Chip Close (4:49)
Hey there, what's going on? Chip close here. We're talking about the server playbook. When we talk about the server playbook, we're talking about ways to get your servers, managers and bartenders to generate more revenue in your restaurant. That's more revenue for you and also for themselves because they're tipped employees so they get a percentage of every dollar they generate. Remember, when it comes to increasing revenue, there's only three ways to do it. We can sell more of the product, we can increase the price of the product, or we can sell a variety of products in our restaurants. That means Getting more butts and seats, getting each of those butts, each of those people, to spend more or to sell a variety of different products. Right. Different day parts. Breakfast, lunch, dinner or off site catering, or private dining or merchandise. Right. Those are all different products that we sell. And we utilize our servers in very key ways. I said in the intro video that there are really only four opportunities in a full service setting to impact the check average. And I truly believe that number one is first approach. And this one's going to focus in entirely on first approach. Here's the thing. In a lot of restaurants, we have those steps of service and we know the importance of greeting a table, let's say in the first two minutes. But aside from just getting there within the first two minutes, there's a specific way that we should be greeting them. So this is really, really crucial. When you greet them, you have to have your servers greeting the tables with authority, with confidence. They set the tone. When we're talking about first approach, it actually has a great deal of impact in the t turn time, right? So one of the things to note about first approach is that we don't turn tables faster in the last 15 minutes, right? We turn them faster in the first 15 minutes, which, which means how quickly we greet them and the energy and the urgency that we present. Now, I'm not talking about rushing people, but greeting them again with authority and confidence, Telling them what they need to do next is absolutely imperative. If a server is late to the table and they're, oh, hey, how you doing? It's good to have you guys. How's everyone? Okay, good, good, good. If they come in with that energy, then this, then the guests go, oh, okay, I don't have to go anywhere. I can sit and relax. And maybe on a Tuesday evening at 6:15, that's fine. Cause you're not gonna turn the table. But on a busy Friday night or Saturday night, on a busy Sunday brunch, you need to keep things moving because your ability to turn tables means your ability to generate more. So really important, when we talk about first approach, I'm not talking about rushing anyone. What I am talking about is again, bringing a sense of urgency, confidence and authority to the table. You can do a whole lot if a server greets that table confidently, right? One of the big things on first approach in a full service setting is you need to put them at ease. You need to let them know, let the guests know that you are in charge, that they are in great hands, that you're going to take care of Everything. And most importantly, you need to get a drink order. So now I talked to a bunch of clients, right? If you greet the table with menus and a water pitcher and you water everybody and then hand out the menus, I want you to stop doing that. A trick I learned way, way, way, way, way back. Back when I was waiting tables, my very first waiting tables job in New York City, I worked with woman in in particular. Her name is Elaine. I talk about the Elaine playbook all the time. She was. So she would go over to a table and pretend like she was flustered. Pretend like she was like a little behind, a little bit in the weeds. And she'd go over and she'd say, hi, how's everyone doing? I'm so sorry, I was just stuck at another table, but I didn't want you waiting. I'm going to be over with menus in just a second. But listen, what can I get you from the bar? And then she would find the thirstiest person at the table, and she would look directly at them and say, sir, what can I get for you? Sir, it looks like you know what you'd like. And he says, oh, yeah, just an old Fashioned would be great. And then she looks for the second thirstiest person at the table and would take their order. And then on and on and on. Once a person or two starts ordering, the rest of the pins will fall, I promise you. Now, this first restaurant was a fine dining restaurant. We always had to take the females orders first before the men, right? And we had to start with older women, then younger women, and then men. But usually the thirstiest person at the table is one of the men. And she was really good about bypassing procedure, bypassing the way we were supposed to do it, because she knew if she could get those dominoes to fall, she could get the pins to fall, that she would make more money, that the restaurant would make more money. So on first approach, we had to bring over the menus, a wine list and a cocktail menu. We had to deliver a menu to everyone. We had to leave the wine list on the table and prop up the cocktail menu. And then we would welcome everybody. We would ask somebody if they want a drink. But what happens is when you give menus out and you put a wine list in a cocktail menu, everybody has reading material. Everyone's eyes go down, they start studying the menu, or somebody picks up the wine list and they are not ready to receive the next thing you're ready to ask for them, you're ready to ask them. Here's the crucial part. Every time you come in, you tell them what's going to happen next, and you tell them what you need them to do now. Right. So the key to Elaine coming over and pretending to be flustered, and she said, hi, folks. I'm sorry, I was stuck in another table. I'm going to bring menus over in just a minute. But I wanted to see if I could get you started with a cocktail from the bar. Maybe a glass of champagne. Sir, what would you like from the bar? And he would order, and the next person would order, and she had the drink order. Then on first approach, and she would say, great, I'm going to give the. I'm going to get the bartenders working on that. Like I said, I'll be right back with the menus. And tell me, what kind of water would we like for the table, Bottled water or tap water? Right. And back then, we had a very specific way. We had to ask for still tap or sparkling. They want it tap, wedged in the middle. Because there is significant data that shows the average consumer is more apt to order the first thing or the last thing that they heard. So that was really sort of like psychological, you know, digging. You don't have to do that. The key is to ask them what you want them to do now, tell them what's going to happen next. And then again, if you come over and start po. Pouring water, they're like, oh, they don't need a drink because they're hydrated. They got water here. They got something to fidget with. They have something to sip. Right? So that's why we don't do that first. First thing we do is say, hi, welcome. My name is Chip. I'll be taking care of you. I'm gonna bring menus over in just a second, but I wanted to start you off with something from the bar. Would anyone like a cocktail or a glass of champagne or a beer? Whatever it is for your restaurant, that should be it, right? And then you say, great, I'm gonna get the bartender working on that. I'll be right back with some menus. Oh, for water, did you prefer tap water or bottled water? Now you've gotten so much of the business out of the way. Hopefully you've sold a bunch of cocktails. Hopefully you've put them at ease because you've greeted them. You're right there on time. You've told them what you're doing. Now what's going to happen next. So you've shown your authority. You've shown that you are in control. You, you're telling them, I know, I know what you want. You want the menus next, that will come. And again, hopefully you get a water order. So instead of just, you know, flat, you know, you know, you know, flat pouring tap water, hopefully maybe on some of these tables, you've gotten a sale for a 7, 8, 9, $10 bottle of water. Once they have one bottle of water, they're going to keep drinking bottled water all night. Because most places don't usually switch to tap. Most guests don't switch to tap. That's how you do a really solid first approach. You do that, you get in the habit of that. Even in a fast paced place, even in a sort of a casual family style restaurant, you do that, you'll be really well off, right? Even if you came over and you greet it with the menus and you said, hey, how's everyone doing? My name is Chip, I'll be taking care of you. Got the menus here, but first I wanted to see who would like something to drink, something from the bar. Before you give them the reading material, ask the question. So then you get the order, you write it all down, and then you hand out the menus. That's totally cool. That's totally cool as well. You can amend this, you can amend this step of service to fit your restaurant. But just by being efficient, you're probably losing sales. So when it comes to driving more revenue, first approach is an incredible opportunity. Number one, you should be able to get water sales. Number two, you have to get the first beverage sales because the sooner you get the order, the sooner you can get those drinks on the table, the better chance you have of them finishing that and moving to a second beverage, which we'll talk about in a future video. First approach represents an incredible opportunity for you to set the stage, set the pace, and get a couple of sales early. That's the first playbook here in the server playbook.
