4 Remarkable Service blogs

When I was a young boy my grandfather told me that I wouldn’t regret the times that I made a complete fool of myself, but rather the times that I didn’t try something out of fear. I’ve always been glad he taught me that life lesson or I may still be single. :) 

I would never have taken the chance to ask a beautiful girl to go out on a date with me. Six years and a diamond ring later, I married that girl. It would never have happened if I had not taken the first step and simply asked.

Why are servers afraid to ask? And by ask I’m talking about asking for the little extras during the meal that can substantially raise the ticket average and by default, their tips. Appetizers, wine, desserts, after-dinner drinks, refills on alcohol drinks…I rarely see a server even take an attempt to offer these.

Is it because they get so busy during their shift they don’t think about asking or suggestive selling? Or could it be they are afraid of looking foolish? Or maybe the answer is much simpler.

They are afraid of rejection. Nobody likes to hear the word no.

The sad part, by not asking they are rejecting themselves. Internally they are saying no to themselves before your guests have a chance to.

Lets take a look at the top 3 ways you can help your service team get over the fear of rejection and ASK for the extras.

1. Practice with Your Team.
When I asked my wife to marry me I had a lot of fear so I practiced the “will you marry me” speech over and over till I got it right. That’s exactly what you need to do with your service team, practice.

Some of your team members may not be skilled or comfortable asking for items that increase sales so you need to skill practice with them until they are comfortable.

Practice asking for the appetizer order. Practice recommending a bottle of wine. Practice suggesting a dessert (with the dessert tray if you use one) and practice offering an after-dinner drink to finish off a great meal. Practice is a great pre-shift activity and it’s always better to practice on each other then on your guests.

If you are looking for training resources Our training workbook “Maximizing Sales” takes the servers through the service cycle and identifies where they can make a sales difference.

2. Run a Sales Contest.
Competition can bring out the best in people. By running daily or weekly sales contests around the “extras” you force your team to think about what needs to be done. Team members with a competitive spirit will work to get better just so they can see their name on top of the leader board.

Post the sales results for all to see. You want your weaker servers to see that yes, it can be done. Don’t forget the prizes. It’s amazing what you can trade out for with other businesses in your area.

3. Set Attainable Minimums for your Team
Set monthly minimums that each service team member has to hit in order to stay on the work schedule. These minimums don’t have to be high numbers, just something that makes each person think about asking for an extra during the course of their shifts.

One of our clients has a minimum number of wine bottles each server has to sell each month. He once told me “they don’t have to be great salesperson to hit the goal but they at least have to ask.”

——–

Fear of rejection can be great but a wise man once said “Great things come to those who ask”. Using these helpful guidelines your team can become great!