Do you work as a waiter/waitress, or do you wish to be a waiter soon? Well, whatever the situation is, becoming a waiter is wonderful. The majority of people consider it a piece of cake and think that servers serve the meal and take orders. But this is not true, and there are many more things a waiter has to handle. It is observed that restaurants are generally reviewed by the services they offer to their visitors. With this in mind, you should know that waiters are the face of any brasserie, and the way the waiters deal and communicate with their guests will go a long way toward their contentment in the restaurant. The most reputable servers in the world have some specific qualities that make them remarkable. These qualities do not always belong to the expert writers. Even if you start as a new server, you can become the finest waiter if you have these qualities. Here are some must-have attributes for a waiter:
Appearance:
Servers are the face of any brasserie. So, they must be dressed appropriately and they must be wearing aprons to make a professional look. Sometimes, they can use some funny aprons to make some fun with their customers. Funny aprons for kitchen are available online now a days.
Several restaurants may provide a uniform to wear, or you’ll be given formal attire. Make sure that your clothes are always neat and press. Never present yourself with a creased or unclean coat. Shoes should also be cleaned and shiny. And one more thing, your hands are incredibly very important as they are continuously under the visitor’s watchful eye. Fingernails should be good looking and well-proportioned. It’s important to wear gloves or oven mitts when holding some hot dishes. By wearing gloves give you a safe and professional look. You can also wear custom funny kitchen oven mitts or different styles of oven mitts to get attention of your customers.
Punctuality:
An exemplary waiter is punctual and always present at the workplace even before his shift time. If the staff is late on duty, it shows nothing else, but lack of enthusiasm and attention in work.
Strong Communication Skills:
Interacting with positive body language includes explaining to guests what you can do for them. Having strong language skills show the ability to express opinions and information in ways others can comprehend clearly. You should also have the ability to properly communicate with kitchen staff to develop a friendly and peaceful environment.
Observant & attentive:
Nobody desires to feel neglected, particularly those visitors paying for your time. An ideal waiter usually keeps on looking on the table after serving an order, from enough distance by respecting the guest’s breathing space. Even though it’s the best idea to keep a watchful eye on the table, but don’t look at them just like a hawk.
Multi-tasking:
A waiter, sometimes, has to handle multiple tasks at once. When you are serving any meal to one table, another customer might ask for some drinks or bills. Sometimes, the guests might feel ignored if you ask them to wait until you’ve dealt with another or you’ll look absent-minded if you forget what they asked. So you must be able to handle many tasks at a time.
Smile
Smiling is probably one of the must-have attributes, all waiters need. While communicating with the customers, the best server always uses amicable terms for greeting just like respected sir, ma’am, with a beautiful smile on the face. The behavior of a server put a good impression on the dining experience of a guest. You should develop customer service skills as a server to smile, address kindly, and make visual contacts when possible with visitors. Yes, there are times when you go through some personal problems which might disturb your frame of mind. Remember, this has nothing to do with your duty, behave like a professional and don’t express your feelings to any customer.
Patience:
The waiter should not immediately get offended by some harsh words guests might throw at them. Sometimes, when they are drunk, they can utter anything they like without thinking about your feelings. You will need to be able to bear such denunciation and stay calm in any situation.
Knowledge of menu
Sometimes, a guest may ask questions about particular menu items or other details, and an ideal waiter should be able to gossip with the visitor in such a way as to answer questions and meet their demands.
Sharp memory:
It is usual for any server to serve many guests at once. As a server, you should not mix all the orders. An ideal waiter also must not forget the names of regular visitors and their choices; this helps develop strong interactions with the guests.
Team Work:
As a server, you need to have the ability to interact with your fellow workers to help them do their tasks. On the other hand, if you are not team-oriented, there is a probability that many things will go wrong.