Sizing Up The Customer

I am reading this book called "Blink" and what it is about basically is how we within seconds make a decision about something. Then the more we think after that just confuses us until most of the time we realize our initial first impression was correct all along.

For example , at the end of a bartending course like tonight I give a 40 question multiple choice on things I have taught from drink recipes , bar set-up , bar brands , and a few other questions that pertain to the world of mixology. Everyone passes because it is a very easy exam because the real test is when you are making drinks in front of customers in a real life situation.

But what I did notice marking the exams is that the ones who finished first generally got the highest results. The ones who took the longest didn't get so great a score.

You see the questions were very easy and straightforward but if you thought about the answer too long then a whole bunch of other things would pop into your head about what else it could be other than the one correct answer that you thought of first.

Generally in life our first thoughts are always pretty close to correct most of the time. For those of us who are married we didn't have to think long and hard about whether our partner was the right one. We instinctively knew that. We felt the emotion. Same for our profession , I do not find doing anything else as easy as what I am doing now. It seems natural for me to do as I am sure what you do is natural for you. It doesn't mean we cannot do anything else but when we chose what we do for a living it was because we felt good about it. Right away we knew it was for us and we could do well in it. If we had to think about it for a while then maybe right now we would be doing something else.

But sometimes our first thoughts can steer us wrong especially when it comes to meeting a person or people for the very first time because of the programming our minds have been subjected to beforehand. For instance , if a customer walks in and is unshaven and wearing not the best clothes it is easy for myself to think that this customer will not be spending too much money or leaving me such a big tip.

On the other hand this person could leave the best tip of the night. So this is where as a waiter I have to throw my first impressions of anyone right out the window and serve everyone the same way. It would be the same as a car salesman avoiding someone walking into a showroom wearing jeans with holes in them. He would be making a judgement without information.

So as a waiter I try to treat everyone like a VIP , even the 5 year old who is having the kid's meal. It just makes it easier for me to serve. I may joke about a meagre tip sarcastically but who knows that person may not normally leave that much to begin with and I don't follow these people around as they go eating everywhere else to see if they tip differently in other places.

In concluding , I think decisions made in a blink of an eye are useful if you have the information before you and you have some idea of what you are facing. But the person who sits down for the first time in a restaurant , I do not know whether they will be a good or bad table. That is why I do not want to get in the habit of prejudging anyone on a first impression or I am doomed to be miserable and happy at twenty different points during an evening affecting my service overall. I have to be consistent to everyone and every situation in my mind.

If not , that would cheat all the guests of my best attention and myself of the best gratuity possible.