The State of Mind The Guest Is In Makes the Difference

I haven't posted lately so that I could catch up on some rest and do something else rather than plant myself in front of the computer. In fact it does one good to switch focus once in a while as family members have taken turns being sick in the house whereas I have so far managed to escape all that , touch wood.

But tonight's topic isn't so much about what has gone on the last few days but what I have been doing for quite a long time now and that is putting up with guest's special requests and general character. First of all there are more good people out there than bad ones. Let's be clear on that because if it was the other way around I don't think too many would be able to afford a living much less put up with the guests in the first place.

Which brings me up to the point of this post. You see I work with people half my age and I see them get a little flustered when they get treated shabbily by the guest. After a time they will either look for something else in another profession or get over it. It is that simple.

Now I confess a number of years ago when I first started out if someone did not leave much I sometimes felt a little bad for myself. It is normal. But then as time went on it became normal to find someone who would not leave much or they would sit there for countless hours before leaving and so on. It never changed. Someone would always complain about something even if it wasn't your fault but you had to fix it.

The difference was after a time these obstacles during service became normal. No matter what happens in the dining room a waiter has to acknowledge the fact that it is not an attack on him or herself personally.

It is , and get this , the state of mind the guests were in before they entered the restaurant.

What happens during the evening has nothing to do with you , the waiter! Understand that and you will go through each night smoothly.

Just think of it for a second , when something is not going right in someone's life they look to pass blame on someone or something and who better than the restaurant they are eating in and the server who is serving them.

Sure anyone can make a mistake but it is the guest's reaction that explains a lot about that person. Why do some think a mistake is no big deal and others make it like it is their biggest ordeal?

It is not you , it is them and what was going on in their heads before they arrived. I cannot solve their personal problems of which I know nothing of.

The only thing I can do is welcome them , take the order , give good service and bill them. That is it. I can make them feel better than they had felt before they came in but if they cannot generously tip me at the conclusion of their meal that is their fault and not mine.

This is why you see lousier waiters make more money than others sometimes simply because they had happier people sit in their section that evening. They could make mistake after mistake or neglect to do the table maintenance etc. and still be left a good tip.

In conclusion , the tip you will receive will depend on the customer's state of mind before they came in. If they were in a bad mood at all upon their arrival , whether you get a good tip or not will depend on their acceptance of your good service and overcoming their negative state of mind at the beginning.

If you take anything away from this post and it helps you deal with the public better let me know. I am always open for discussion.

On Top Of My Game

On Wednesday night it was pretty dead but I did get 5 tables. Now you know when it is slow like that you gotta make every table count.

Well my totals for the night were $881 net sales on 19 covers. Not especially a lot but I walked out with $132 after tipping out $28. I had a 7 top that left me $50 and upon leaving one of the women said I left you a bit more on the table. That was another tenner.

Then I had a 6 top of which some were from Minneapolis and Ireland and they left me $66. They even called me over when I was filling my salt and peppers and mentioned what a professional waiter I was. They said everything was beautiful and especially my timing when it came to facilitating the flow of the meal , filling drinks , pouring wine etc. Arriving at the right moment.

So far this week I have to say while some others are complaining where I work about making little , I seem to be raking it in.

You know when it is slow a lot of people let their service standards slip. They go for a smoke , chat , think about getting cut and heading home. One waiter traded up so he could get out earlier cause he said it would be a waste of time to serve only a few tables. Well I served only a few and look what I walked out with. I wasn't even there four hours.

I need to make a living doing this waiter thing so I got my game face on all the time. It pays off. My wife is the same. Last month was our second best month of the year after May. We just got to keep it going.

We still have the busy season ahead of us and I am psyched. Bring on the people.

I am ready. Are you?

Half Year Earnings

So June is over and my wife and I have brought $30,000 home. July and August are slower so don't double that to get our yearly income. It all depends on teaching as well on how it is looking for the Fall but we are pleased so far.

We have a lot to be thankful for on this Canada Day!

Waiting on Tables Is What I Do

At the beginning of the month I was wondering if all the restaurant goers decided to go on holiday at the same time. The first two weeks were brutal.

Now heading into the last few days of the month it looks like we are on track to beat our earnings from last June which is real good. Last night I even chalked up more sales than I did Saturday night which is rare.

I am not sure what was going on last night but everyone was ordering the nice bottles of wine and ordering the full meal , from appetizers and the entree , to the dessert.

Had an interesting table of five which were heading back to England. When I mentioned have a nice flight back she says oh no we are heading to the States first then taking the Queen Mary back home. That would sure be nice , wouldn't it! Then another table was trying to prospect me into a network marketing business. Quite the weekend!

Over the last 3 days in particular my tip percentages have been quite high at least for these parts. Last night my sales were $1380 and my tip out was a whopping $46 but I still walked out of there with a $185 for a 16.7% average tip.

To add onto that my wife came home with $100 in the morning. It doesn't always work out so well but with holidays coming fast , beginning on Saturday when we head out for a week , we will take it.

The one thing I have to say that I really like about waiting on tables is the immediate gratification you get when someone leaves you a nice tip for your service. There is no better feeling than driving home thinking that you helped someone have a great night out with their family and friends.

For as long as I can I will wait on tables whether it be full time or part time although the hours I am working now it may as well be part time. Not only does it give me a bit of exercise throughout the day but it gives me a sense that I am serving the public good by serving others.

Also the money is not half bad either!

The Future of Waiting and Bartending As I See It

With the minimum wage increasing here in Ontario to over $9 an hour and $8.60 per hour for waiters I couldn't be more elated. But I would just like to voice a concern or caution as to what effect this could have on waiting on tables in the future.

First of all I want to make it clear that in these hard times I couldn't be more happier than walking into work and 5 hours later leaving with money in my pocket. It pays the mortage , kid's school savings , car loan payments , etc.. over a course of a month.

But over the past 25 years or so I have seen how the service industry has changed at least around these parts. You see as costs have risen over the years to run a restaurant the service industry personnel have had to share in the burden of operating the business.

Let me give you an example , a few years back I never heard of a waiter paying a percentage of his sales to the kitchen staff. Or , in some places there may even be a very small percentage toward breakage that takes place during service in a restaurant. All this on top of the tip outs to bussers , hosts , if you are a waiter to the bartender , bartender to barback , kitchen manager , general manager , and even a percentage in some spots to cover the cost of credit card transactions to the house. All the waiter or bartender seems to be doing is paying out the extra from what they are making to support the salaries of others.

Now this is what I see happening in the next 5-10 years of the service industry at least here where the minimum wage is going to be increasing , unlike the US where the hourly wage is really low still.

Employers know that to attract good managers they have to be pay them a very good salary but if they have to pay more to waiters who they know already make pretty good tips where do you think they will make up for their higher costs? The waiter's tips , right?

So despite the increase in minimum wage that I will make per hour I know that in a few months companies will find a way to increase my tip out , albeit a small percentage , to make up the difference.

But here is the dilemna , the amount of money that people tip is not going to increase with my percentage of tip out. And to say that I make a whole lot more than I did 25 years ago with respect to cost of living would be misleading. Back then I would have made enough so that my wife would not have to work. So my take home pay has diminished substantially with respect to inflation.

Eventually , what I see happening is there will be an automatic 15% gratuity added on to the check that will go to the house. Then at the end the tips will all be divided amongst the staff. The tips will be less to the wait and bartending staff. To make up the difference the service people will be paid a higher hourly wage than minimum to make it seem like no matter how busy it is at least they will be making $15 an hour or something and some benefits will be thrown in for good measure. Sort of like the way it is in Europe where there are no gratuities paid out in a lot of countries , like Switzerland for example. Cruiseships , since I have worked on them , more and more have a no tipping policy.

As well governments would like to see the waiters and bartenders paying their share of taxes to support the aging baby boomer population that is soon to retire. This will happen even without the actions of an owner - operator doing what I have just mentioned in the above paragragh.

To add onto this , factor in how much can a restaurant charge for a meal without all the customers taking a hike and not coming at all ?

I hate to say this for those of us who make a good dollar bartending and waiting but this is where it is heading. To attract the excellent managers of the future that will stick around for a while the employer will have to pay them more than they are paying now. Waiters and bartenders then will be more inclined and motivated to make the jump into management because they will be compensated better for the hours put in and their responsibilities. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. A logical next step for a bartender and waiter.

In conclusion , I believe we are beginning to see the end of waiting and bartending being as lucrative as it once was despite an increase in a minimum wage. All the minimum wage will do is hasten the way an owner - operator will conduct his business regarding how his employees will be paid. This will affect in a negative way the take home pay of a waiter / bartender.

The days of the $250 nights will come to an end.

My suggestion as to where you will still be able to make a lot of money as a waiter / bartender a decade from now is work where it is super busy , not seasonal , warm , and people are on holiday.

Any thoughts????

I Cannot Complain

It is now 1:12 AM and am here in front of the computer just home with a beer after closing another Saturday night where I work. It is a normal thing that I close on Saturdays. It has been since I think the end of November that I have closed every Saturday night. I am kinda getting sick of it.

But tonight in the cold month of January on the evening of the 24th I served 49 people with net sales of $1739 , a paltry average person cheque of $35 and change , and after tipping out $66 to the house walked out with $300!

Now that is Canadian $$$ but whatever currency that is that is not bad for what is supposed to be one of the slowest months of the year in a down economy on a night where the temperature is -18 Degrees C or 10F.

Even during Christmas I never made that much. So with my paltry hourly wage I cleared tonight about $350 for 7 hours work.

So for all the complaining I do which I try to keep in check what more can you want in January or anytime.

I REALLY CANNOT COMPLAIN.........