26 Degrees in the Shade . . .

How to be a Good Waitress, bar in Spain

What is the highest skill that a waitress needs?

Well there are several:

• The social skill to relate to customers from the very get-go!
• The ability to say a few words when she passes a table that are having to wait for their food (If she chats even a little with them, they feel attended to and forget that they are actually sitting there waiting)
• She must remember to write down every  single drink and every food item that she has taken an order for. This must be written on the bill for the appropriate table. (Remember what doesn’t get written down, doesn’t get paid for)
• The most important skill is to control the flow of orders to both the bar and to the kitchen. When you are really busy in your bar/ restaurant  in Spain, a good waitress will discourage people from ordering cocktails and encourage them to order a simple bottle of wine or a jug of Sangria (only if it has been pre-prepared)

Buy encouraging people to order items that you can deliver quickly, you not only get more sales, but you keep the customer happy.

Controlling the flow of incoming food orders

By chatting just a little to customers, you can get them to sit and be happy just having a drink and not worrying about having their order taken quickly.

Most customers try to order food and drink at the same time and this causes several problems.

• The waitress has to concern herself with processing both food and drink orders at the same time and even looking after a few tables she soon starts to feel under stress, has no time to chat and starts to make mistakes
• When she separates food and drinks and takes the drinks order first, it’s a lot easier for her and the kitchen buys time to clear existing orders, before she goes back to the table to take the food order 15-30 min latter.
• Using this system customers start to enjoy having a drink and often will order a second round. More profit for you bar/restaurant in Spain..

In mid August when you have 300% of normal trade, you waitress may have to stop taking food orders for a period of say 30 min to give the kitchen a chance to clear existing orders. In such a case she must tell the clients honestly that there will be a wait and NOT take their order until the kitchen has freed-up.

Finally

At busy times she should not take orders for long lead items, such as frozen Lasagna. Even if you have it, she must be instructed to say that it’s off the menu

Remember

that a customer times his/her food order from the moment your waitress writes it down, so writing the order down as late as she can get away with, will lead to less unhappy customers.

If she serves them a drink or two before taking their food order, they will already be a little merry and in a better humour.

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Customer Relations Bar /Restaurant Spain

Customer relations in my Bar /Restaurant Spain

Last post I talked about controlling staff

Today I want to talk about how to select, contract and train staff to best serve your profit goals.

A small business like Graham’s Pizzeria needs a couple to run it and between one and two extra staff.

The extra staff do the simple tasks like shifting rubbish and washing up, but they also do one of the most vital jobs in any bar/restaurant i.e:

they are at the coal face, interfacing with the client, and as all income flows from the client, you need your staff to be:

• Attractive
• Well dressed
• Polite at all times
• Have a strong personality and be able to chat with clients who are waiting.
• Have at least some English and Spanish
• Write down orders clearly to the system which you have established.
• Be capable of remembering where each order goes on a given table
  
• To regulate the work flow going into the kitchen

Young well groomed women will bring in more trade, but in businesses with more than two staff a young well turned out waiter will also draw in trade.

I’ll deal with each point over the next few posts, but let’s get started:

Interviewing.

When interviewing ask yourself does this person fit my criteria and ask them questions relative to previous experience, going on to work you way down the above list. Sometimes the first person you interview is the perfect candidate and other times you have to interview several people to find a suitable candidate. Remember, be patient and wait until you find the right person who you feel is prepared to learn and will add to you business.