Front of the House

In the restaurant industry, your customers will have high expectations for service and low tolerance for error. They may not notice how hard restaurant employees work to keep things running smoothly, but they are quick to notice any error or delay. The truth is, working in the restaurant industry can tough, but it can also be a rewarding career. This series of courses is designed to prepare you for the opportunity before you. In this program, we'll focus on a few basic questions: What are the different types of restaurants? What are some common restaurant jobs? What is the usual service process? The answers to these questions will introduce you to the inner workings of a restaurant. The rest of the series will build upon this foundation.

First impressions form in seconds and are hard to change, which makes the host one of the most important roles in any restaurant.

What this course covers:

• Why the host sets the tone for the guest experience
• The process for welcoming guests to a restaurant
• Greeting and seating guests smoothly
• Tips for exceeding guest expectations

Part of a front-of-house training series.

If you're a server, you probably don't need to be told of the importance of customer service. It's right there in your job title. You serve customers. To do so successfully, you'll need to understand the basic principles of customer service. That's what we'll cover in this course. We'll discuss what it means to have good people skills, professionalism, the necessary know-how, attentiveness, and flexibility.

All guests deserve high quality service and, as you know, consistent service is key to turning occasional visitors into regular customers. However, there are some special circumstances that require extra effort. Preparing for these situations in advance will help you react appropriately when they occur. In this course, we'll look at several special circumstances you're bound to encounter. These are: families with children, large groups, and persons with disabilities or health issues.

Everyone makes mistakes. It's an unavoidable fact of life. As much as you want to deliver perfect service to each and every customer, there will be times when your efforts fall short. In addition, there will be customers who are just...difficult. Difficult to please, difficult to communicate with, difficult to serve. What's a server to do? In this course, we'll look at tips and tricks for what to do when things go wrong. We're going to do this by examining three common scenarios.

Guests expect you to be an expert on your restaurant. Whether it's your first day, or your 200th day, whether the menu has been overhauled or has been the same for years, you need to know it inside and out. You need to anticipate any possible question they might ask. Having to go ask the kitchen will slow down the service process, and the guests impression of you or the restaurant may go down. In this course, we'll discuss the best ways to get to know the menu: from ingredients to pronunciations, and more.

The menu is defined as the "list of foods available at a restaurant," but a well-written menu is more than a simple list. Your menu can and should be a persuasive selling tool that sets your restaurant apart. A few extra words and a little more description makes a difference, doesn't it? In this course, we'll look at some best practices for writing menu descriptions. This knowledge can come in handy. Menus are updated frequently and chalkboards that many restaurants use to advertise specials are updated even more often. You could easily be tasked with writing a few descriptions yourself.

Depending on the restaurant, servers may have the opportunity to take each guests' order up to three times over the course of a meal. Once for the drink, once for the meal, and sometimes a third time for dessert. Multiply this process by the number of guests a server sees during a shift and...well, that's a lot of orders! In this course, you will learn how to efficiently and effectively transfer the customer's words to the kitchen team.

It's a great moment for restaurant guests when they are served their meals. However, this much-anticipated moment can be prone to disaster for a server. Servers need to carry and balance a serving tray. They have to deliver the correct food to the correct person. The food must be plated perfectly. In this course, we'll share some tips and tricks for serving food courteously, efficiently, and professionally.

The timeline for serving a table of guests is tight. In this course, we'll go over the timeline of an entire meal-starting from the moment the guests are seated to when they leave the restaurant. We'll also discuss ways to manage your time wisely when serving in a restaurant, including multitasking and prioritizing tasks.

Even a great meal must end, and the close is your chance to treat guests with courtesy while preparing for the next table.

What this course covers:

• Tips for clearing the table with care
• How to close the sale respectfully
• Preparing the table for the next round of guests

Finish each service on a professional note.

At restaurants in the United States, it's typical to tip. That is, customers usually leave a little extra money for the server when they pay their bill. Sometimes called a gratuity, the "extra" left behind varies widely depending on the customer and how they feel about the service. However, it's usually between 10-20% of the bill, so a customer who owes $20 for their food and drink may leave an extra four dollars for the server as a tip. While four dollars may seem like small change, in truth tips are a big deal for servers. In this course, we'll learn why this is and what your responsibilities are.