Waiter Training

Regardless of a restaurant's size or style, the serving staff represents the face of every dining establishment. These individuals will interact the most with your customers during a visit, and positive interactions can go a long way towards ensuring those same patrons return. Hiring the right employees for the job from the start is always ideal, but the introduction of a structured server training program can pay huge dividends for your business. Restaurant server training will help establish an effective, knowledgeable staff and should remain as focal teaching points for all employees.

Etiquette

Appearance

Knowledge of Menu

Knowledge of Restaurant Layout

Knowledge of Restaurant Vision

Ongoing Training

Guidelines

Benefits?

Etiquette

These days, restaurant servers are required to perform more than just "service with a smile." Proper etiquette includes serving female guests first, exhibiting an appropriate posture, and refraining from eating or drinking while in front of guests.

An ideal server will be social and engaging as well as polite and approachable. While it may be difficult to "teach" the best social skills, your servers should nonetheless be encouraged to make customers feel welcome. Guests are looking for a wait staff with a positive attitude, cheery disposition, and willingness to accommodate any request from the start of the meal to the very end.

Appearance

A sloppy uniform can serve as a red flag for any number of new guests. The presence of stains, wrinkles, or creases suggests a disregard for professional appearance. Encourage your staff members to be mindful of their server outfits at all times. It also helps to have extra, clean uniforms available in the event of an improper uniform that needs to be changed.

Try to clearly define all appearance standards and expectations when new employees begin working. This includes their uniforms, hair, jewellery, facial piercings, and fingernails as well. These details are small, but will be a large focus for any waitress training program.

Knowledge of Menu

Just as important as appearance and etiquette is a working knowledge of the restaurant and its food offerings. Even the most descriptive of menus still require clarification from time to time, and your wait staff should be as familiar as possible with the menu. The best serving staff should be able to not only explain in detail each menu item, but also provide suggestions, recite any daily specials with ease, and answer a customer's questions.

Challenge your new employees to take time memorizing and reading on their own as well, and in the event of a customer question they cannot answer, ensure that they know who to ask at any given time in order to get an answer.

Ongong Training

Several of these guidelines, such as your restaurant layout and the menu, may change over time, so it's important to use all of these teaching points as part of ongoing training sessions for all your servers. By implementing an ongoing training program, you have the opportunity to increase productivity and improve job satisfaction in a work area that's often high in employee turnover.

Some specific things to make part of long-term training include:

Learning which menu items are most popular, least expensive, most expensive.

Acquiring knowledge of weekly or daily specials

Successfully selling guests on appetizers or desserts

Single-event training can often be forgotten or seem overwhelming for a new employee on the first day. Ongoing training allows for employers to evaluate and follow-up effectively in order to get the most out of their staff. This type of restaurant server training can help propel your operation to the next level of professional, award-winning service. Let us take care of all your waiter training needs.

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