Qualities of a good waiter
Do the qualities of a good waiter affect the opinion of a restaurant?
What is a good waiter?
A sense of tact above all else
Do the qualities of a good waiter affect the opinion of a restaurant?
As a restaurant owner, it is extremely important to choose your staff well. The quality of service and the atmosphere prevailing not only in the sphere of guest service, but also in the kitchen, undoubtedly translate into traffic in the restaurant and, consequently, into the reputation of our brand. We are aware of the fact that our restaurant staff should be harmonious and their cooperation should be professional. Each crew member should represent a psychological profile appropriate for their profession. What are the qualities of a good waiter?
If we want to select the right candidates, for example, for the position of a waiter or waitress, we should prepare a set of questions. This will allow us to identify promising people during the interview. The basic mistake we make when editing an advertisement regarding the search for a candidate for a selected position is vagueness. The very slogan “I will hire a waiter” is very poor in its message. It only informs potential candidates about the fact that the restaurant is currently struggling with a shortage of waiters and does not contain any detailed requirements. We can therefore assume that such an employer will waste time meeting many candidates. By expanding the content of the advertisement, we automatically select more valuable candidates, saving ourselves nerves and time. The qualities of a good waiter should be clear and unambiguous to potential employees. Being the owner of a restaurant, let’s choose the staff well, because the atmosphere in the restaurant is one of the main factors influencing the opinion of the restaurant.
What is a good waiter?
Gastronomy is undoubtedly an industry for people who value the company of other people and appreciate flavors and the joy of sharing them. Therefore, we present the characteristics of a good waiter and the psychological profile of a candidate for a restaurant employee. Among the overriding features that should be emphasized when choosing a waiter or waitress are nice appearance, optimism and communicativeness. A potential waiter or waitress should be characterized by high personal culture with simultaneous assertiveness and adaptive skills. Adaptability skills are usually manifested in good relations with colleagues and the workplace. These skills usually determine whether a person is fit to work in a restaurant or not.
“The further into the forest, the more mushrooms” – says a popular proverb. When taking up a job as a waiter, we should have a good memory. Memorizing items from the menu and the ability to encourage customers to taste certain products is a real asset. In addition, it is worth showing interest in customers. Knowledge of foreign languages - at least one – at the communicative level will be an advantage.
A sense of tact above all else
Many laymen underestimate the work of a waiter and consider this profession to be marginal and relatively easy. “Everyone can serve” – we have come across this and other pejorative statements many times in life. Meanwhile, the work of a waiter requires high resistance to stress, the ability to work under time pressure. A sense of aesthetics and emanating positive energy is a great value. Being a waiter, we must be aware that the line between politeness and obtrusiveness towards the customer is quite thin. Therefore, we must have a lot of tact and empathy not to overdo it. Of course, the above skills are required especially from people who apply for the position of a waiter or waitress in restaurants recognized as exclusive. However, it will be good if the service in each type of restaurant will follow these guidelines.
