Everything I Needed to Know About Business, I Learned in a Restaurant
From the time that I was 20 years old, I wanted to make a career in sales. The thought of not having an income ceiling was much more appealing than being salaried at a desk. There was only one problem: I was socially inept. This character trait does not lend well to a lucrative sales career.
Sure, I had great friends and felt comfortable in a group of them, but I had difficulty in developing conversations with those whom I didn’t know. My solution was to get a job in a restaurant. This would force me to develop these skills in a sink-or-swim manner.
What I learned was far more than just talking to people I don’t know. I was able to develop key skills that have allowed me to develop successful relationships and business partnerships. I highly recommend to anyone (especially young people) to work in a restaurant for at least some time. Not only is it fun, but a tremendous learning experience.
Working with many different personalities is probably the most important experience I obtained while working in a restaurant. Servers deal with the customers from a sales perspective and making sure that they are happy which leads to the best chances for additional compensation. But we also deal with a WIDE array of people with whom we work. All of them affect a server’s ability to provide optimum service to the patrons.
Everything is always my fault. Accepting responsibility for errors and delays even when it’s not our fault helps to build trust and loyalty. The customer doesn’t care that the cook screwed up his special order and had to remake it. He only knows that he is hungry and it’s taken 15 minutes to prepare his food.
“Passing the Buck” does not make anyone happy even if it’s their fault. Placing blame on someone else doesn’t do anything except irritate people. If the bartender takes 10 minutes to make a drink, the customer isn’t happy to have waited so long. Telling the patron that it’s the bartender’s fault does not make the customer happy and would anger the bartender if she were to find out.
A little appreciation goes a long way especially to those who aren’t used to receiving it. In restaurants, typically the servers are responsible for sharing their tips at the end of the night with the bartenders, food runners, bus staff and sometimes the host staff. Throwing someone a few extra dollars for a job well done creates camaraderie and motivates them to provide even better support.
Servers have to hustle to make the big bucks, and I don’t just mean move quickly (which is also important). Servers must be willing to take on a little bit more than we can handle. It always amazed me how some servers would begin to give up tables at the end of the night because they were focused on leaving. The servers who make the most money hustle to take as many tables as they can and work later than their co-workers.
Servers must have or develop a personality or they won’t last long on the paltry tips they will receive. Customers are not just eating at the restaurant for the food, they are also paying for the experience. Most of them want to be entertained at least a little but all want to deal with someone who is friendly and attentive and who provides exceptional customer service. Figuring out exactly what the customer wants and delivering it is part of the fun of being a server.
Any one of the above can be applied to any type of business. These were all valuable life lessons that I learned from working in restaurants. Everything that I needed to know about business, I learned in a restaurant.
Waiter image courtesy of digitalart/freedigitalphotos.net
Restaurant photo credit: HDR-newaddict via photopin cc
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