Tabc Ladies & Lords

• Smile and be kind to all.   Customers like to feel that their server has a willingness to serve them. Smiles are contagious, putting your customers in a good mood, which will increase your tips.
• Appear in a cheerful welcome for your customers.    If you sound bored or you hate your job, they may not leave you much tip. Let your customers know that you will take care of their needs.
• Know the menu, especially if you work in a fancy restaurant.    People sometimes ask you for the taste of certain dishes or what you recommend, so be prepared to answer those questions. We also need to know what ingredients are in each dish, because there are people who have allergies to certain foods.
• Bring drinks immediately.   Take the order of drinks, go for them and returns shortly after to give customers the opportunity to look at the menu for several minutes. Take your restaurant complements also, like chips, bread or fries and so on.
• Serve the dishes in the correct order.   If a customer orders an appetizer that must come first do not take the salad till they have finished the appetizer. Also do not take the main course till they have finished the salad. The appropriate length of time between each course will make the customer feel more comfortable, while reducing his rush tip. If you need to wait to send the order of the main dish to the kitchen wing to allow adequate time.

• Check that everything is fine but without being annoying. After serving come back again after 5 minutes if everything is properly cooked, and needs something more. Always fill up the drinks.
• Ask the customer if they want some dessert when they are finished with their meal.   In many cases, customers will not order dessert unless asked directly. The price of the account and will cause the tip to increase. If they say no, offer to put in a box to take out, but do not push it. 
• Pick up each plate as they finish each course.   Doing this will allow your customers to have more space, which will make them feel more comfortable. Having too many dishes on the table will look cluttered, which will not satisfy customers.
• Provide boxes to take out when someone has left food on their plate.    Sometimes people are willing to pay high prices to eat out assuming they will have leftovers for lunch the next day.
• Do not clean very close to your customers.   Don’t clean very close to where your customers are.  While you may need to clean your section before you can finish your shift, don’t do it at the expense of losing your tips.

Additional Tips:

• Ask for help when needed. The other waiters probably have no problem helping to serve food or beverages.
• Take the check when you bring the main dish if you're working in the lunch shift. The people at lunch time have limited time and can not wait long for you to bring the bill.
• Dismiss kindly all your customers because they can come back and will want you to be their server so your tip is ensured.
• Ask in the kitchen what menu items were sold out, so that you can suggest other menu item, this tends to happen is very shameful to come back to the table and tell the customer what he asked for is sold out.