Movement In the Dining Room

Movement in the Dining Room

MOVING WITH GRACE

• Our ability to move gracefully through the dining room is of the utmost importance, both for the sake of safety and because our movements and energy have a profound impact on the experience of the guest.
• Maintain professional posture: stand tall and proud- you are the best at what you do and you should convey that to your guests at all times- even while standing near the server station.
• Don’t lean against a wall, stand with arms crossed or hands in pockets: it gives an unprofessional and disinterested appearance.
• Time to lean=Time to clean
• We should be moving quickly, but only as fast as you can while doing so smoothly and calmly to avoid our guests feeling a sensation of chaos around them while dining.  Nothing makes a guest nervous faster than a frantic-seeming server.
• Think of restaurant movement as if you were a swan on a pond: below the water there’s a whole lot of frantic paddling going on, but up on the surface you’re just gliding along.

PACING

Your approach to a table should give the following impressions:

1. You have planned to come there. Avoid just “pulling over” on your way to do something else – We have plenty of time for our guests!!!
2. You are at ease with time to spare – SLOW DOWN your movements and your speech tableside.
3. Meanwhile, internally account for how much time you are table side, and whether your other guests are getting appropriate attention. Use language such as “I’ll give you a few minutes” to indicate that you will be back to take their order.

Stay on the Move!!  Constantly flow through the DR, making yourself available to your guests and coworkers: you’ll never make eye contact from the upstairs server station!

RIGHT OF WAY

1. Guests always have the right of right of way! When moving through the restaurant you should always have your eyes up and 10 steps ahead. If you see a guest approaching you should plan your next few steps so that you can position yourself out of the way and defer to the approaching guest.
2. Kitchen Staff always have the right of way! You should always step aside for one of our Chefs, cooks or dishwashers when approaching from the opposite direction
3. FOH Co-workers must adhere to the “Pass on the Right” rule when approaching one another from opposite directions.  We drive on the right, therefore we pass on the right.
4. General Yielding Priority - You should yield to traffic in the following order:
1. Guest
2. Guest being led by staff member
3. Hot food
4. Hands full
5. If a guest insists that a staff member goes before them, after the second time they insist, a staff member may go before the guest with a smile and a “thank you.”

VERBAL AND NONVERBAL CUES

• When moving throughout the dining room and kitchen it is important to let fellow co-workers know where you are and what your intentions are.  Say “behind you” or “behind you with a guest.”
• If you need to call a co-worker's attention (and he or she is table-side), gently tap them on the back and then stand aside so that they can finish the interaction with the guests. If you are the one whose attention is called, wrap up the conversation as quickly as possible.
• KEEP YOUR EYES UP!! It is essential to keep your eyes up and constantly moving- you never know when you’re going to catch the eye of a server at a table that desperately needs YOUR help!

WHILE IN THE SERVER STATION…

• Our service stations are tiny and crowded.  Avoid the crunch by completing your task as quickly as possible and heading back to the floor.
• Speed things up for the dishwashers by grabbing the empty bus tub from them when they go to pick up a dirty one -- 1 fewer body squashed in!
• ZIP IT!!!
• Keep in mind that the guests can and do observe, listen, and hear almost everything that goes on in the restaurant
• Speak in the side stations as you would if you were in the middle of the dining room, because more often than not, the guests are right there with you, and they may not want to be a part of the hottest new gossip.
• NEVER comment on guests’ behavior, personality, actions etc. in a demeaning or negative manner. Also DO NOT comment on guests’ actions, responses etc. UNLESS it is part of a serious conversation about resolving a problem or enhancing their experience.