Lecours Wolfson » Hospitality Management

Updating Restaurant Etiquette for a Modern Age [starchefs.com]

Jordan Romoff — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:27:37 +0000

This is a great piece explaining how important Back of House ‘Best Practices’ are to the culture of the entire operation.

Click to read the entire article.

Customer Service 101 – Here’s a great list of 100 Do’s and Dont’s for Restaurant Servers (Part 2)

Jordan Romoff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:52:56 +0000

100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do (Part 2)

By Bruce Buschel

This is the second half of the 100 do’s and don’ts from last week’s post. Again, this list is for one particular restaurant, mine, which is under construction in Bridgehampton, N.Y., and will, with any luck, open this spring. I realize that every deli needs a wisecracking waiter, most pizza joints can handle heavy metal, and burgers always taste better when delivered by a server with tattoos and tongue piercing(s).

Not even a hundred suggestions can cover all the bases, so one is grateful for the many comments following the 50, including striking “you guys” from the restaurant lexicon and making sure the alcohol order is taken lickety-split. Thanks for all of the help.

51. If there is a service charge, alert your guests when you present the bill. It’s not a secret or a trick.

52. Know your menu inside and out. If you serve Balsam Farm candy-striped beets, know something about Balsam Farm and candy-striped beets.

53. Do not let guests double-order unintentionally; remind the guest who orders ratatouille that zucchini comes with the entree.

Keep reading>

Customer Service 101 – Here’s a great list of 100 Do’s and Dont’s for Restaurant Servers (Part 1)

Jordan Romoff — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:43:09 +0000

100 Things Restaurant Staffers Should Never Do

By Bruce Buschel

Herewith is a modest list of dos and don’ts for servers at the seafood restaurant I am building. Veteran waiters, moonlighting actresses, libertarians and baristas will no doubt protest some or most of what follows. They will claim it homogenizes them or stifles their true nature. And yet, if 100 different actors play Hamlet, hitting all the same marks, reciting all the same lines, cannot each one bring something unique to that role?

1. Do not let anyone enter the restaurant without a warm greeting.

2. Do not make a singleton feel bad. Do not say, “Are you waiting for someone?” Ask for a reservation. Ask if he or she would like to sit at the bar.

3. Never refuse to seat three guests because a fourth has not yet arrived.

Keep reading>