Bill & Tip Blog

Steps of perfect service. Part one.

Steps of perfect service
Hello friends!

Today we would like to share with you a tool, the skillful application of which will allow you to achieve the highest level of service. We call it “Steps of perfect service”. Practice it, make it automatic, and your guests will appreciate it and come back to you again and again!

Step 1: Greeting

  • Sincerely greet guests as they enter the restaurant. Do it positively. Out of many restaurants, guests have chosen your restaurant and this is a great opportunity to prove that it is not in vain - to demonstrate the highest level of service. And that, as you know, has a direct impact on how much money you make;
  • Meet guests at the entrance to the restaurant;
  • Determine the number of guests and find out where they would like to be seated: “Table for four? Do you want a window seat or a more private place?” “Expecting someone?”. Different guests prefer certain tables for different reasons;
  • Take a menu according to the number of guests. It should always be clean;
  • Escort guests to their table - simply ask them to come with you. Never leave them at the door expecting them to follow you;
  • When escorting a guest to a table, walk beside them - just ahead and halfway around the table;
  • Offer to help a guest place their outerwear;
  • Invite guests to sit at clean tables, they should not be wobbly. If a Guest requests a replacement table, fulfill the request quickly if possible;
  • Pull out guest chairs (if they have been pulled out);
  • Serve the menu in the following order: children - elderly people - women - men;
  • For pregnant women, offer a pillow under the lower back;
  • If it is cold in the restaurant during the cold season, offer plaids;
  • If guests come with children and you need to leave to get a highchair, seat the adults first and then let them know you will leave to get a highchair;
  • Make the children's visit enjoyable by offering coloring books and crayons;
  • If you don't work the table to which you've escorted guests, introduce the waiter who will be serving the guests. For example, “Your waiter tonight will be <waiter's name>. Have a great evening!” Be sure to give the waiter the order you took from the guest;
  • If a guest being served by another waiter asks for your help, don't refuse! In the event of a request you cannot fulfill, find the waiter and relay the guest's requests to him or her. The phrase “I'll find your waiter right away” is negatively perceived by guests as a refusal and your unwillingness to help.

Step 2: Take the order

  • If you are not the one who escorted the guest to the table, follow these rules. When approaching the table, smile and maintain eye contact to make the guest feel welcome. Address the guest first, the greeting should be warm and personal. Introduce yourself by name;
  • If guests are new to your restaurant, be sure to let the manager know so they can greet them as well;
  • Tell the Guest about current promotions;
  • If a guest is not ready to order food, offer to order drinks, for example: “Can I start you off with a soft drink?”. If the guest has not yet chosen a drink, warn them that you will get back to them within 5 minutes;
  • Always offer water (especially with wine and coffee);
  • If the guest is ready to order food, recommend dishes from the starter list;
  • Use the phrases “What would you like to try today?”, “What do you like on our menu?”;
  • When suggesting dishes, say their full name and use colorful descriptions;
  • Specify the degree of frying for dishes where applicable;
  • Use sales techniques. For example, offer additional menu items to dishes for which they are provided;
  • Ask the guest about the order in which the food will be served;
  • Write your order in a notebook or enter it into an electronic portable order-taking device, if you use one in your job;
  • Repeat the order aloud to avoid mistakes;
  • Thank the guest for their order;
  • If there are waiter call buttons located in your restaurant, mention them. Remember, the call button is an aid to operation, but you need to shuttle between tables and serve guests without waiting to be called;
  • Depending on the functionality of the POS system used in the restaurant, we recommend that when entering an order into it, we specify the number of guests, distribute dishes to the guests according to the fact of who and what they ordered, and specify the courses of dish preparation;
  • Prepare the dishes according to the number of dishes and guests;
  • If the guests have ordered one dish for several people, bring out an extra plate for each person so that the guests can eat comfortably.


Be professional, be the best!

In our next blog post, we will continue to share the steps of this tool. Be the first to read the post by subscribing to our newsletter on the main page of the Blog.

Bill&Tip (Bill and Tip) Team.

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