How to Transition from a Restaurant Manager to a Server

Transitioning from a restaurant manager to a restaurant server is by far one of the more surreal experiences in any waiter/waitresses career. One of my coworkers and proud to say close best friend of all time Daniel Nortman has personally embarked and experienced this transition. I naturally am fascinated by the whole process and have my own ideas and thoughts about it, but I thought why not get the inside scoop from the man himself. He agreed to take some time off and sit down with me for this following interview. I have placed the rest of this article in the words of my great friend here for your viewing pleasure, Enjoy.

Humble Beginnings

I’ve been serving for years across many restaurants and have climbed up to manager in numerous of them. I decided to re-evaluate my position and came to the conclusion of becoming a server again. I knew in advance it would take time to acclimate to my new role, but did not quite know what to expect. As a manager of a restaurant I felt that I was missing out on a huge deal of the guest interactions that made me enjoy working in the restaurant industry more then ever. I would have to say the deciding factor was that as a server I discovered that I could leave the restaurant behind at the end of my shift and can once again have an incredible thing called “a life.” I also recognized that guest interactions weren’t always fun and rainbows as I once remembered it to be.

Not too long ago, I have seen a couple of previous associates of mines make this same transition. Turns out their experiences still ended up being extremely close to what I encountered. We all had a humorous banter of funny laughs discussing at the retribution we suffered being subject to politics within the establishment and also policies we once enforced. While everyone is content with the switch, the adjustment period is filled with grueling challenges.

The Mindset to Have

In your best interest I have taken upon myself to make it easier for any other person considering this transition, here are a few ideas I would like for you to keep in mind and learn from me.

Think of it like this…

You just became a child again, at the very least a teenager. Remember all those things that you once felt quite capable of regulating on your own? Well they are now subject to a policy. Where should we begin? There are cell phone policies, tardiness policies, uniform policies, and a countless amount of other rules you are now held to. Many of these were previously subject to your discretion. Now you must follow them along with every other worker in the restaurant. These policies will often times seem silly and ridiculous. But you can bet that the staff you managed felt the same way when you were enforcing them yourself.

Brutal Honesty

No one wants to hear what you know about the business. Have you experienced that server who always seemed to have advice on how you could improve the way you do your job when you were a manager?  Didn’t you have a constant struggle tug of war in your mind trying to decide if strangle them or not? Now that you are a server once again, don’t be that guy. If your manager wants your opinion, believe me.. they will ask for it.

Choose your Companions

Because of the fact that you have been a manager prior, you are most likely a tad bit older than most of your fellow restaurant waiter and waitresses. This may seem that you have more in common with the restaurant’s managers than the waiter staff. A crucial thing to remember though is that your fellow servers are the people who you need to count on in a jam. Find some foundation and consolidate with your fellow coworkers.

Take it in stride

You will find reason after reason after reason to question your decision to become a server again. While I would never undermine the difficulties of management, you will find serving tables more challenging than you have had prior. In hindsight we all fondly can recollect how great of a waiter we were in the past. In the present moment, tables will still put you in the weeds my friend. Guests will still demean you. Managers will still enforce absurd rules that you strongly disagree with. At the end of it all, this is the path you chose. My advice is choosing to NOT focus on the negatives. Instead, grow to love and appreciate the positives and remember to leave work behind you when you walk out the door. Now that you are a server again and not a manger you have that new found luxury!

The universe has a funny way of expressing itself when you participate in making this transition. Chances are you will make the transition to restaurant management again one day in the future, possibly even if it is not in the food industry. This is where the universe becomes to take its course and come into play. In the future you quite likely have a staff of employees just like yourself. Extend grace to your new coworkers and managers because one day you will want it extended to you. Trust me when making this transition at least at first you will need plenty of it, but I must say…I don’t regret not one thing along the way.

The Ultimate Waiter Rundown

Poor service and rude waiters does throw off guests from returning to a restaurant. It may be done through a direct or indirect action and it’s not good because at the end of the day, the restaurant’s business status relies on how good their overall rating is to the public eye.   Guests would always be willing to spend money for food, beverage and service. They all are prospects to be returning guests and patron of your establishment. Given that they are impressed with the food and most importantly, the value they receive from what they pay for.  The food servers, the waiters, are the restaurant’s front line personnel who have the biggest responsibilities in giving guests the quality service they deserve.  If you are in restaurant industry, you might have wondered about the things that will make guests like your service and ultimately earn more tips. Here are the basic yet important points you have to consider in achieving your goal.

Above and beyond the call of duty (ABCD).

Giving value to guests is as important as the food and drinks that the restaurant offers. I know it’s a bit hard but doing more effort and going the extra mile does yield positive results. If the guest asks for a glass of water, for example, you may want to offer a little extra like offering a lemon along with it. If their needs are met and they feel that they are taken well cared of, this alone makes a big difference.  If they pay with credit card, you might want to have a glance at the guest’s name and write the card holder’s name together with a “thank you” on the receipt upon giving it to them.  This shows a personal touch that they can’t help but appreciate it. That little extra already makes you different among the rest and they would be more willing to give you a tip because they feel you deserve it.

Dress properly

If you happen to work in a fine dining restaurant, dress as if you are going in a grand ball where VIPs are the main guests. Do this even the manager does not give credits to you for wearing it. You are doing this for the guests and I am sure that they would love to be served by a properly dressed and neat waiter. You are serving food and a clean appearance does make you more likely to be fit to handle the special food that they ordered.  It also shows that you meant business in keeping up with the restaurant standards.

Be a social person

Being social with the guests is given. Having good relationship with your peer should also be considered to have a healthy atmosphere in both the locker room and the dining area. Any dispute with your colleague especially during working hours is not good. No matter how discrete it’s done, guests will certainly notice it and it’s not a good thing. It’s hard to be perfect towards everybody but it’s better not to have anybody going against you. If that person is still a pain in the neck after a peaceful discussion, have the management be notified. Most restaurants do have regulations to keep these problems at bay. Having friends is better than having foes because our job itself might be at stake here.

Memorize it

Landing a job in the restaurant industry does require you to know the technical details from the names of the utensils to the type of wine to be best suitable for the guest’s dish. There are many approaches to be familiar with all the necessary details and skills on how to do things appropriately. This should be taken seriously because not all the time the “once size fits all” mentality does not apply with the food industry. A precise and well versed appropriate action has to be done with each problem. It should be made sure that the silverware, glassware and all minor details should be at the right place. A wine should never be served in a water goblet. I can’t enumerate all the examples but I’m sure you get the idea. Be familiar with everything on how they function, where it supposed to be place and when it’ll be needed.

Having all the important knowledge and skill of being a waiter isn’t done in a day. You may have some problems and some lapses with your service but its all part of improving. All top level managers came from the very position you are in right now and it’s better to know these basic things because once promoted and be given a bigger responsibility, you will always go back to the skills you’ve learned and mistakes you have done in the past to make better service in keeping guests happy and satisfied.

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Fine Dining Tips & Tricks: Infield Tested Tips & Tricks That Work!

Let me start by speaking to you about something that you may or may not have discovered in our culture on this planet. Humans admire the idea of instant gratification for many reasons. The psychological reasoning behind instant gratification refers to the idea that men and women like to have what they want right now; not later and they don’t want to wait. Some merchandise and services that is currently sold in society that demonstrates this offer that promise of instant push-button results and surprisingly they do very well. Think Aspirin for pain and McDonalds for fast food. Humans are largely short term orientated because if you value immediate results you stay alive. It’s an Evolutionary advantage that has played out over millions of years and was very valuable when we were living in different times.

Now.. yes instant gratification is no longer as essential as it once was but I’m not discrediting all forms of instant gratification out there. With this new information that I have told you taken into consideration I have compressed key tips and tricks that I have experienced throughout my time serving (and still currently) and crammed it in an easy to observe format for your mental digestion. In other words: you will be able to receive that instant gratification that has been instilled in our DNA for century’s now. By ensuing and taking action on the following advice I will share with you, I can assure you that you will receive that immediate gratification from your guests and customers if you properly incorporate these tips, tricks, and ideas. Enjoy my fellow ServerPreneurs!

 Rephrasing Your Question

Now I’m willing to take a survey or better yet place a wager that every time you or your guests go out to eat, there is one line you are guaranteed to hear.  “Is there anything else I can get for you?”  It is the most commonly used phrase in restaurants across the country.  The funny thing is most people have a reflex reaction of saying “no” in response to the question. See now the problem with that is that within a couple minutes you will get flagged down by your guests when they do actually think about what they need.  Ready for the solution to this common nuisance?  Instead I would like for you to say, “what else can I bring that will make this meal more enjoyable?”  Hmmm, not only does that sound delightful to the ears, it will impress your guests with your concern and it will also get you a much more accurate answer.

 Double Check Drop

Within the economic climate that we are currently in, even more prestige’s restaurants have been offering discounts and coupons to their customers. This combined with the expansion of gift cards globally will often leave the final bill at a much less accumulated amount than what the guest actually ordered. Guests generally want to do the right thing when it comes to giving a tip, but they often don’t place into consideration the difference between the two checks.  Solution time! Before you ask for a check to be discounted, I want you to print a copy for yourself. Once you have both checks in your possession (before and after discount) then when you bring back the change or the credit card receipt; drop the original check with the new one.  Say something along the lines of “Here is your receipt Mr. Johnson.  Underneath I’ve placed a copy of your check before and after the discount for your viewing pleasure.”  This isn’t always a sure thing, but it does illuminate your guest’s mind of what has transpired and jog their memory enough to make it worthwhile.

Steaks by the Color

Now I know this has been a scenario that has been replayed many times throughout your fine dining server experience. I mean we have all had it happen to us one way or another.  A customer orders a steak medium rare, only to send it back because they did not want any pink exposed on their steak.  I’ve come to the conclusion that apparently no two people view steak temperatures the same way.  Your job as a waiter is to translate the mental picture in the guest’s mind to the picture that is in the cook’s mind when he hears the temperature and places the meat on the grill. I have your solution to this dilemma my friends; actually you can improve your translation in two ways now that I think about it. If the guest orders a steak by temperature, I want you to repeat back to them a description of what that means in detail. Here, I’ll describe to you an example. If a guest orders a steak medium rare, you will follow her request by saying “that will be warm throughout, but still very red on the inside.  Is that correct ma’am?”  The second method is to ask the guest to describe the color they would prefer on the inside.  Translate their definition on your own.  Both of these methods are more prone to get the steak out right the first time.

Light to Dark Beer Listings

If your current restaurant establishment has a large number of beers on tap to recite, this following trick will save you a lot of time and money (because time IS money as a server).  Instead of just listing the beers randomly of the top of you brain, ask the guest if they would like a lighter or heavier beer? Once they answer you, then start listing the beers from lightest to heaviest or vice versa depending on which the guest has chosen. This makes for a much shorter listing by far. The reason why is because once the guest realizes that you have gotten to heavy or light for their tastes, they will stop you and order from the ones you have previously recited.

Pre-Heat Coffee Hack

I don’t know about you, but I get pretty annoyed when I have to send back coffee because according to the customer’s standings “it’s not hot enough”. Here is the solution for your cold coffee troubled guest problems. Before pouring the coffee in the cup, pour hot water in it.  That nozzle on the coffee maker is useful for more than making trainees empty it at the end of the night. By doing this you are giving it time to warm the cup up as you get anything else you need.  Once you’re ready, dump the water and pour the coffee.  This will assure you for a much warmer cup of coffee!

Oldest Trick in The “Check Presenter” Book

Now this trick has been handed down to me from some long time late greats in the business. It’s nothing new; this one has been around for years. Even with that being said I STILL run into people who don’t know it or have never heard of it. If you are using a book style check presenter, you will notice there is usually only writing on the cover side. So what I suggest to you is when you place the check on the table, place it cover down.  When the guest picks up the check, they will almost always leave it cover up. It’s proven that this is a shared psychological trait that we all place books cover side up when we put them down.  When you see the writing, go retrieve the check, no more wondering.

There you are my fellow waiters and waitresses; SIX quick and simple tips that will save you time and impress your guests. What have you found that people should know about?  Drop a comment below and let us know. Have something that I missed?  Share below for the rest to see or email them to me at [email protected] and I will include them (with full credit given) in future installments.

Your take action is to try these tips and tricks tomorrow and report back with your results! I’m sure you’ll be presently surprised.