CONTEMPORARY CLUB DINING ROOM GUIDE DETAILED FLOOR PERSONNEL SERVICE STEPS

Transcription

1 DETAILED FLOOR PERSONNEL SERVICE STEPS Dining Room Manager/Maitre De Objectives 1) Make people feel good, important and respected! 2) Maximize turnovers. 3) Good organization of reservations for big events and follow through on waiting lists-maximizing seating. 4) Reservation and all other pertinent information relayed to kitchen as known. 5) Know diners names. 6) Know special needs of repeat diners. 7) All paper at home or before/after service. 8) If no host/hostess on-duty manager must stay at and control the dining room from the podium personally seat as many tables as possible. 9) Pull out as many women s chairs as possible. 10) Sell a bottle of wine or take a drink order and hand it off to a runner. 11) If the room is near full (your importance at the podium has lessened) look for tables in distress and jump in and take orders. 12) Personally oversea that all waiters follow proper steps of service. 13) Personally salute each table upon their exit (if leaving the dining room with tables still dining, say a quick goodnight and thank you and tell them (or introduce if necessary) who they should address for further assistance. 14) Consult with each waiter regarding issues of the evening, both good & bad. 15) Prepare the daily report documenting important information as well as the basic weather etc. 16) Schedule for efficiency.

2 DETAILED FLOOR PERSONNEL SERVICE STEPS (cont.) Here are some thoughts, tips, comments, as well as some excerpts from The Modern Maitre D' in Restaurants USA, August By Ira Apfel Despite the rise of casual dining, maitres d'hotel--those bastions of traditional, formal fine cuisine--continue to thrive, managing the front of the house with aplomb and making every guest feel special. In other words, the maitre d'hotel's primary duty is setting the standard of customer service, says Dmitrov. "Service is at its best whenever you don't ask for service," he says. "When it's choreographed properly, the client never has to ask or raise a hand for anything."- Dmitri Dmitrov For example, Andrew Ferlazzo, maitre d'hotel at Prince Michel de Virginia Restaurant and Suites in Leon, Virginia, caddied for a professional golfer before turning to the restaurant industry. And Rowland Hill, general manager and de facto maitre d'hotel at The Caucus Room in Washington DC, worked with Planet Hollywood after a stint in advertising. "The transition from advertising to restaurants was actually very easy," says Hill. "In advertising and restaurants, you deal with clients." Maitres d'hotel say the key to flawless customer service is learning the tastes and special needs of every customer and instantly recalling them when the client returns. "I kind of have a memory bank," says De Lucia. "I never have to write anything down. A customer will come in for two weeks and I'll tell his waiter, 'Beefeater martini in a special glass with ice on the side.'" How did De Lucia develop a memory that can recall hundreds of guests' tastes? "There's no secret," he says. "You just have to practice." Dmitrov prefers to write down clients' likes and dislikes. He spends hours on his days off poring over the reservations so he'll know which VIP client will return and what the staff should do to welcome him or her. He recounts that a guest once gave her publicity photo to him. "I asked my hostess and she told me she was a famous movie star," says Dmitrov, who won't name names. "She thought they got great service because of who she was, but I didn't know her. Whether there's Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty at one table and a doctor at another table, our service is always excellent." Maitre D, Mr. Hill has gone high-tech and started entering The Caucus Room's customer information into a computer. "We have a new software package that stores everything from the guests' credit card into a data file," he says. When the patron returns, Hill prints out the information and circulates it among staff. When a VIP enters the restaurant, Hill is ready. He notifies his staff to take special care of the customer, such as having her special cocktail ready before she is seated. As the guest's meal proceeds, Hill will check on the staff members to make sure they have catered to the VIP's every need. "One time, we had a flaming drink explode in a woman's face. To this day, of course we have never served that preparation again." Maitre D Balestreri's travails illustrate how important it is for maitres d'hotel to keep their poise amidst chaos-- including when staff members make mistakes. "When you're wrong, you're wrong," he says. "Just take care of the customer." America has no royalty, so fine dining in the United States is typically a less-formal affair than in Europe. Even those Americans accustomed to European-style fine dining have joined with a new generation of diners and demanded more informality when dining. "I think people want to eat world-class food in a little more casual environment," says Ferlazzo. "You can't push people to wear a suit and tie when they visit a restaurant that's an hour or so outside of Washington DC." The casual trend would seem to spell the end of the maitre d'. Not so, the maitres d' hotel say. They have responded by dressing down, smiling more and generally acting less imperious. "The maitre d' has to be chic and friendly," Balestreri says. "It used to be that guests would arrive in a Rolls Royce. Today, the same person comes in wearing an Armani suit and a turtleneck sweater, driving a Porsche." This generation of newly wealthy Americans is often the preferred audience for today's maitre d', because "it gives us a much larger audience who is much more appreciative," says De Lucia. "These new wealthy people are so busy that they really appreciate the service." Adds Dmitrov, "For me, the challenge is older clients, because it is not unusual for them to have dined in Paris or Rome and then they come to us [expecting formal service]." Over time, maitres d'hotel may have changed their clothes and demeanor to appeal to an ever-changing clientele, but what has not changed is the personalized customer service for which the position is known. "I don't think maitres d will disappear," says Dmitrov. "There's nothing old-fashioned about fine service."

3 A Waiter s Routine: Opening Side Work: 1. Check with the front desk for reservation. 2. Consult with manager on table set-up and special functions. 3. Set tables with assistance from busboys. 4. Check reservations for last minute calls. 5. Prepare map of seating arrangements. 6. Place reservation cards on the tables. 7. Assist manager or busboys in any last minute tasks. Service Steps: 1. Greet members. 2. Seat members. 3. Give menus and wine list. 4. Talk about specials. 5. Take cocktail order. 6. Serve cocktails (from the right). 7. Take food order. 8. Give two copies to the runner. 9. Continue with beverage service through dinner. 10. When first course arrives, serve food (from left). 11. After two minutes check ONE TIME ONLY if everything is ok 12. If the busboy has not cleared the table, do so. 13. Serve the next course. Note: Always check the Flatware between courses and place required plates before the next course is served 14. Repeat steps according to number of courses ordered. 15. Give dessert menus to members and take coffee orders. 16. Serve coffee first, then desserts.

4 Waiter s Service Steps Continued: 17. Present chit for signing. 18. Departing salutations. Closing Side Work: 1. Turn all food and beverage chits in to the manager. 2. Assist runner in break down of station. 3. Assist the manager and busboys in any other closing duties. 4. Check the next day s events and assist in any necessary set-up.

5 A Runner s Routine: Opening Side Work: 1. Post-Its for steak labeling. 2. A1 steak sauce. 3. Steak knives. 4. Ketchup. 5. Mustard. 6. Chopsticks. 7. Parmesan cheese. 8. Pasta spoons. 9. Soup bowls and cups. 10. Soup spoons. 11. Wrap lemons with cloth for seafood. 12. Large and small plates with doilies for hot line. 13. Small plates with doilies, forks and knives for cold line. 14. Set-up food trays with napkins. 15. Set tray stands in designated areas. 16. Set pepper mills on all service stations. Service Steps: 1. Receive two guest check copies from waiter. 2. Turn in one to the hot line and keep one for service. 3. Pick-up first course, garnish plates and bring to dining room. 4. If waiter is busy, serve the course. Note: Check to make sure the waiter has placed proper Flatware for the course, if not do so. 5. Pick-up second course, garnish plates and bring to dining room.

6 Runner s Service Steps Continued: 6. If the busboy has not cleared the table, do so. 7. If waiter is busy, serve the course. 8. Repeat for any further courses, besides dessert. Closing Side Work: 1. Put away all prepared items in proper storage areas. 2. Assist the manager, waiters and busboys in any other closing duties.

7 A Busboy s Routine: Opening Side Work: 1. Set-up bus stations with: Olive dip Butter Bread Water Iced tea Coffee Extra place settings Sugar Extra linen 2. Fold napkins. 3. Buff silver and glasses. 4. Set tables with direction from waiters. 5. Assist manager or waiters in any last minute tasks. Service Steps: 1. Bring water, bread and olive dip to table (butter if asked for). 2. Clear the courses as served. 3. Assist the waiters and runners in any task needed. 4. Refresh all water, bread and olive dip. 5. Bring all bus trays to the kitchen as soon as full. 6. Serve coffee for waiter, if asked. 7. Reset tables for a second seating, if necessary. 8. Departing salutations. Closing Side Work: 1. Break down all table tops. 2. Break down all bus stations and return to proper storage area. 3. Bring all soiled dishes to the kitchen as soon as possible. 4. Replace soiled table cloths with fresh. 5. Take out trash by coffee station and all bus stations.

8 Busboy s Closing Side Work Continued: 6. Assist runner in break down of station. 7. Assist the waiters and runners in any other closing duties. 8. Set-up tables for next day s events.