I became a server on July 5th of 2006. I was practically shoved into the job by my boyfriend, who at the time was a cook at a small country restaurant. I went and applied and had my interview the same day. I was very shy, and nervous because of course this was not only my first job, but I would have to be social?!? Me? I was 17 years old and still couldn't order my own food at a restaurant. But I needed a job and figured it would either work out or it wouldn't and there was no harm in trying. I was to be trained by a woman with 27 years experience. She told me to follow her around for a while and after doing that for about 20 minutes she pointed at a man sitting alone at a table and said "There you go." I of course got his order and brought him a cup of coffee. After turning in the ticket and delivering the food, I never returned to the table. I didn't get tipped. While all of the other waitresses were making $70-$120 a day I was making about twenty bucks.
It took a long time for me to get the hang of it but eventually I realized that in most cases your going to make what you put in. Here are a few things that I have learned along the way. Maybe you can catch on quicker than I did.
Suggestions For Better Tips
- Make Small Talk - For example the weather.
- Never serve food that you wouldn't eat.
- Stay on top of refills. Don't make your customers go hungry.
- Always introduce yourself, that way they know your name and can ask for you next time.
- Pre-bus your tables, nobody enjoy's staring at dirty plates.
- Always talk to the kids, buy some crayons and hand them out to the children.
- Recommend food that you sell a lot of.
- When they order say things like "good choice," or "I love the meatloaf."
- Try to imagine yourself in their shoes, do what you would expect to be done.
- Compliment there attire. example: "I love that hand-bag where did you get it?"
- Know the food better than the cooks, they will ask you questions and they expect answers.
- Accommodate them to the best of your ability.
- Unless it's something completely unheard of never make them ask for anything, if they order French fries make sure you bring ketchup ect.
- Smile and be outgoing even if it's not your regular mood. People can tell when your having a bad day so put on a front.
