Don’t forget to also invest training time and money in the first salesperson your guests meet … your host or hostess. Host and hostess training is key to setting the stage for higher sales.
For example, a hostess seats two of your guests and instead of saying, “Enjoy your dinner!” she says, “We’ve got a great selection of wines by the glass listed here, and an incredible Mud Pie for dessert. Enjoy your dinner!” Hear the difference? By briefly pointing out specific beverages and food (wine and Mud Pie) this hostess has opened the “Window of Opportunity” for the server to follow up with another wine or dessert suggestion and most likely make the sale and higher tip!
Could your buser, host or hostess perform his or her job in the same manner as the one in the above scenario? Do you think that the buser, host or hostess was born with that ability or were they taught that skill? Training all your frontliners to know the menu and the right words results in better service, higher sales, and perhaps most importantly, sets your restaurant apart from your competitors who don’t.
Remember: 90 percent of all restaurants do 90 percent of the same things the same way. It’s the 10 percent we do differently that means success. That goes for your host and hostess training, too.
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