To Serve Is To Sell
A few weeks ago Sandy and I went out to a nice restaurant. Everything was perfect except for one tiny flaw that in my view is so easily corrected. When the food was delivered the server asked “who had the …..?”
This might seem picky to you but it is really the tip of a service system iceberg. Having a system for serving what you sell not only leads to better service, but increased sales and tips.
In the example above every table should have a number corresponding with each seat. What I like to do is always make seat #1 with its back to the kitchen, but could just as easily be back to the bar, or brewery or whatever you choose. Then the next seats are 2,3,4 and so on. Number them in a clockwise rotation. When a server takes the order they place the specific order next to each spot. A table of four might have four different things. But when the food (or drinks) come up, you deliver them the way they were ordered.
Let’s say you have three people who order three different pizzas. They are sitting at a table for four with no one sitting in position 3. The order is a Pepperoni, Margarita, and a Quattro Formaggi. When the food comes up in the kitchen I would first pick up the Quattro then the Margarita in my left hand, and finally the Pepperoni in my right. When approaching the table I lay the Pepperoni down in position #1, next the Margarita in #2, skip #3 and place the Quattro in #4. There, I didn’t have to ask who got what: much more professional.
You come up with systems for every stage of interaction with the customer, then in training go through dry runs with each other to practice. If everyone is on the same page, anybody can take food or drinks to the table and know who got what.
As for the selling part, you don’t want your servers to just be order takers. For example when someone calls in for to-go food, the person who answers the phone could take the order, or also ask “Would you like beer to go with that? We sell beer to-go in cans and growlers.” You wouldn’t be surprised to find that your to-go beer sales will shoot up.
When clearing plates the typical question is “Did you save any room for dessert?” This is the question of an order taker. A server on the other hand might say, “Stacey just made an amazing Pistachio Raspberry Cake, would you like to try a slice?” and before they have a chance to answer the server adds, “I can bring extra forks so you can share.” No one can say no. Your brewpub just sold an extra $6 and your server probably made an extra $1 in tips, just for making a simple suggestion.
Your customers don’t want you to just take their order. They want to be served, and that means making suggestions. Here is another perspective just for your serving staff.
A server in a restaurant will typically do between $500 and $1000 in sales during their shift. They will make close to, or above 20% in tips on that. Here’s the thing.
Let’s say there is a small retail shop across the street from your brewery. They are lucky to sell $500 to $1000 per day. The difference between that store and your servers is they are paying rent and utilities, insurance, repair and maintenance, accounting fees, licensing fees and of course salaries and taxes. Your server on the other hand not only has absolutely no overhead, shoot, they even make an hourly wage. Here’s the best part, the server is going to make 20% net profit in everything they sell! Not only that, at the store, some people are just browsing, but in your pub they walk in the door and every single customer is going to buy! So each server has a pretty sweet business.
But wait there’s more! This sweet little business they have with a guaranteed sale and profit with no overhead, they can take off whenever they want. If they decide to go backpacking for a week, they just tell you they need a week off and you scramble to cover the shifts.
Maybe you can be more successful at getting this point across to your servers than I have been in the past, but it is really a huge paradigm shift. If you combine this with a good choreographed service system, you as owner of your brewery, and your servers, will make more money for your efforts. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Just try it and let me know if it works for you.