The First 15 Seconds

This post is going to be rather short as in 10 minutes I have to go somewhere.

So to get to the point quickly the first thing about going up to your new table is to put them at ease.

What I do is stop and look at all of them in the eye and smile and say good evening or welcome and ask them how they are all doin? Then I may add what a great day out , eh? I am trying to set up a positive beginning to their experience and open their mind to any suggestion I may have later.

Then I shut up and wait for the answer. From this initial greeting and their response I know what kind of mood they are in , and who will be the asshole of the table if there is one. Also someone may pipe up and say it's his or her birthday then right away you know what they are getting for dessert. You know , that special dessert for someone's birthday that is usually on the house.

If no one answers and the couple is glaring at one another or if they answer and it looks like they are grumpier than heck then you know this table you have to be careful of. They will complain of anything so they can agree on something before leaving. You have to watch and pay special attention until they leave.

You may also get that give us some time which is fine so I do.

I never start off by introducing myself and doing the talking cause that is just being rude. It is all about them and what their feelings and mood are in when they arrive. I never bring up features without listening to them first.

All this in the first 15-20 seconds between the time I greet them and their answer. Then I decide how to proceed from that.

Tomorrow is on how I do the features.

Would You Have Tried To Talk Them Out of It?

Last night I had a couple who looked like they were in their late 60's come in. He ordered the steak and lobster and she orders the ahi tuna.

She ask me about the sauce and I explain and then I mention it is coming rare or at the most medium rare because any more and it is really tough. Kind of funny she looks at me and says , well as long as it is cooked through. I say yes but do you mean you would like it cooked well done or something to that effect. Puzzled she replies , well as long as it is cooked through. I then explain that is it going to have the same colour like a steak cooked blue , do you like that? It may have a cool centre as well. Adding I am not sure you are going to like it thinking that for sure once she taste it she is going to send it back. Even her husband is concurring with what I am saying.

Insisting that she wants to try it I put the order in and the food arrives. I do a table check and she wants a bit more sauce. She is eating the tuna and says it is fine.

Upon clearing I notice she did not finish the tuna but I didn't ask her again if she enjoyed it. I could have got into a long unnecessary conversation. They get two coffees and the bill and she paid and left what I thought was a decent tip. She was very kind and friendly at the end of the meal.

Now it appears that I handled this situation correctly. Whenever someone wants to try something and you do not think they will like it from the questions they are asking , I will say something to try to dissuade them from ordering it as I would prefer them order something they are familiar with. Also if they do indeed order that item I want them to understand that I tried my best to explain that might not be their best choice. I don't say something like you are making a big mistake but through my questioning and answers they will know that maybe they should just have that steak like they usually do.

Then once I do my quality check and everything is okay I leave it at that and I just go back fill the waters or I do whatever but I don't ask how they are doing again. I just want that meal to be eaten without throwing some doubt into the mix that could bring up a negative. She said it was fine and that is all I needed to hear.The same thing with clearing , I don't say anything.

At the end it was a successful outcome but personally I think she will skip the tuna the next time.

What would you have done? Tried to talk them out of it like I did or just take the order and hope for the best?