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www.ohiorestaurant.org 21 Spring Issue

It pains me to see a restaurant where servers don’t know how to build their check average. My pain usually starts with “Can I get you something to drink?” and ends with “Is there anything else?” Most servers I come across are order takers - not sales people. Allowing servers to simply take orders will result in lost sales and profits. Restaurant operators should begin working immediately with new hires to help get them geared up for becoming sales people subconsciously.

In fact, there are simple, but effective ways a server can build their check average and bring more money to the bottom line. These include, but are not limited to: creating an enjoyable and relaxing dining experience; knowing what products they are selling; and using effective suggestive selling techniques to build check averages. I always recommend that operators train their servers to look at their stations as small businesses and to manage them accordingly.

The following tips are a good start for building your restaurant’s check average:

1. Practice Good Public Relations. Getting off to a great start and connecting with the guest is the number one goal. Maintaining eye contact and developing a rapport with the guest establishes a relationship and trust, which will make the server’s selling more effective.

2. Start Selling Right Away. Begin to sell as you approach the table – sell your personality, the restaurant and the restaurant’s beverages and fare. A positive start is informing guests of specials with descriptions that will whet their appetite.

3. Possess Knowledge of the Menu. Nothing builds a guest’s confidence faster and more effectively than a server who is knowledgeable about the menu. By knowing the ingredients, preparation techniques and the fare’s flavors, servers will create a positive impression and build trust.

4. Read the Guests. Servers should ask leading questions about preferences and make food and beverage suggestions based on the customer’s response. Zeroing in on the guest’s preferences takes the guesswork out of suggesting menu items that they may enjoy.

5. Implement Effective Selling Techniques. There is no easier way to keep money in a guest’s pocket than by allowing your servers to be order takers. Servers should be trained in effective suggestive selling and up-selling techniques, which should be constantly reinforced and monitored.

6. Encourage Beverage Sells. Give your servers something to sell. The beverage sell can be a featured cocktail, specialty beer or a house wine. This not only gives the servers something to sell, it also provides guests with a choice of offerings.

7. Provide Secondary Beverage Sells. If a guest declines the primary beverage sell, train your servers on how to perform a secondary sell of a beverage before offering complimentary water. If your primary beverage sell is a featured cocktail or beer, a secondary sell is soft drinks or iced tea.

8. Sharing Sells. When selling appetizers, salads, side dishes and desserts a great secondary sell is a sharing, “Why don’t I bring an extra plate and you can share the appetizer?”

9. Setting the Stage for the Dessert Sell. After the entrée course, encourage your server to clear the table and reset the table with a fresh napkin and dessert flatware. After doing this, the server should present the dessert menu or the dessert tray. This not only improves the chances of selling guests a dessert option, but also leads to coffee and after-dinner beverage sales.

By following these simple tips, you can build your restaurant’s check average and dramatically improve the profitability of your business. And, in order to build the check average, you need to follow this rule, too: make sales a priority and considering installing a complete service and salesmanship training program. A professional service and salesmanship training program can increase your check average from 5 percent to 10 percent or more. These are steps an operator should implement not long after hiring a new staff member to the team and should reinforce with periodic training sessions for both established and newer servers.

For more information on how you can train your staff to strengthen your restaurant’s revenue, consider purchasing Restaurant Consultants, Inc.’s “Service and Salesmanship Training Program,” which is available to ORA members at a member discount of 10 percent. In addition to this product, RCI will provide a free phone conference for ORA members to answer questions about building check averages and installing a training program.

RCI also offers ORA members free online articles and forms examining restaurant operations, development and turnaround, human resources, menu engineering and design, restaurant broker services, service and salesmanship. RCI also offers discounts on mid-level and premium

consulting, business brokering and service training support. To learn more, call Bob Welcher at (614) 421-1441.

by Bob Welcher, President & CEO

Restaurant Consultants, Inc.