Being a server in a bustling restaurant is undoubtedly challenging. The best servers are not just order-takers; they are multitasking masters, charming conversationalists, and almost mind-readers, anticipating customer needs before they are even voiced. Your performance directly impacts the restaurant’s profitability and, importantly, your earnings through tips.
While some aspects of a server’s personality are inherent, crucial skills such as menu knowledge, wine pairing expertise, and customer interaction techniques can be honed and perfected.
So, what actions can a server take to elevate their service from satisfactory to exceptional? We consulted with restaurant industry experts Erik Baylis, Caroline Markham, and Carol Thomas to uncover their top tips and strategies on How To Be A Good Server.
In this guide, you will discover:
Streamline Service and Boost Efficiency
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Understanding the Role: What Does a Restaurant Server Do?
First, let’s clarify the server’s role. While specific responsibilities may vary depending on the restaurant type, a restaurant server’s primary duties revolve around taking customer orders and delivering food and beverages. Customer experience is paramount. Servers must maintain an engaging and approachable demeanor, ready to build rapport with every guest.
Formal education isn’t a prerequisite for becoming a restaurant server. However, on-the-job training is almost always necessary, and for those seeking professional growth, restaurant operations courses are readily available to enhance their skills.
10 Key Restaurant Server Responsibilities
- Master the Menu: Servers must know the menu comprehensively to guide diners in making informed choices and to effectively upsell when appropriate.
- Stay Organized: Restaurant servers should be well-organized. Maintaining a polished appearance, managing table assignments, and accurately remembering orders demand focus and strong organizational skills.
- Kitchen and Bar Liaison: Waiters and waitresses communicate customer orders to the kitchen and bar, ensuring accuracy regarding dietary restrictions and special requests.
- Customer Experience Champion: Greet customers warmly and cultivate a positive customer experience from the moment they are seated until they receive their bill.
- Front-of-House Operations: Waitstaff are responsible for essential front of house tasks such as setting tables, clearing dinnerware, replenishing utensils, and refilling beverages.
- Maintain Cleanliness: Restaurant servers are also tasked with cleaning tables and dining areas, including promptly addressing any spills to maintain a pleasant environment.
- Process Transactions: Servers must process sales accurately and present the check to customers at the appropriate time.
- Uphold Trustworthiness: A server needs to be trustworthy as they calculate charges, present bills, handle payments, and return credit cards and change with integrity.
- Adhere to Regulations: Servers must be knowledgeable of all restaurant sanitation, safety, and alcohol service policies. Maintaining compliance is crucial for health inspections and legal adherence.
- Effective Communication: Communication between servers, chefs, and hosts regarding meal pacing and table availability is vital for smooth and efficient restaurant operations.
Boosting Your Income: How to Get More Tips as a Server
Thanks to standard restaurant tipping structures, servers have a direct influence on their earnings. Excellent service translates to higher tips. While refining your service techniques takes practice (more on this below), here are five proven strategies to increase your tips during each shift.
- Promptly Greet Tables
- Engage and Connect with Customers
- Skillfully Upsell the Dining Experience
- Avoid Assumptions
- Maximize Efficiency
- Manage “Campers” Tactfully
Promptly Greet Tables
We’ve all experienced the wait at a busy restaurant. The critical factor determining whether a guest stays or seeks a less crowded venue often boils down to the initial greeting.
A simple welcome and a brief acknowledgment that you will be with them momentarily makes guests feel valued and acknowledged. This small gesture sets a positive tone for the entire customer service interaction. Conversely, a lack of greeting can immediately make customers feel as if they will have to compete for attention throughout their meal, creating a negative first impression.
Engage and Connect with Customers
While demanding, especially amidst a hectic shift, a server’s primary goal should be to create memorable dining experiences for each guest.
Avoid robotic service and reciting memorized scripts. Exceptional servers connect with each guest individually, tailoring their approach. This personalized engagement leads to increased tips, repeat business, and higher table sales.
Start by being personable and introducing yourself by name. A 2009 study demonstrated that servers who introduce themselves by name saw a 23% increase in tips.
Another study revealed that sharing a joke with guests can boost tips by 40%. Laughter fosters positive associations and enhances the likelihood of creating loyal, returning customers.
Recognizing regular customers also significantly strengthens loyalty. Simply remembering faces is a great first step. Over time, servers can learn regulars’ names and favorite menu items, building lasting relationships.
Alt text: Attentive server smiling and taking order from a couple, enhancing customer experience.
Skillfully Upsell Using Personal Recommendations
Upselling is a sales technique where servers recommend higher-priced items based on understanding guest preferences. Effective upselling involves asking open-ended questions to discover guest preferences, actively listening to their responses, and then suggesting menu items that align with their stated tastes.
A highly effective upselling approach is to emphasize how an item will enhance the overall dining experience.
For instance, instead of a generic “Would you like wine with your meal?”, a server could say, “I recently tried our Pinot Noir, and I believe it would beautifully complement your filet mignon. It enhances the meat’s flavor profile and texture. Would you be interested in trying a glass?”
This method is effective because it provides context, incorporates a personal recommendation, and sells the wine based on its ability to elevate the guest’s meal, rather than just its taste.
Avoid Assumptions
A top-tier server never presumes a guest’s order before it’s officially entered into the POS system.
Remember, guests view servers as the restaurant’s experts. They will ask about specials, new dishes, personal favorites, and the wine list.
Take the time to discuss the menu and understand each guest’s preferences. This creates opportunities to upsell and increase your tips. Moreover, engaging in conversation builds rapport, increasing the likelihood of repeat visits, positive online reviews, and word-of-mouth referrals.
Maximize Efficiency
Efficient table turnover is essential for restaurant profitability, but rushing guests is detrimental to the dining experience. Adhering to the steps of service helps maintain optimal table turn times and ensures a consistent flow of customers and revenue.
Here’s a suggested efficient service timeline:
- 90 seconds: Greet guests and take drink orders.
- 4-5 minutes: Deliver drinks and take meal orders.
- 9 minutes: Set the table with appropriate cutlery and check for drink refills.
- Food Delivery: Inquire if guests need anything else.
- 2-4 minutes post-food delivery: Check on guests, ask about food satisfaction, and offer refills.
Efficiency extends beyond order taking and delivery. Great servers optimize every movement, never traveling empty-handed. There is always something to transport to or from the dish pit, bar, or kitchen. Even when focused on your assigned section, assisting colleagues by bussing tables, restocking server stations, or clearing tables fosters teamwork within both front and back-of-house staff.
To ensure order accuracy and efficiency, repeating orders back to guests is crucial. Studies in the Netherlands have linked order repetition to higher tipping rates and larger tip amounts. Servers who repeated orders received significantly larger tips, nearly double those who did not. As Thrillist points out, guessing when unsure is a major error. “If you forgot to ask if someone wants their Negroni up or on the rocks, go back and ask. It doesn’t make you seem forgetful; it shows you care.”
Manage “Campers” Tactfully
While guest enjoyment is paramount, guests lingering long after finishing their meal (“campers”) can disrupt table turnover rates.
For servers, “campers” can be a significant frustration. However, rudeness is never acceptable. The key is to handle these situations diplomatically. Honesty is often the best approach. Try a polite phrase like, “Excuse me, but we have another reservation for this table shortly.”
Key Qualities: How to Be a Good Restaurant Server
According to the industry experts we interviewed, the best restaurant servers share three core qualities:
- Adaptability
- Likability
- Menu Knowledge
Adaptability
Exceptional restaurant servers understand how to read customers and adjust their service style to meet individual needs.
“You encounter diverse personalities, and adaptability is key,” says Erik Baylis, owner of Big Onion Hospitality, operating eight restaurants. “Some guests are outgoing, others are reserved. It’s about having the flexibility to adapt to each table and confidently engage.” For instance, one table might appreciate friendly conversation, while another prefers efficient, no-fuss service.
Caroline Markham, General Manager at Eastern Standard in Boston, describes adaptability as “understanding customer expectations and tailoring my service style to match.”
Adaptability also involves teamwork. Pitching in to help colleagues, from bussing tables to running drinks, is a hallmark of a team-oriented server.
Baylis encourages staff to “treat guests as if they are entering your home.” He explains, “If someone visited your home, you would naturally be a gracious host. You wouldn’t hesitate to assist, regardless of whose ‘job’ it might be.”
Likability
A positive and proactive attitude is vital for building rapport with both customers and coworkers.
“During interviews, if a candidate expresses negativity towards customer complaints, it’s a red flag,” says Carol Thomas, co-partner at Rock Creek Restaurant and Buffalo Café in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Thomas prioritizes hiring servers who are receptive to feedback. “We offer peer training for servers needing support in specific areas,” she adds. A good server maintains composure, defuses tense situations gracefully, and uses feedback for continuous improvement.
Alt text: Cheerful server engaging with customers, exemplifying likability and positive customer interaction.
Menu Knowledge
Eastern Standard implements a comprehensive training program to ensure front-of-house staff, often younger and newer to the industry, make a positive impression on long-time, discerning regulars.
“How do you equip a 19-year-old server to effectively serve guests in their 40s who have extensive dining experience? How does that server create a delightful experience for a seasoned diner?” Markham poses.
“We focus on engaging and creating memorable experiences for our guests. Beyond initial training focused on mechanical service steps, POS system proficiency, and employee handbook familiarization, we emphasize projecting knowledge, warmth, and confidence.”
Twice daily, managers, sous chefs, and other staff conduct briefings for servers on various topics to enhance their knowledge base. A recent briefing covered the origins of their beef tartare and ideal wine pairings. This knowledge empowers servers in customer interactions.
Following briefings, Markham adds, “We dedicate 15-30 minutes to team-building activities or sharing positive dining experiences, sometimes incorporating structured learning like classes. It’s designed to be participatory, not lecture-based.” One team-building activity they use is “Two Truths and a Lie.”
While in-depth menu knowledge is impressive, it’s not the sole determinant of success.
“This is where many restaurants fall short,” Baylis notes. “They seek servers who are walking encyclopedias. At one of my locations, we have over 300 beers. Expecting every server to know them all is unrealistic!”
When faced with questions about unfamiliar items, servers should be proactive in finding answers. Baylis provides company-wide wine and beer classes to facilitate ongoing employee education.
Restaurant server expectations vary – fine dining emphasizes wine expertise, while a breakfast diner might prioritize speed and accuracy. However, adaptability, likability, and product knowledge are universally crucial for success in hospitality.
21 Server Tips and Tricks for Enhanced Service
Here’s a compilation of proven serving tips used by successful waiters:
- Write “thank you” on guest checks to potentially increase tips.
- Engage guests, discover preferences, and offer tailored drink, appetizer, entrée, and dessert suggestions. Sell the complete dining experience!
- Maintain a positive attitude and approach guests with a genuine smile.
- Provide personalized recommendations based on guest preferences and your own experiences.
- Strive to remember guest names and faces to create memorable, personalized return visits.
- Identify and recognize your restaurant’s VIPs.
- Actively listen to guest requests and comments.
- Smile at every guest you make eye contact with to create a welcoming atmosphere.
- Avoid interrupting guest conversations.
- Handle glassware by the stem and plates from underneath, avoiding contact with surfaces guests will use.
- Never respond with “I don’t know.” Instead, offer to “find out” the answer.
- Always ask before removing a plate with food remaining. If requested, inquire about satisfaction with the dish.
- Refrain from using profanity in front of guests, unless it aligns with the restaurant’s specific theme.
- Maintain consistent service quality throughout each course of the meal.
- Prevent over-ordering by offering portion size guidance and recommendations.
- Assist guests outside your designated section; teamwork enhances overall service.
- Remove unnecessary place settings to streamline table presentation.
- Inform guests promptly if the kitchen or bar is out of an item to manage expectations.
- Remain professional if a guest requests to speak with a manager; don’t take it personally.
- Place the check in a neutral location, avoiding personal biases in presentation.
- Master your restaurant’s point of sale system – it’s your primary tool for service management.
6 Server Training Tips for Restaurant Owners
1. Encourage Meaningful Customer Engagement
Exceptional service goes beyond routine tasks. The best servers understand and connect with customers on a personal level. For example, instead of a vague “Everything is good” response to “What do you recommend?”, train servers to describe popular dishes in detail or share personal favorites. Suggestive selling enhances the dining experience and boosts revenue.
2. Ensure Comprehensive Menu Knowledge
The better servers know the menu, the more effectively they can sell it. Ensure servers taste various dishes and train them on drink pairings. Focus on promoting items that drive customer return, not just high-margin items.
3. Train the Entire Staff
Customer experience is a team effort. Even hostesses play a crucial role. Small changes in language can make a big impact. Instead of “Enjoy your dinner!”, a hostess could say, “We have a great beer selection and incredible pies for dessert. Enjoy your meal!”
4. Empower Servers to Build Loyalty and Revenue
Servers are sales professionals in a customer-facing role. With proper training, they can increase revenue, build loyalty, and strengthen your brand.
Servers are the face of your restaurant. In a competitive market, service quality is a key differentiator. Positive reviews mentioning “good” or “great” service are five times more likely to be five-star. A half-star improvement in ratings can increase sales by nearly 20%.
Hostesses mentioning specific items create opportunities for servers to upsell, increasing check averages and tips.
5. Measure Server Performance
Identify your highest-performing servers with data, not just intuition. Analyze metrics to understand what makes them successful. Tools can reveal:
- Top-selling menu sections per server.
- Table turnover rates of top performers.
- Profitable pairings suggested by top servers.
- Contribution of wine vs. liquor sales to top server revenue.
- Consistency in serving VIP customers.
6. Value Server Feedback
Server insights are invaluable. They witness customer preferences firsthand. Use their observations to inform menu adjustments and service improvements.
Leverage Your Restaurant POS for Actionable Insights
Lightspeed Restaurant POS and management system provides data-driven insights into server performance, menu profitability, sales reporting, and more. Consult with our restaurant experts to learn how technology can optimize your operations and inform strategic decisions.
