The Art of Successful Restaurant Service

I’ve written this book as a realistic guide to enable servers to make more money. This is intended for every server (whether you are part-time, full-time, a career restaurant person, working through school or just serving as a side job,) or if you are considering becoming a server in any type of restaurant environment. The methods here have proven themselves true, time after time, without failure. If you want to substantially improve your tips without working more, or work less and make the same money, this book will be of tremendous benefit to you. A 32% raise is the minimum you can expect by reading (and following through with) this book. No matter where you work, or what type of results you enjoy now, you will profit by reading and applying the principles set forth. They may seem very commonplace on the surface, but isn’t success derived from mastering the basics? If you now earn an average of 15% in tips, you will earn 18% to 21%. If you earn 20% now, your goal will be to earn 25% on the average. And no matter what your average tip, you can generate more income by increasing your sales by 10, 20, 30 or even 50%. The math is quite simple. If you’re currently making $300 per week, you will be making close to $400 by applying these principles. If you’re making $500 per week, you’ll soon be earning about $660. That’s an additional $640 per month! What would you do viii The Art of Successful Restaurant Service with this extra money? No matter where you work or what you make, this book will improve your income drastically. So, while working in restaurants is fun, we don’t spend our days and nights interacting with our guests and serving food and drinks just for fun, do we? The goal is to make some money. How much? Well, how much is your time worth? That’s the question you need to ask yourself. Because if you work a five or six or eight hour shift at work, you must decide what it’s worth for you to be away from your personal pursuits; the very things you work for. My belief is that you should maximize your earnings, every minute of every hour of every shift. That’s what this book is all about. I have been in management for over 20 years and I have been involved with privately-owned restaurants and small corporations, as well as a world-renowned hotel chain with revenues ranging from less than $1 million to over $16 million a year. The biggest allure for me professionally has been the desire to help increase sales and profits for each particular company. Many of the challenges I undertook necessitated building revenues quickly. Tasks included three “start-ups” and several “turn-around.” By turn-around, I refer to a business, which is not making budgeted revenues or profits and needs an immediate fix. These were always, always, accomplished through the development and improvement of service procedures. Elements of the kitchen and menu would also place high on the priority list, but the materials here are dedicated to you; the person in the front of the house that has direct contact with the guests. This is the facet of my career I’m most proud of; working with staffs to create the proper environment in which to grow sales—and do so quickly. So what you are about to read are proven philosophies, which benefit the guests, the company, and you the server. Everybody wins when business is conducted properly. I couldn’t have enjoyed any success without people just like you.