How To Hire Quality Waiting Staff For Your Restaurant?

It takes more than a high-quality chef to make a restaurant a success. If a new eatery has a great chef that has won awards but the wait staff is trained poorly, the restaurant is doomed to fail. The service provided by the wait staff, bus people, dishwashers, hostesses and others all make a difference in whether people want to return to your restaurant. Besides returning, they would want to share their experience on social media to create a buzz about your place.

So, to have a great wait staff, follow these tips.

It takes more than a high-quality chef to make a restaurant a success. If a new eatery has a great chef that has won awards but the wait staff is trained poorly, the restaurant is doomed to fail. The service provided by the wait staff, bus people, dishwashers, hostesses and others all make a difference in whether people want to return to your restaurant. Besides returning, they would want to share their experience on social media to create a buzz about your place. So, to have a great wait staff, follow these tips.

Eliminate the waste. You don’t want to hire inexperienced or unqualified applicants. When you hire only those who know something about waiting tables, you will improve your restaurant. Your future hires will provide better customer service. Ask for particular skills when asking for applications or resumes.

Write down the notes. Every restaurant should have an employee handbook that tells them exactly what they can and can not do. It should say how to be a good server. You can suggest how many times you want your wait staff to visit customers’ tables. You could list ways of dealing with cranky customers or their problems. Have the staff sign a page acknowledging that they read the handbook. If servers ignore the handbook rules, you should get rid of them.

Talk with the staff. Communication is key with any industry, but especially with restaurants. You have to know if your servers understand what they need to do. Provide positive feedback and offer criticism in a way that doesn’t hurt their feelings. Publicly acknowledge the servers that do exceptionally well. For example, you could have an employee-of-the-month contest, giving servers extra money or time off when they win.

Be the leader. Great leaders show their employees how to be effective, especially in restaurants. Show your wait staff that you know how to treat customers and that you value everyone who has come through the door. If you occasionally work on the restaurant floor with your wait staff, you have the opportunity to show them how you would like them to perform.

When you are ready to hire a waiter, you can visit sites that specialise in quality wait staff. You can look through profiles until you find the right fit for your restaurant. Interview the servers and ask key questions for your restaurant.

At the interview, you want to ask the potential employees what they can do for your restaurant. You want the candidates who have a ready answer that involves treating the customer well and problem-solving. You can forget questions about where do you see yourself in five years because most servers don’t expect to be remaining in the job for five years. Instead, ask how they can improve the service or the restaurant. That will show you the wait staff who own their destiny and who want to help you genuinely. Also, ask what was the best day they had serving for the public in the past. This will show their enthusiasm for the restaurant business.

After you picked your candidate or candidates, give them a trial period. If they don’t work during that trial, you aren’t out a lot of money and time.