If you work in any area of service you know how important your appearance, demeanor, and body language is to give the right impression to your guests. Being a tipped employee, such as a server, delivery person, bartender, etc., you know how much more crucial this impression is since it has a direct effect on your wallet.
Here are some tips:
a. Always make eye contact whenever, and to whomever, you are speaking to.
b. Smile. Genuine smiles make the guest know you are truly intending on making sure their visit is amazing.
c. If they are regulars, or if you've seen them there before... mention it. Shows that you pay attention even if you weren't the one taking care of them before. Thus, they know they will be well taken care of.
d. Dress appropriately for the position. Being a server doesn't require a hairnet, but if your hair touches your shoulders, it should be pulled up and contained properly.
e. There's nothing wrong with a well-kept goatee or mustache, just as long as the remaining area is clean shaven. This is all about hygiene.
f. Speaking of hygiene... clean fingernails, no body odor or heaving perfumes (both are equally bad), appropriate amount of make-up(no emos), minimum on the jewelry(and yes this includes earrings), and definitely tuck in your shirt if it was meant to!
g. If your guest is not happy with something (anything even if it has nothing to do with you)... apologize and inform the manager on duty.
h. Always ensure guest glasses are atleast half full. Unless it's alcohol, you should automatically be getting them a refill.
i. Water is expected when alcohol or coffee is ordered. A lot of restaurants automatically server water, I am a full supporter of this, but in those cases where it is not a part of their server expectations, always offer because we expect it.
j. Even if you shift is about to end, you've done all your side work and your waiting on that one last table.... Do Not Hover or Hand Them Off.
k. Smile and acknowledge all guests, not just yours. Next time they may be your guests.
l. Never complain to your guests about anything.
m. Pay attention to all the guests at the table. There's nothing worse than a female server giving the man all the eye contact or attention. Most of the time, it's the woman who decides your tip!!! Vice versa for guys!
n. Never let them see you sweat. I know how hard this can be as hot as kitchens get, but there's nothing wrong with using a beverage napkin to wipe off any visible presperation.
o. Don't mingle with other servers on the floor. Nine times out of ten the guests can hear you.
p. When clearly un-necessary glasses never use the claw method (fingers in glasses) to remove them. This is a serious food safety issue.
q. Wash your hands frequently. Though you may not have to handle food directly, you do clear dishes and cups that could be carrying germs.
r. No gum chewing. This is just disgusting to guests. No "Flo's" allowed in this day and age.
s. Keep your apron clean. Your guests will wondering how many times you wiped your hands on the apron versus washing them.
t. Always be respectful of your manager. How well you keep your cool in tough situations will benefit you and your wallet.
u. Be ready when you walk in the door. No guest wants to wait for you to touch up your make-up in the bathroom before they get service.
v. Read your guests facial expressions and body language. This is a way of being pro-active to possible tough situations you can remedy before it gets worse.
w. Don't count your tips or money in guest view. Personally, I say don't count until your shift is completely over. If your focus is on the money and not on the guest it will show in total tips.
x. Always offer dessert. Even if they didn't finish their entrees you never know if they were saving room especially for that big vanilla bean cheesecake they saw as they walked by another table.
y. Never sit with your guests if you have other tables. Doing this shows your other tables that you are too distracted. If you talk with regulars.. make it brief and always remain standing.
z. Don't be greedy with the tables. Having more tables does not bring you more tips. Better service does, so focus on what you've got and make it the best visit they've ever had!!!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Bynum's Steakhouse
On Jan 7, 2012
Bynum's Steakhouse Indianapolis, IN
7:45pm
Upon our arrival, we noticed how packed they were. We went in anyway, it is Saturday evening and was pretty much expecting a small wait. We go to the hostess stand, but no one's there. After a few minutes of waiting and looking around a host greeted us. I instantly felt sorry for the guy. He was sweating profusely, I'm guessing he's helping bus tables or in the kitchen. He was very polite as he takes our name and tells us it'll be about 30-35 minutes.
There really isn't any area to sit to wait. All's we see is a small bench by the door, which was occupied by a gentleman reading, then see the bar. The bar wasn't very big, had a total of 7 stools. There was a party of 4 already there so we began to sit at the other 2 next to them, then realize that the drinks sitting there were fairly fresh. Just as we contemplate where to go to wait, the host informed the group their table was ready. YEAH! We watch them leave, with drinks in their hands, to follow the host. Now, at this time there's a gentleman behind the bar and I'm wanting a glass of wine while we wait. He left.
My fiance' and I sat at this bar for 30-35 minutes watching as servers, approximately 8 of them, went behind the bar, poured their drinks then left without any acknowledgement of us, LITERALLY. I was perturbed. Not one of them even made eye contact, smiled our way, or anything. It was like we were invisible. But, the gentleman who was sitting at one of the two stools we almost sat at, well he was being well taken care of. He was given another drink, his order taken, and food delivered.... right next to us. Yet, not even his server or our sweating host he was conversing with, paid any attention to us. None.
At this point, we are seriously considering leaving. Where's the service? Why is there no one tending to this bar? Why did not ONE of these servers even acknowledge us? Were we truly invisible? I got back to the host stand and grab a menu for us to browse over.
Just as I am considering leaving, after giving my fiance many BS excuses for why there's no bartender, the host comes to get us for our table. I'm excited! I can finally get something to drink, and food, I was starving. A couple minutes after being sat, our server with hands full of dishes acknowledges us and says she'll be right back. About five minutes later she returns.
She asks for our drink order. One coke and a glass of Pinot Grigio. Didn't ask for our appetizer order. A few minutes later she returns only to drop off the coke. Another 3 or 4 minutes I get my glass of wine, no water was offered or given. Just a glass of wine. Ughhh. I just know this isn't going to be good service at this point. As a rule every server should know.... ALWAYS offer water with alcohol, or bring it automatically. This rule also applies to coffee. For what used to be the "Best Steakhouse" in Indianapolis, this is a sign of whats wrong.
Once we get my glass of wine, the server asks about appetizers. We order the Onion Flower. Once said, she turns to leave. My fiance' speaks up and asks if we can go ahead and give her our entree order since we already knew what we wanted. Mind you, we have now been here for about 45 minutes and just now got a drink. She says she has to put the appetizer order in now, but will be right back for our entree orders.
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!
We did not see our server again till she brought us our appetizer. He asked again about giving her our order. Again, she says she'll be right back to get it.
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN... AGAIN!
We truly enjoyed our appetizer. It was cooked to perfection! Crispy, not soggy, and the sauce was a perfect balance of heat and sweetness. I would definitely order this again!!!
Ten minutes have passed since our server brought us our appetizer, and we have yet to have her attention again. We now have no drinks! His coke is empty, my wine glass is empty, and had I been given water, we both would've had something to rinse our palettes.
We are totally frustrated and thirsty at this point, we again consider leaving. You see, its not like she's not around. We see her going in and out of the kitchen, since our table was actually one table away from the server exit and entrance to the kitchen.
My fiance' looks over our booth and she sees him. He tells me she's on her way. NOW.... as a server your job is to observe your guest drinks at all times. Considering she hasn't done this since she hasn't been back to our table like she had said, again, you'd think she'd actually look at our empty glasses.
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN..... AGAINNNNN!
She immediately gets her pen and paper ready and asks if we were ready to order! REALLY??? I was so livid at this that I answered her, very nicely compared to how outraged I was by her lack of service. I said "Yes, we are, but could we please have something to drink? Both our glasses are empty and have been for 5 minutes."
Stone-face glare is what I got back. I obviously offended her, and it showed. She remembers our drinks and I then ask if I could also get a glass of water. She says yes.
Being clearly unhappy with our service, you would think she would apologize for her error, or atleast make an attempt to be more polite to us.
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.... AGAIIINNNNNN!
Are you seeing a trend here?
She brings the coke. Leaves. Brings the wine. Leaves. Brings my water and finally takes our order.
Now, from here on out, and she's minus 3 tables to wait on since they left before we even got our order placed, we have everything out timely.
The french onion soup... very tasty, would've like more crouton.
Side salad.... perfect size and their homemade buttermilk ranch was AMAZING!
Bread... a complete turn off. Basic white loaf bread that lacked flavoring. Basic butter. I'll pass on this next time.
My fiance ordered the Ribeye and I ordered the Porterhouse (only $2 difference than just a filet), and we both got loaded baked potatoes. The steaks were huge, cooked PERFECTLY, hot and so delicious we wished we could eat even half of them. Same thing for the loaded baked potato. Totally delicious.
I might add, our server never offered us any more drinks, didn't offer dessert, and only offered to wrap our steaks for take home. The only time she asked how we were, was to make sure the steaks were cooked properly. THAT'S IT.
Our total bill was $76 and some change. Was the food worth it? MOST DEFINITELY!!!
Was our service worth anything of a tip? NOPE.
However, I did give our non-servicing server a 31% tip. Why? The food was so amazing, it almost made up for the horrible service we received. ALMOST. My belly was happy and my tastebuds were totally satisfied. Total time of visit: 2 hours, an hour and a half at the table.
Overall assessment: Service: very poor
Food: excellent and worth every penny
Appearance: professional and clean
If I were to give Bynum's owners my opinion, I would tell them to do something with their service staff, and ensure they have a bartender every weekend night. All of this may very well be the lack of making it to the top 10 restaurants in Indianapolis. I will be back, because the food is amazing, and would love to have service that's atleast good.
Bynum's Steakhouse Indianapolis, IN
7:45pm
Upon our arrival, we noticed how packed they were. We went in anyway, it is Saturday evening and was pretty much expecting a small wait. We go to the hostess stand, but no one's there. After a few minutes of waiting and looking around a host greeted us. I instantly felt sorry for the guy. He was sweating profusely, I'm guessing he's helping bus tables or in the kitchen. He was very polite as he takes our name and tells us it'll be about 30-35 minutes.
There really isn't any area to sit to wait. All's we see is a small bench by the door, which was occupied by a gentleman reading, then see the bar. The bar wasn't very big, had a total of 7 stools. There was a party of 4 already there so we began to sit at the other 2 next to them, then realize that the drinks sitting there were fairly fresh. Just as we contemplate where to go to wait, the host informed the group their table was ready. YEAH! We watch them leave, with drinks in their hands, to follow the host. Now, at this time there's a gentleman behind the bar and I'm wanting a glass of wine while we wait. He left.
My fiance' and I sat at this bar for 30-35 minutes watching as servers, approximately 8 of them, went behind the bar, poured their drinks then left without any acknowledgement of us, LITERALLY. I was perturbed. Not one of them even made eye contact, smiled our way, or anything. It was like we were invisible. But, the gentleman who was sitting at one of the two stools we almost sat at, well he was being well taken care of. He was given another drink, his order taken, and food delivered.... right next to us. Yet, not even his server or our sweating host he was conversing with, paid any attention to us. None.
At this point, we are seriously considering leaving. Where's the service? Why is there no one tending to this bar? Why did not ONE of these servers even acknowledge us? Were we truly invisible? I got back to the host stand and grab a menu for us to browse over.
Just as I am considering leaving, after giving my fiance many BS excuses for why there's no bartender, the host comes to get us for our table. I'm excited! I can finally get something to drink, and food, I was starving. A couple minutes after being sat, our server with hands full of dishes acknowledges us and says she'll be right back. About five minutes later she returns.
She asks for our drink order. One coke and a glass of Pinot Grigio. Didn't ask for our appetizer order. A few minutes later she returns only to drop off the coke. Another 3 or 4 minutes I get my glass of wine, no water was offered or given. Just a glass of wine. Ughhh. I just know this isn't going to be good service at this point. As a rule every server should know.... ALWAYS offer water with alcohol, or bring it automatically. This rule also applies to coffee. For what used to be the "Best Steakhouse" in Indianapolis, this is a sign of whats wrong.
Once we get my glass of wine, the server asks about appetizers. We order the Onion Flower. Once said, she turns to leave. My fiance' speaks up and asks if we can go ahead and give her our entree order since we already knew what we wanted. Mind you, we have now been here for about 45 minutes and just now got a drink. She says she has to put the appetizer order in now, but will be right back for our entree orders.
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN!
We did not see our server again till she brought us our appetizer. He asked again about giving her our order. Again, she says she'll be right back to get it.
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN... AGAIN!
We truly enjoyed our appetizer. It was cooked to perfection! Crispy, not soggy, and the sauce was a perfect balance of heat and sweetness. I would definitely order this again!!!
Ten minutes have passed since our server brought us our appetizer, and we have yet to have her attention again. We now have no drinks! His coke is empty, my wine glass is empty, and had I been given water, we both would've had something to rinse our palettes.
We are totally frustrated and thirsty at this point, we again consider leaving. You see, its not like she's not around. We see her going in and out of the kitchen, since our table was actually one table away from the server exit and entrance to the kitchen.
My fiance' looks over our booth and she sees him. He tells me she's on her way. NOW.... as a server your job is to observe your guest drinks at all times. Considering she hasn't done this since she hasn't been back to our table like she had said, again, you'd think she'd actually look at our empty glasses.
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN..... AGAINNNNN!
She immediately gets her pen and paper ready and asks if we were ready to order! REALLY??? I was so livid at this that I answered her, very nicely compared to how outraged I was by her lack of service. I said "Yes, we are, but could we please have something to drink? Both our glasses are empty and have been for 5 minutes."
Stone-face glare is what I got back. I obviously offended her, and it showed. She remembers our drinks and I then ask if I could also get a glass of water. She says yes.
Being clearly unhappy with our service, you would think she would apologize for her error, or atleast make an attempt to be more polite to us.
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.... AGAIIINNNNNN!
Are you seeing a trend here?
She brings the coke. Leaves. Brings the wine. Leaves. Brings my water and finally takes our order.
Now, from here on out, and she's minus 3 tables to wait on since they left before we even got our order placed, we have everything out timely.
The french onion soup... very tasty, would've like more crouton.
Side salad.... perfect size and their homemade buttermilk ranch was AMAZING!
Bread... a complete turn off. Basic white loaf bread that lacked flavoring. Basic butter. I'll pass on this next time.
My fiance ordered the Ribeye and I ordered the Porterhouse (only $2 difference than just a filet), and we both got loaded baked potatoes. The steaks were huge, cooked PERFECTLY, hot and so delicious we wished we could eat even half of them. Same thing for the loaded baked potato. Totally delicious.
I might add, our server never offered us any more drinks, didn't offer dessert, and only offered to wrap our steaks for take home. The only time she asked how we were, was to make sure the steaks were cooked properly. THAT'S IT.
Our total bill was $76 and some change. Was the food worth it? MOST DEFINITELY!!!
Was our service worth anything of a tip? NOPE.
However, I did give our non-servicing server a 31% tip. Why? The food was so amazing, it almost made up for the horrible service we received. ALMOST. My belly was happy and my tastebuds were totally satisfied. Total time of visit: 2 hours, an hour and a half at the table.
Overall assessment: Service: very poor
Food: excellent and worth every penny
Appearance: professional and clean
If I were to give Bynum's owners my opinion, I would tell them to do something with their service staff, and ensure they have a bartender every weekend night. All of this may very well be the lack of making it to the top 10 restaurants in Indianapolis. I will be back, because the food is amazing, and would love to have service that's atleast good.
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