By: Chelsea Keeton
It is well past 2 a.m. and I sit in my car
just staring at my apartment complex in the dead silence. My dry eyes contemplate
the four flights of stairs that stand between me and a deadline for school. The
smell of old beer, ranch dressing, and fried macaroni and cheese have settled
in my clothes, skin and hair. I can only hope that it doesn’t take up
permanent residence in the car’s upholstery. With the last little bit of
energy, I reach in my back pocket and count how much money I made for the
night. As I haul myself up the stairs, my attention is taken away
from my struggles by the young couple who decided to tip me 40 percent of their
check amount, the man who sits in the same bar stool every single day, and the
family that always requests my section each time they come. Why me, I wonder?
After
being a restaurant server for six years, I face the characteristics of being a
good server on a daily basis. My managers and co-workers at my current
restaurant, The Boulevard Bar and Grille, have their opinions of what makes a
good server. The owner of my restaurant says that a good server is one who does
not cry, complain and works fast. But what are the customers’ opinions? No one is going to walk up wearing a sign.
It is up to me to read them, and to respond accordingly. It’s a dicey game, and
one that could make the difference in my ability to fill my gas tank on the way
home.
In an
article in Psychology Today,
Jack Schafer writes that “personal introduction accompanied by a smile makes
servers appear friendlier and more personable.” This in itself explains that
customers appreciate service that is friendly and personable.
In Tyler Tervooren’s article (list the name here) a girl tells a story of how
she used to strongly believe that appearance did not matter. One day she was on
a bus and was confused as to which stop to get off. As she started to pay
closer attention to who offered advice of which to choose, she noticed one was
wearing sweatpants and smelled and the other was wearing a clean and ironed
suit. She took the advice of the man in the suit because his appearance
suggested that she could trust him with her decision.
When I was 18 years old, I started working at a fine
dining restaurant. I had two adult couples sit down at my booth. I asked them
for their drink orders then put them on a tray. When I got to the table, I
tumbled over my feet a little and lost balance of the tray and spilt the drinks
all over the man in his button down shirt and khakis. I felt terrible! I was
embarrassed, and he was nothing less of angry. I had no idea how to handle the
problem but to apologize every second I could.
Learning from the spilling catastrophe, I had another
instance where a customers’ experience could have gone bad. There were five men
sitting at my table celebrating their friends’ birthday. They were explaining
to me how they have had just gotten off work and are ready to celebrate! The
man who was celebrating his birthday had a rough week, and they wanted to make
it better for him! They ordered two of their favorite pizzas. After taking
their order, they wanted to make sure that I had two pizzas ordered for them
instead of one. I confirmed that I had two pizzas being baked from them with
the upmost certainty. When their food came out, I noticed there was only one
pizza. The kitchen forgot to make the other pizza before moving on to other
orders. I genuinely went up to the table and explained what happened. I said I
was sorry and offered to give their 2nd pizza for free. Because I was honest
and sincere with them, they told me they were fine without the 2nd
pizza and not to worry about it. I stayed on top of all of their needs from
then until the end of their visit. When I gave one of the men the check for the
entire table, he handed me a 100 dollars and his credit card. When I came back
with change for his 100$ and his credit card, he told me that the 100$ was for
me. I could not believe he tipped me that much with the visit he had. From my experience with the man and the drinks
that fell in his lap, I learned to be honest with them and not annoy them for
telling them I’m sorry every second I have, and just smile and do what I can to
make the rest of their experience better. Later during their visit, the man who
paid for the bill came up to me and told me what an awesome job I had done and
how I handled the situation very well. It made me feel a thousand times better.
He handed me my tip and when I looked at how much it was, it was one hundred
dollars.
I have come to learn the “secret
sauce” is empathy. Can you identify with your customers? If so, even if the
chef forgets an order or burns the dish, the way you handle the problem will
define the customer’s experience. If you combine empathy with GRIT (the ability
to problem-solve amidst adversity), you are a GREAT server.
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