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Hot Off The Press (#207)
How To Maximize Earnings As A Server In Restaurants
By Lloyd M. Gordon - New Price $39.95

Server Earnings

The author operated table service restaurants as pancake houses, coffee shops, family theme, steak houses, International gourmet, Polynesian, Tex-Mex, Delicatessen, Seafood and others too numerous to designate.

What they all had in common was that they had waitresses or waiters, now referred to as servers. These servers were expected to perform the duties of,

  • handling guests
  • gathering orders
  • communicating these orders to the kitchen
  • assembling the orders for delivery to the tables
  • delivering these orders
  • correcting snafus
  • handling complaints
  • collecting the payment of the checks

and all of the other activities associated with making a restaurant visit a pleasant experience.

To the uninitiated this seems to be an insurmountable task requiring a wide range of food handling talents, a good psyche, a calm inner strength and a genuine liking of people.

Where do you find such a talented person and how can he or she be turned loose in your specialized dining room, entrusted with the life blood of your business – your customer?

Yes, it is possible to recruit, train, motivate and supervise such fine people to respond adequately to the needs of your food establishment. Its all in this newest book by well respected restaurant consultant Lloyd M. Gordon. It is written from the view point of a trainer taking on a new server recruit on a one on one trip to a successful conclusion; making great money for the server and the establishment!

Format: Three ring binder, loose leaf

List of Topics

Waitstaff: Your Job Is Varied

Service

Complaints

Accidents

Handicapped

Phones

Reservations

Seating

Restocking
Server's Responsibilities: to The Customer
  • Greet Each New Customer
  • Make Your Greeting Mean it
  • Help with Seating
  • Taking the Order
  • Check on the Product
  • Service Hints
  • A must Do at Meals End
Basic Rules: For All Service Personnel
  • Your Appearance
  • Your Work Attitude
  • Your Attitude Toward Guests
  • Watch What’s Going on Around You
  • A Dining Room Is Show Business
  • Check Your Set-up For Each Meal Period
  • Basic Rules: Serving Beverages
  • This Is a Must Do
  • How to Serve Properly
  • Serving Children
Basic Rules: for Table Service
  • Standard Table Service
  • General Rules When Using Placemat Service
  • As Guests Depart
Basic Rules: How to Keep the Dining Room Alive
  • The Room’s Appearance
  • Salad Bar
  • Items Requiring Special Attention
  • Closing The Check
  • Handling Utensils
  • Stay Alert
  • Your Income From Tips
Standard Rules: Collecting The Check
  • Manual Method
  • Both Systems
  • Self Banking
30 Rules: Good Sanitation, Closing and Stocking
  • Observe Sanitation Rules
  • Closing up
  • Restocking
Helpful Hints; How to Be a Good Cocktail Server
  • You Must Look Good
  • You must Respect Your Special Status
  • You Are a Star
  • Seating Bar Patrons Is Informal
  • Taking the Order and Providing Bar Service
  • Closing up Your Station

Here is solid advice from the book for every food server everywhere. . .

"Deliver the orders as soon as possible. Check the quality of the foods carefully before serving them. Never serve any food you believe to be spoiled, soured, or tainted, that you think might be dangerous to the customer's health. When you discover spoiled, sour, or tainted food, don't throw it away — call the manager and have him double check you. If he agrees with your detection, he will agree to the disposal of the questionable food items.

"Always serve the correct portion. Observe to learn the portions for each item listed on the menu portions sheet posted in the service area. We can't keep customer's happy and our restaurant functioning properly if foods are over or under- portioned.

"Management, in setting a price for a food item, takes into account that a certain weight or size of that item will be served for the price to be charged. Exceeding that portion short changes the business and makes it difficult to make the cash return to pay wages and stay profitable. On the other hand, if a guest sees a smaller than usual portion they will resent it and may not return again."

To Top

Here is what the Vice President of Training for a leading restaurant company had to say after reading the publisher’s copy of this book:

"This is what every restaurant needs that serves customers at table side. A copy of this booklet should become standard issue to all new servers in every restaurant everywhere.

"If management and servers agree that they have these interests in common, both will benefit. This booklet respects the integrity and intelligence of every server. It also spells out gently, what a restaurant operator must expect from all servers. It’s a win - win situation."