smile and thank you to each visitor when they leave.

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