It was 7: 45 am on April 2nd of 2007 when I arrived for my first day of work at my previous job. I hadn’t slept much the night before because of nerves. I had closed my old restaurant the night before and departed that night knowing that I was leaving a great deal of […]
Tag Archives | Waiter
Three Court Rulings You Should Be Aware Of
One of the most difficult facets of managing a restaurant is keeping within the limits of the vague laws regulating restaurants. Lawmakers are not doing restaurants any favors by writing laws that leave critical issue unclear. This ambiguity is often left to the courts to be clarified. The courts have handed down three very significant […]
Skill Focus: Creating Regulars
Last week I discussed how to create and build rapport with your guests. This week I am taking it a step further. The reason you want to establish rapport with a guest is to earn an exceptional tip and make them want to return to the restaurant. The only thing that would be better than […]
Five Reasons Managers Need Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips
Last week my first book Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips was released. I have tried to make an effective argument for why servers looking to increase their income should buy this book. Servers are not the only group that can benefit from this book. I can say with absolute certainty that this book will […]
The Pre-Shift Meeting (Part Two)
Yesterday, in part one of my discussion of pre-shift meetings, I discussed the things a manager can do to harm the effect of a pre-shift meeting. It was by no means a comprehensive list. There are many other mistakes managers can and do make that harm their pre-shift meetings. It does however beg a very […]
How To Make Hostile Guests Love You (Part One)
One of the most difficult situations any server faces is the hostile guest. I call them hostile, because they are angry with you long before you have even greeted them. Some people just bring all the hostility of their day in to a restaurant and dump it on their server. From the moment you greet […]
The Lost Art Of Suggestive Selling
“Subtlety is the art of saying what you think and getting out of the way before it is understood.” –Anonymous We as a society have really lost the power of subtlety. It could be because we have lost the patience to unravel it. We receive far more information on a daily basis than our ancestors […]
Recommended Reading 11/1
In my continuing attempt to find a good Monday feature, I have decided to share some of the more fun or interesting things I have read over the last week. I’m not really putting a minimum number of in because I don’t want to ever post filler. These are just random restaurant related articles that […]
Leadership: Empowering Others
“If you don’t understand that you work for your mislabeled ‘subordinates,’ then you know nothing of leadership. You know only tyranny.” -Dee Hock You have two choices as a manager. You can force every staff member to do things as you would do them or you can encourage them to achieve the results you […]
Making a Difference
The weekend is upon us. Friday and Saturday nights get busy and take a lot out of us. The pace is faster, the side stations are more crowded, and all of the saucers in the restaurant seem to hide. The guests do not seem to understand any of this and have far less patience. This […]
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About The Author
David Hayden was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He took his first serving job in 1996. Since that time, he has worked for over a dozen different restaurant companies. He has held both hourly and salaried positions at independent and corporate restaurants. He has waited on over 100,000 guests and trained hundreds of servers. He has been named "Best Server in Kansas City" the last three years by the local weekly paper.