How about a pitcher?

If a table orders two glasses of wine, two draft beers, or two margaritas - offer the bottle, or pitcher if it's an option. Sell it with - "If you think you might have another drink you guys should think about a pitcher - It's like getting a free drink."

Usually you get 5 drinks from a pitcher or bottle of wine and the it usually costs about what 4 go for on their own.

You are looking out for the client - and can save them if they are going to drink a bit, and if they are on the fence you might persuade them to have a little more. They almost always will finish the pitcher and then be glad you saved them the money. You facilitate them having a good time and they tend to favor you at the end of the night.

You want the rotgut or the goodstuff?

Opportunities for upselling are everywhere. My friend Micheal and I were working the bar one Valentine's day and I saw a great job from him. A guy and his date come up to the bar and he orders, " A margarita and a scotch on the rocks." Micheal without missing a beat replies, "You want the rotgut or the good stuff?" I'll say up front it was a little manipulative - I mean what guy is gonna say give us the cheap stuff on V-day in front of his girlfriend. That being said, - The girl was a lot happier with the top shelf Margarita and the difference in the Scotch was noticeable as well. He got a higher percentage tip on a larger tab and the customer was happier.

You don't need to go to the extreme of calling your well rotgut. I've had good luck with, "Do you want the house gin or something a little nicer? We have this really good Blue Sapphire if you want to try something a little nicer." I've guaranteed that before as well. "If you don't think this is worth the difference, I'll take care of it for you." You will need to learn to read your tables a little bit for that though.

Why Don't I have any Money?

You ever notice that you get off at the end of the night and you have a wad of cash, but you always have to pick up a shift or suffer to make rent? Do you really understand how much you make on a weekly or monthly basis?

Here's a little experiment. It may seem kinda difficult (I know it was easier for me when I delivered pizzas....) Get a small notebook or a page in the back of your order book and write down every tip you receive. Strangely I think I actually made more just from recording it. Then at the end of the night write down the totals and keep a running tally for a week. You might be surprised. Your weekly totals should give you a good idea about how much money moves through your hands in a month. (4 weeks or so.) If you haven't already, try some of the selling techniques. See if the numbers don't improve. I'll bet they do.

More about making More Money

I want to elaborate on something I kind of glossed over yesterday. Waiting tables is a commission sales job. If you are honest with yourself you understand that the normal commission for a competent server at dinner is in the 15% to 18% range. For lunches it can be a little less.

What is a competent server?

People come into the restaurant wanting:

• To be fed.
• To be waited on and not have to take care of it themselves.
• To have a good time.

A competent server easily takes care of the first two and is pleasant enough to influence the last. However, after you have met the first two the third can be out of your control. For 90% of the people you deal with, unless things get really screwed up and you fall down on one of the first two things, when the check comes they will perform some basic math and calculate your tip. Let me rephrase that.

For most people your tip will be based almost solely on the total of the check.

Making More Money

I worked in a suburban Tex-Mex restaurant and not a very high end place. I still made good money. Could I have done better? Of course.

Here's the (not so secret) Secret

Waiting tables is a commission sales job. All of those tricks - smiley faces, get at table height, get repeat customers etc. Those may move the needle a little bit but if you want to make more money you need to sell more. That can either be via quality or quantity. 5 more tables a night should be at least another $100 a week. Raise your check average from $80 to $100 and you should see a 25% increase in income.

Your job is to balance between aggressive salesmanship, providing a comfortable experience, and turning that table. Now it is true that some of the tricks that people talk about - smiley faces on the checks, getting down to face the customers, greeting with a smile can help. Most of these are about connecting with the client. Things like prebusing and bringing boxes out (or better, packaging the leftovers for the table) are about turning the table.

As far as aggressive sales goes.

I always thought that about 60% of the people coming in weren't sure what they wanted. So I told them.

For Instance, "We have this amazing special today, These are real Buffalo Fajitas - the buffalo steak is free range and lower in fat and cholesterol but the thing is - It has an awesome flavor that you just don't get anywhere else." Two things helped. Actually try and like the special. If the special was something that I didn't care for I would still try it, in case someone asked about it. "Some people really like the Guacamole soup, but it is a little spicy for me. If you love heat it might be great for you though." and then I would sell something I really liked from the menu. (If it was something I really thought was awesome, I would often offer to buy it if they didn't like it. "I tell you what, if you try the Burrito Verde and don't like it, I'll buy it for you." I bought one special over the course of a couple of years. (Actually I got the restaurant to comp it after I told the manager what the customer said was wrong with it.)

There is a double benefit to selling specials. You raise check average and you usually speed the decision making process allowing you to turn the table a little faster.

Is it possible to be a Millionaire waiter?

I worked as waitstaff in a pretty big restaurant for a few years. The thing that strikes me years later is just how much money slipped through my fingers. The old phrase, "If I only knew then what I know now." rings true. So the question arises, can you become a millionaire while waiting tables? I think you probably can. I started as a lousy waiter (server is the current lingo.) I could make enough money to eat and buy gas to get to work. After a few months I learned a few truths about serving. Once I understood these thing I started making pretty great cash. $400 or $500 dollars a week after taxes in the early 1990s was pretty great money. I actually took a pay cut when I got my first "real job" (As if waiting tables isn't a real job.)

I'd like to start a discussion on:

a) Best practices for making money waiting tables. (How can I maximize my income)

b) Best practices for building wealth while waiting tables. (Can I get rich?)

c) Why we don't use the best practices.

d) Next steps....Do I want to keep waiting tables? Do I want to do something else?

I'll try and flesh some of these out in future posts. Especially if there is any interest or comments that are from people who are doing this now.