An Exercise

Here's an exercise for you to try. If you haven't been keeping a tip log start one. It's pretty simple, on a separate piece of paper in your order pad, record the sale and the tip from every table you have. You might also take a few notes like what section you had and what night of the week it was.

When I was delivering pizzas I actually made more money on the nights that I kept a log. I know - it makes no sense. I don't really care if it makes sense. My goal is to maximize my profits.

By keeping this information you might find out some surprising things. You may turn more tables in smaller sections. You may do better in bigger sections. There was a three table section that seemed to easily beat our some four table sections just because it was so much easier to get to them. You want to try and get assigned to the best section for you. To do that you'll need to know what that is.

This will also give you a good idea about what you can make in night in a section.

Here's the exercise

Once you figure this out...Set yourself a target. If you usually make $95 on a Tuesday in section 31, try and make $105. It's only ten bucks more --surely it's doable and ten bucks extra for a shift you were working anyway is like free money.

Magically when I monitor my progress and set the goal (if it is realistic) most of the time I make it. Maybe I hustle just a little bit more and get one more table that night or sell a few more desserts. Having a target makes it easier to keep going just a little bit more.

Try it and let us know if it works for you too.

Nightlife

If you are anything like me, when your shift is over you can't just turn it off, go home and go to sleep. You are energized, hanging with some awesome people either want to have someone wait on you or blow off a little steam. Usually at some point in the shift someone starts discussing after work activities.

If you are waiting tables there are limited options after work. The movies, amusement parks, and most of the stuff that normal people do are all closed down. There is usually a restaurant that is open later or a bar in your future. These can be some of the best times you'll have.

Here's something to think about: For the price of one of those nights you an probably join a 24 hour gym for a month. Try hitting he gym twice a week instead of going out every night. Put the cost difference in a fund for something cool. Maybe a trip somewhere, maybe an upgrade for your car or a little safety net. Just my opinion on this.

I loved going out, but when I started adding up what I was spending a week in my head...ouch.

The Man is trying to bring me down - or maybe your friends are - or maybe it's just me.

The worst thing a crab can do is crawl out of the bucket. When a crab tries to escape the other crabs will pull it back in. Sometimes your coworkers may unintentionally do the same. You'll notice when things start working there will be some who try and edge you from the path.

Don't snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

There will be times when it will be tempting to take all of your tips with you when you go out after work. "Don't worry about stopping by the bank...You can do that in the morning. We'll just be out for a little while and you won't spend much." A hundred bucks later you wake up with absolutely no cash and probably a decent sized headache. Just stop by the night deposit and drop some off on your way out. Sometimes if you actually head home for a bit first...you find you don't really want to go out, but if you do you can at least decide up front how much you will take with you and the maximum you should spend. These decisions are a lot better made up front than a couple of drinks in.

Maybe you have an exceptional night and want to celebrate. You should still drop some cash in a safe place and make your decision up front on how much you want to spend. I love celebrating - a lot: But you can easily turn an awesome $200 night into a $200 bar tab and a bunch of friends on the floor of your apartment. Which come to think of it can be a great night, but not if it means picking up three extra shifts later to make your bills.

Stop Caring

At one point early in my serving career a very nice older woman told me, "You are the worst waiter I have ever seen." This of course made me try harder and actually perform worse. I was running all of the time. I would rush to get drinks and if I forgot something I would practically run to the kitchen to get it.
I spent all of my time running and killing myself to please and it just made it worse for everyone. Then one day I had an epiphany (or I was just too tired to care.) I stopped trying to please everyone and just tried to do my job. I didn't run for one person. If I forgot something I just added it to my next trip. I never ran for one thing anymore. And you know what, people got happier and I got more efficient. Let me restate this:

The less I tried to please everyone, the happier my customers were.

I'm not saying ignore them. I'm not saying don't try and serve them. What I'm saying is focus on the whole job and not one person at one table. A little less concern reduces anxiety and stress, and makes things more pleasant for everyone. The job is stressful enough without adding more pressure on yourself. So consolidate your trips - so it may take a few seconds longer for that refill or the extra spoon, but you will be calmer cooler and have more time to take care of everyone.

Also don't take this as saying take a smoke break out back and neglect your tables. Take care of your tables. Just take care of all of them collectively.

Repeat exactly?

In a recent Interview on the Harvard Business Review Podcast Daniel Pink (http://www.danpink.com/) stated that repeating a customer's order exactly back resulted in %70 higher tips. I'm not sure where the numbers came from or what this is based on but it can't hurt. Repeating back exactly does show that you are focused on the customer and are taking the time to get the order exactly right. I can see where this could help.

However, 70% to me means that where you would normally get a $10 tip you get $17 instead? It still seems a little high to me.

If you are tracking tips, try this and please tell me what happens. I'd expect a much smaller increase but I love it when I'm surprised.

Pay Attention to the Details

Once you get the basics down now you can start refining. Start taking care of the little things. Make sure your shirts are pressed and you are clean. Make sure your tables look good and you pay attention to your patrons. Keep track of every penny of income. Take care of the little things and position yourself for the big things. I'm not saying the big things will take care of themselves. You still have to be mindful of the big things; but focus on the details. Just like when you drive your car, pay attention to the road and traffic but still aim the car towards your destination.

If you do a consistently great job, often you will find yourself in better, bigger sections as you prove you can handle it. This means more tables and more money.

Also you want your professionalism to stand out. This will help separate you from the pack and make you both more valuable to the restaurant and more appealing to your clients. One more thing; There will always be people who are lazy and willing to do as little as possible and claim as much credit as possible. Until you know better help out everyone you can and go out of your way to make them feel appreciated and on your team. Most of them will return the favor and make your work environment both more pleasant and more profitable. Another thing, when you make people feel good about themselves and work hard, you can develop an almost gravitational pull for good people.

Leaders stand out and it will help your chance for advancement as well as giving people a reason to want to work with you.

Waiting Tables as Your Start to Greatness

Most people don't think of waiting tables as a permanent gig. Usually it's more of a "I'll wait tables until I get through school" or "I can cocktail until I get a real job" (BTW the real job thing...I'm not sure it exists.) Some people fall in love with waiting and the flexibility it can bring, or the night life that starts right after work, or just meeting lots of people and helping them out.

Most of us burn out.

One of the best ways to keep from burning out is to focus on getting better. Once you stop improving you start a downhill spiral that will leave you disenchanted and unhappy. Don't forget to get better at the things that will help later as well.

It's in our best interest to keep in mind while waiting tables the skill sets and the connections that can be made. There are tons skills that you can learn as a server that you will have a hard time learning anywhere else. Where else would you be expected to deal with maybe 100 people a night, figure out what they want and help them have a good time? The school of serving gives you people skills that other schools cannot even start to teach. You learn to look at a couple and tell if they have been fighting or dancing or both.

You learn how to start the delicate dance of service just the right way. If you don't all of your nights are hard and you don't make much money. You get a chance to relearn these lessons many times every night. If you don't do it right you are given immediate feedback and when you do it well you are rewarded.

After you learn the beginnings of the dance you move on to the nuances. The "That burrito is soo much better with the green sauce." The "Why don't you try the Madras with the Grey Goose." The "The brownie is OK but the Oreo cheesecake is really good today." You have the check ready when they want it, the drinks stay full and you achieve a state of flow.

Years later these skills will pay off as you read your management, board members, and clients. You will be able to better sell pharmaceuticals, cars, apartment buildings, or companies.