Working in the restaurant industry through college taught me a lot about life. I learned the true value of a dollar when not getting tipped on a party of forty people, taking up my whole section all night and finishing up that night detailing a nasty wait station all while making less than minimum wage. Then I learned how giving great customer service can earn me a 100% tip. I learned that in order to become successful in life you have to put your time in working for it and that’s exactly what I did. I worked forty plus hours while in four to five college courses every semester, which was at that time in my life the hardest thing I had ever done before. Working there taught me that I was never going to settle making less than minimum wage for the rest of my life; I was going to continue busting my butt to get through college so I could make something of myself. Being who I am, an over achiever, I knew just going through the motions while working there wasn’t enough so I looked for ways to better myself within the job I was working.
While most girls worked their shifts and went home I decided to develop my skills and look beyond my normal duties. When I was hired as a server I had no experience and was thrown out on to the floor to serve on my own after only two days of training. I had no knowledge on how to serve other than the shadowing I did during those two days. I learned the hard way the dos and don’ts of serving. In my pondering to make my job a more meaningful and useful experience I decided to go to my manager and talk about developing a better training system as two days of shadowing didn’t teach me anything. He agreed it was a good idea and told me to present him with a rough draft of what we needed to be in the restaurant’s manual.
I started brainstorming through all my memories of my first few days on my own as a server. I remembered all of the common questions customers would ask me. I reflected on the different menu options and substitutes we were allowed to do although not listed on the menu. I jotted down specific techniques and tips in completing side work efficiently. I also wrote down some helpful tips I felt needed to be relayed to newly trained servers that I wish I would have known. For example I believe it is extremely important to be in tune to all of your customers needs and check on them often in order to prevent them from doing without. I also feel very strongly about drinks running dry so I added in a personal example of how frustrating I feel when I don’t have a drink when I’m still eating to allow them to identify things they could relate too.
Once all of my notes were compiled I presented to my manager my plan of action in training all new girls better. I advised that in having better trained girls we not only made the customer’s experience so much better, but it kept them coming back for more. When I developed the manual I hit a lot of main points and then elaborated on the importance of customer service. My section was always the most requested every weekend. People at one point were on a list to sit with me which was an amazing feeling! I had great relationships with many of my reoccurring customers and through getting to know them better I was able to network professionally. I developed a lot of great contacts that have been very beneficial now that I am in my current career.
No comments:
Post a Comment