GUIDE TO CREATE EXCEPTIONAL DINING EXPERIENCES
It’s inevitable that timing issues will arise, and these cause a ripple effect throughout the restaurant.
Servers who make errors in-putting their orders, for example, force the kitchen staff to remake selections that were prepared incorrectly. This causes a kitchen backup, which translates into guests at each table needing more time to finish their meals.
This may cause slower table turns and longer wait times to be seated, even for people who have reservations. Lower table turnover means fewer sales and fewer tips. This is never a good way to start out a shift, so timing and accuracy are important for your business as well as for your customers.
Tips on timing:
Lunch shouldn’t exceed a total of 45 minutes
Dinner shouldn’t exceed a total of 60 minutes
Service to-go shouldn’t exceed 20 minutes
Stages of Service
Encourage your servers to use this guide as it pertains to your
restaurant to create exceptional dining experiences:
INITIAL GREETING
• Make drink and appetizer recommendations
• Recommend beverages that will complement the meal
• Introduce special offers
• Take orders
• Make recommendations
• Support the customer’s final choice, i.e., “Excellent choice. You will love it.”
• Repeat the order back to each customer to ensure order accuracy
CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION
• Servers should always communicate in a professional and friendly
manner
• Servers should NEVER respond with a negative tone or place blame
on another area of the restaurant
• Servers should be coached on how to take a positive, helpful angle to
ensure the customer is always pleased with not only the result, but
also the way in which it was handled
SERVICE
• Use full menu names when presenting entrees to customers
• Serve ladies first
• Keep an eye on your diners and watch for non-verbal cues during
their dining experience
• Check back after patron has cut or bitten into food to ensure
accuracy and satisfaction
PREPPING FOR THE END OF THE MEAL
• Recommend dessert two-thirds of the way through dinner
• Wrap-up and label left-over food tableside for diners
• Present dessert (if ordered) and drop check
• Check on your customers in a few minutes
PREPARE FOR NEXT GUEST
• Close the check immediately
• Clear table
• Spray and wipe the following items with sanitizer:
table, cushions, chairs, salt and pepper
• Make sure the floor under the table is dry and free of
debris
IMPORTANT:
The time between taking an order and delivering an order should never exceed the following:
• Drinks are delivered in less than 3 minutes
• Drinks from the bar are delivered in less than 5 minutes
• Appetizers are delivered in 8 minutes
• Soup and salads are delivered in 5 minutes
• Entree
• Dinner should be delivered in 15 minutes
• Lunch should be delivered in 11 minutes
• Dessert is delivered in 5 minutes
• Server should return with patron’s paid receipt in
2 minutes