What is Good Service?

Welcome to The Modern Way to Podcast, where we help restaurant patrons enjoy their experience by giving them a look behind the industry curve. I am Marlon Joseph. On today's podcast we discuss what is good service. I'm joined by my friend Danny DeVillo. Simone, how are you, sir? I'm good to yourself. I am well. This is our first podcast and for our first podcast we're gonna bite off a bit more than we can chew. I really think it's a good starting point because what is good service is a big topic. Yeah. And so I think beyond the mechanics we'll talk a little bit about mechanics and mechanics being what is exactly do you do for your job. And beyond the mechanics I think is where you're gonna find the finer points of what is good service. What do you think? Wow. Sorry. All right. So let's let's let's let's talk about the mechanics. So you are as a server you're required to bring stuff. You can communicate well. So I think I talked about I wrote it down as attitude, attentiveness and responsiveness. So when you when you greet a guest you want to be attentive. You want to be responsive. You listen to what they're saying what they their needs are. And what and being attentive meaning you have to be there a certain amount of time. So all of us know how to bring stuff bring stuff and all of that. So I don't really want to get into that part of it because that's pretty much germane to every every part of. And I feel like there's like even two kinds of services. You know there's like the once you go to the table you introduce yourself and it's real natural or it can even be awkward with certain servers. But there's the you know there's the in your face kind of server who's just kind of giving you everything and then there's the more standoffers server who's who's there for you but throughout the whole time like I call like silent service. That's more my personality. But they're both as effective. Absolutely. I think that goes along with under the category of being in your part of what you bring to the table personally. So the mechanics I was thinking of is the technical part of you I know for a fact you don't write your your orders down your orders down correct and I do. But that's a part of the mechanics that we both get right because we actually bring the food in correctly and and things like that. So for those of those of the audience that really don't know what goes into behind the scenes. Try to run us through what. I mean a lot goes on my eyes but it's not for instance let's start from the beginning the Greek yeah do you have a specific spiel that you say. No I mean yes and no you kind of feel out of table okay I kind of play off of them as a whole like you want to I try to be funny usually but in a way that you know I can communicate with the table where we're on the same kind of page because there's different people for different. Like everybody has their own you know like you don't want to come into a table you want to brighten them up your first job my job is to brighten them up and see how where they're at see if they're on my same page and then you can kind of go from there. Do you feel that you get a good sense of them immediately or how long do you think it takes you to get into it. It depends and that depends on the table. You can like initially be like this you might not be that good you know and then and then they grow into you you know and then you then you guys actually get a rapport after a while and then it becomes a good table okay. So we're at the beginning you you introduce yourself you don't necessarily have a spiel you you feel them out and at this point would say we're taking the drink order. Are you a suggestive seller or you just both I am there for I feel like I have good knowledge. I have good knowledge of what I do so I'm more like the knowledge like I will let you know I will still you if you want to be steered in the right direction I'm your guy but I'm not going to put myself out there off the rip off the rip I'm going to be like hey do you have any questions. And then they'd be like oh yes what would you like I am 100% then you have my full attention when it comes to that okay because the average person knows what they want usually I mean you like you know what you want to drink or something when you go somewhere you would think yes you get a lot of people that say what's good. And that's fine and I'm fine with that that's what that's my cue where you're like I mean that's that's when I give him a couple of my suggestions. I find that a loaded question that when I hear the what's good I don't really necessarily feel that you know what's good for you. Yeah no that's why I will I tell him what's good for me what I like. So I don't I don't and I definitely where I go when I say and I look at me go hey there's not much I don't there's not much is bad there's nothing bad on our menu but this is what I like. Okay and that's how I take and that's exactly the direction I go or like if we're talking just about like a drink. Yeah I'm just talking about what they like to drink. Like which just their you know vodka rum I don't want to put somebody who only drinks vodka with something with rum just because they might you know. I like to see where their heads at off the rip like what kind of alcohol they like or or if they're a beer person and you kind of steer them in that right direction. I think that's an important point you have to ask a question like what do you usually like to drink to find out what's good because you're really not giving them what's good for you. I mean that that overlaps but you're giving them something that they didn't necessarily think about so if they like rum it's going to be. So you get to the point and they say hey I like vodka I like rum and you get them the drink so you you bring them the drink now it comes to the point where you want to get an appetizer going or an entree suggestion and things like that. How does that occur if if they're all ready to go you know I mean then you know they're going to jump right in and but I go to say I mean. I always ask would you like a starter to get you going and then we go from there if they say no ready jump then then you then you know you pull the gun and you put them in the right direction and if they have questions about the entrees like hey this is what we have you know what I always I have five suggestive on trades that I always use as my spiel. So at this point it's where I feel I have a number in my head and the talk an answer to a question that I have what percentage of the responsibility maybe not responsibility but we're talking about good service right yeah so it's it's sort of like a dance between you and the guest and a lot of times whether it's management or the guest they think that the server is responsible mostly what percentage do you think the guest has responsibility in what kind of service they get 60 to 75% okay I was I was thinking about about 60% you know because a lot of times if I'm giving bad service I don't want to say bad service I don't give bad service but maybe awkward it's because I'm tripped up by awkward guests yeah where they don't get out of their own way where they feel that they have to orchestrate a lot of it when they just need to be weighted on really yeah and then the service gets a little cumbersome and can be misconstrued as as bad service in the end so I don't think they realize how much they have to do with oh their meal absolutely yeah whether it's their attitude or just their their in the way cumbersome miss if that's you know the proper way to the people there's some people I mean everybody has a bad day and you can bring that attitude into your meal and and just let your bad day just ruin it for yourself and you had and you could get you could have came in there just that way what about a bad life exactly some people just can't be please yeah and they're they're in that mode of I'm not happy unless I'm complaining exactly so okay so we we are agreeing on about 60% your yours a lot higher not a lot but it goes a little higher and so you're suggestively selling some entrees you have five entrees that you you you do and then so we're going through the mechanics what about dessert because for me I really don't care about dessert I don't want you to get dessert actually well it that depends on the restaurant that you're in well how so you know because there's different places that you know if it depends on if you're in a like a place if you're in a turn in burn place yes you don't care about dessert because you're getting the next guest in okay sure but if you're in a you know more fine dining and you want to get another hundred bucks off that check for 30 more minutes they're going to do it you know what I mean you get a hundred bucks off of dessert yeah you you you got a top come in you sell three or four desserts and some round of coffees at a nice place that's an extra eighty hundred bucks I'm not sure I agree but okay I more is more yeah we'll agree on that okay for me the extra time the extra work and I just I'd rather not I can cut it off right there and just say thanks no yeah for sure I mean most people don't need dessert anyways I happen to love dessert but I don't necessarily want to sell you dessert and I don't think of it as a turn in burn situation I feel that the time it takes a person to to eat and enjoy dessert it's it's about a good 25% of the time that they're going to be there yeah because they slow down they relax they feel you know at ease and they slow you know I want you gone gone I'm good lap dance over okay so we brought we ran through the mechanics of it I think so now we get to the nuance of it you know every everywhere you go you're going to sell drinks you going to sell appetizers you know hopefully entrees dessert thanks for coming now what about the finer points of separating you know good service to yeah I'm really good service like how long is too too long for food or drinks to get the table okay so let's let's start from the beginning again right but this time we're kind of getting detailed with yeah getting details and maybe enlightening people into some of your tricks or our tricks really so what are some of your tricks you think you you use off of the bat coming out the gate when when a table sits down you get the drink order quick you know I mean but if you know you have a slower bar your bar needs to take their time they got a bunch of bar drinks you make sure you put waters down the table they have something in front of them you're at that point you say hey you ready you know which I put some appetizers and why they're making your drinks so I initially my whole I go when I get drinks off the rip okay and then I come back to the table so and then and then I ask about the appetizer okay because like their drinks might be working which is fine I'll drop them some water or if they got soda or something like that that'll hit the table but they got something in front of them okay off the rip and then so describe you demean are you smiling are you relaxed are you still waiting all of the all of it I mean smiling but relax because in the end your table feels more comfortable when your waiter is confident okay if they if you are at the table and they know that you're in charge of situation you're going to have less headaches at your job I've seen multiple people act flustered and that's when the table puts them in the weeds okay just because their demeanor just crush themselves so in the weeds for some people that may not know oh that's means that you're behind okay at your job at any point all right like legit behind though yeah it's a little bit more involved behind it's you're you're you're you're you're drowning perfect perfect you're drowning so okay you have a relaxed demeanor smiling a pleasant aura you get the drinks what about some you know you're you're you're differentiating yourself from someone else that you might be working beside as far as your tricks or techniques or things like that do you do you think that you have something and you sleep that you usually do because I do I mean I just be myself okay I mean that's the most natural thing for me to do I'm a generally likeable person so I feel like I myself it works out well in the end in a lot of ways that's like describing a relationship yeah yeah okay I get that all right so well for me I come from a psychology background so over the years I am mass little little tips and tricks that help endure me to a table where otherwise I may not be a very endearing person you know so my nature's I tend to be very stoic and things like that but I tend to be more relaxed now when when I when I come in I I'm looking at the guests I'm seeing who's actually paying attention to me and who may may not be and a lot of times there's I find in a group of let's say four you start to separate personalities absolutely you know you you're point of contact your point of contact that's that to me is a person that may have been maybe hosting the dinner saying maybe they suggested the restaurant feel responsible for the experience yeah and when I identify that person as the point of contact I actually stand next to them so that they feel important whereas the other guests are looking at my direction but they feel like they're looking at him but it's really all about me so that's one of the things that I think that maybe people don't realize that's important to do is to find that person because there that person is going to be the the spokesman to say absolutely if something's good or something's bad exactly and things like that so it's it's important to you know I I'll even maybe touch the person on the shoulder let them know you know and especially if I'm repeating the order I'll go around the table and I'll give them a light tap and it's almost reassuring I know you don't write your orders down for the most part and I do and I do that just to unburden my mind I don't do that as I I can but I like to be more free and it does give them a little bit more confidence that I am taking it seriously or you know all I heard them and it gives me a record for when something goes sideways I say oh no no is that happened to me the other day you know oh where's my escargot I'm sorry I had this order and I had that order I had no escargot a lot of people sometimes think they said something oh yeah they didn't it's nice to have a record so that's one thing I would agree with you is the point of contact is important and the large of the party the more personalities you you juggle of course it comes in and that's where the point of contact is real strong that's when you need that one or two people that you're really talking to in the group because they're the ones that's going to lead the group anyways true they could be an ally yeah listen up everybody or you know who wants this and how many of this do we have so yeah absolutely that's important to identify and so not so much in a in a two top you know two table person two person table but the bigger parties for sure the bigger parties for sure for no absolutely so I tend to analyze a table in in those sense look at the personalities and sometimes when a table is distracted or not ready and things like that they're how do you deal with that because the reason why I ask is because we're talking about good service and sometimes when they're so involved they don't notice that you're there and then when they are ready so to speak they they tend to think oh well where's my waiter and I'll go that same like if they're lost for a minute or if for a while like if you could tell they're talking to each other and they don't want to be held blah blah blah so I'll be initially if they don't answer you at first then you give them some time you let them kind of you kind of you be around them but you take care of other tables because you don't want your tables to fall behind because they're slowing you down so you take care of other people and then as soon as they're ready I try to jump right now I try to be try to make sure everything else around them is maintained so when they are ready I'm ready true I try to give them a signal that I was there of course no always I drop a coaster to oh yeah given some water even some water exactly just drop something in front of them and they it's almost like they wake up from a dream and they they they look around oh there's my help and say I've been here yeah where have you been hello so we have the you know the group dynamic and in a four top or more and we identified the or one of of the the the points of contact and things like that and and so we we go through the the entree now let's suppose that something went sideways temperature on the steak is it is not right or an order maybe is not wrong or something that maybe even your fault how do you think what's your demeanor then I mean all those things if that's our fault which usually it is then you you address the situation very you know calm but in charge and make sure that they are feeling like they're the most important person that table regards at that point that person specifically what if they get rude sometimes they're going to get rude you okay with that now but you walk away okay I was testing you yeah I walk away I do the walk away yeah I just let them vent things like that I mean there is a sense of responsibility if you if you truly messed up yeah you try doubly hard but if it's something that you know is common to you know stakes do get over yeah things like that I just you know hey I'm wearing an apron I'll let a guy with a tie handle this oh yeah for sure no that's when you bring the manager into it but you you definitely try to run this situation like hey obviously we'll take care of it I'm a sense of my over right now you that's when the manager comes at that point that's their job to come over it's true true okay that's that's when mistakes are for that's what they're there for to clean up your the mistakes not even if they're your mistakes yeah the mistakes in general what about upselling is that a point of concern for you or or emphasis I should say personally yeah no okay people know what they want people that like good things are going to get good things okay people that you know you can I mean you can upself but it's not it's never the extreme so what's the difference I I you know surprise because you so dessert that's a that's a side that's a part of upselling I mean but I mention it that's all you have to do that's upselling because most people are gonna they're gonna gravitate to what you mentioned or gravitate to what you see true but I mean not like I don't know I think when I think of upsell I think of it's like a it's like when you go to the grocery store in the impulse aisle you know generally what you want but it's right there in front of you so you grab that true so for me if I have a drink order and I hear vodka tonic I say any particular vodka we have oh yeah what's your preference gray goose I don't necessarily ask it in it my my what your preference is more of a leading but I'm going to give you three brands and they're gonna say Tito's or gray goose because they hear it at the moment most people are gonna say one of the three that you say if you say three then I'm gonna say you know let me get the the stolly if you didn't say stolly because they would have said it if they were gonna drink it anyway so I see your point but for me maybe I don't do the add-ons like I definitely do sell appetizers but I won't you know I guess at the moment we don't do the oh you want to top that off with some mushrooms and yeah see I think that kind of stuff I don't do yeah like do you want bacon with your burger I'm not doing that I do the cheese though yeah cheese always cheese is a part of a burger but it's not because of the upsell for me that's not a upsell that's cheese it just it just saves me time because most people say burger and they expect cheese that they should yeah the depression include cheese true yeah so a lot of the good service points I do because it benefits me not just on the bottom line I mean yeah we are in it for the money but I also am in it to get out unscathed you know yeah I want to do a good job well I mean I'm a very I feel like you give what you put out so you might as well you know like I mean at least how I go out like I don't want anybody I try to give I try to go out and be a good patron the same way I try to be a good server okay I see that yeah I mean that's it's important yeah because cosmically you do I think you're alluded to you get what you give exactly you know you can't expect a great response from the grit guest if you're given something half-ass and they feel that you know so but yeah I do I on drinks upsell on obviously desserts I you know it's a formality for me but you know under my breath it's like good just take the check and leave you know I mean that's what you're thinking but I still mention it I always I mean would you like dessert coffee you know just because you I mean you have to say those even if you know they're not gonna order it what what if it's the end of the night and you really don't want to deal with these people anymore what do you say like because I mean if we're closed you don't get anything I'm not even mentioning I'm just dropping the chat but if we're open yeah I'll still give you the option because if my if my if the girl the pantry's going you ain't getting dessert I'm not going to make it I don't say the word dessert I just say do you like anything else would you like anything else are you satisfied I feel like I have tricks to to make people leave how about another drink no no not at the end when the drinks like you know half or quarter I'm betting I'm selling the drinks when it's time to go you got to go oh no when it's time to go there's always it's time to go yeah but that's your time once you're on your time so let's how about we talk about that the proper way to time management at a restaurant okay both sides as the guest or even you know like like the people that come in to a restaurant what does that say for somebody because it's a restaurant five minutes before they close all right so I feel like I had that's like two questions so so the time management at the restaurant meaning like how much time they spend there that put or even so let's just look at the time of coming in approaching the restaurant okay well we all we I can't imagine and folks please let us know what you think I cannot imagine that there are two many servers that like people that come too close to the the hour of closing so what's acceptable for you half hour before close to 15 minutes before close 20 minutes what's your half hours ideal okay because that means you have a full hour which is which should be enough time for you to eat and have a good time and get that okay that's to me as normal service time 45 minutes to an hour you should be done with your meal and leaving the restaurant anyway okay hour and 15 minutes if you're really running your mouth maybe 30 max but that's that's on the even even at the end of the night because and at night it should be 45 minutes I feel you should eat like a military man but if you come in the lady you come in yeah no the less you better be exactly because you've done pissed off all the cooks and everything exactly but but now 30 minutes before be that way you can still get everything gets done and then I feel like it's still a clean you're not missing out on stuff they didn't clean up stuff already that kind of thing because I've been to even fast food restaurants okay before they close and they'll tell you five you know 10 15 minutes before they go like we didn't got that you're not getting that okay so yeah I mean and they're built true for that yeah but I the human element where you have worked so hard all night oh yeah and when it's time to go it's time to go I don't I don't think that there are a lot of the population that understands no they don't understand they think that you close at 11 I can get there by 10 55 or T 30 seconds before 11 yeah it's craziness it's not like a bank man you know even the bank might look at you like you're crazy yeah yeah but they're super corporate and you know and they also close it for cop so yeah give me my 30 seconds it'll close after you know places closing like one two midnight you know it's late it's late it's not we shouldn't be eating that fucking late okay it's not healthy yeah yeah but I mean but for for dining at a certain hour okay so maybe there's nuance to it right so if you close at 10 sure come in 20 to 10 sure you close at 11 10 30 you close at 12 don't work there and I mean it's it's just one of those things where then I sometimes you just want to say you don't want you don't want to be here if you even knew you don't want to be here because a lot of things are heat hold that they're rushed they're made ahead of time and and you know so you best not be coming in spreading out and thinking you're gonna get the full Monty would you go to a buffet an hour before they before they were done me know some people would see you don't you can't do that okay that food is not right as annoying as it is like you need to beat at a restaurant either before prime time at prime time or right after or just after yeah but you first of all you're not getting the best of anything whether it be service food execution and you know it's I mean at all place it's a little it's a little different but I've been to places where I've been afraid to go in and I've said hey what time do you close and if it's like under an hour I really think long and hard so wow yeah yeah good question but back to good service so I want to talk about some more of your your style that makes makes you money or or or gives you a guest a good you know hey Danny was good or you know that kind of thing like okay so we can get that so people are amazed that I can remember their order and it comes out perfectly okay that is one of my selling points all right like they'll be like really did you remember that and the table would be fine everything's fine they're very happy about that okay and then that was almost that's almost a point of where I can kind of control the situation as well now I do cross the line at like parties to six six or more I write it down okay five and under I think I usually remember well so I'm not worried about it okay but six or more I'm writing it down just because there's people that are slower and less it's a repetitive table like even then I'll start to write it down then I'll realize is they got three of one thing and two of another thing and one thing you know I mean that's if you can read there's something wrong already and this may be the little off topic but you know I've noticed that Americans tend to when they're ordering if their friend is getting the same thing they want to order they change their mind can't you can't you eat the same thing oh I was gonna get that it's not one per table that has to lot to do with people social media actually they want to feel like they are important on their own like they're their individual person which is fine they are so they they can't they can't have a linguine because their friends having a linguine now that's how they feel like that that's why everybody has tattoos and it's just crazy and it's so it's either individualism or selfishness exact both because Europeans they'll they'll look you they'll huddle first of all don't even go near the table when they're not even looking up they oh we're not ready okay no problem and they'll order the same thing they'll have to work here oh and they love it six New York's all well done love it and murder okay best take they've ever had in their life they don't care six Budweiser you're like yeah I'll take it the Americans won't even drink the same thing first of all I don't know about you but I'm not sharing no exactly you can get your own unless it's and that is the only way that you would you know like if you were on a date or something like that and you guys that would be the only time that's when you get separate stuff yeah but I'm not even sharing with my date man I'll get you an extra plate of whatever you want to nibble on but what if you just want to try it you as you know I'm a weird dude I know so but I want conflate my flavors I'm getting this because it's a firm decision this is what I want no but let's say let's say it was like a surfer turf kind of thing where the look you know you want to stake and you know you want to stick okay she got like scallops or or some kind of shrimp just you just want like one scallop or one shrimp to kind of complete that that that's surfer turf feeling for you not I might give you a bite but rather worse from the guy that doesn't even sell dessert I love dessert and I will not share my dessert I won't do it I will get you your own whole dessert so you can get a fork full of yours on the side so you don't get a bite of mine it's no problem well that's fair though I love it does that dessert's phenomenal you know what I love those little mini shot glasses of desserts oh they're so come out with like 12 of them oh it's so good Brian you got to leave the whole thing I'll take it all yeah like seasons oh so good I go there just for dessert because yeah we're plugging season 52 but it's all good they're dessert to phenomenal I'm plugging the dessert not the food yeah the food needs to stick to your bones a little bit more yeah maybe putting the salt on it but it's cool I'm there for dessert yeah I'm you got to leave that whole rack I'll I'll take that all love it so we'll we'll we'll we'll start to wrap up with the tricks and the good service yeah um so here I have another one talk to me no really I liked it but I did well one we kind of already touched on okay in my bullet point it was personality which should be touched on early personality counts yes and I think that's where the secret sauce is so if you have in a bad day it's it's hard to come out with your personality but there's a certain amount of professionalism that goes into putting that aside and giving them at least some of your personnel you know and but personalities one of those funny things that has to be in that dance of they have to be receptive of course yes because good service means different things to different people you know like some people want you off the decide and not seen and not heard and some people they'll be offended if you don't talk to them enough or you're not there enough or or you know they're all dancing for dollars I mean yeah they're just like and that and there is that fine line it's so rant it's like oh it's so far the spectrum it's like so far it's not uniform yeah like and I love those people who just kind of want you to be there for them but just need your information but they don't want you up their but you crack a little joke with them you they should be engaged in themselves because they're together there that's what it shouldn't matter who your server is where you go because you should go and somebody but you know you're engaged with you know they're coming out for some entertainment and then of course they're going for a meal so that's their entertainment you know and in some some people like that but that's exhausting that's so much work can you imagine having a clown for you know 14 15 20 tables a night no it's it's not my job it's not my job man I mean if they only knew what you had to do it's work for certain people well we'll wrap that up and I think that we we should have a part two but the part two is gonna involve someone that's not in the industry okay and have them tell us what they think good services yeah so that you know we can round it out for our guests so thank you for listening it was our very first podcast it might be a little rough around that you can make me hear some squeaks and hips and microphone hips but we promise that each and every week we'll get better for you and if you like what you hear share it like subscribe and see next time on a modern way to podcast this is my own filter and they're gonna be good they say I say I'm a veteran and it is no one better than your average run out of mail mc because this mc don't run for the money I run for the snaz they kick the bars I wear jewelry and I ride nice cars but that don't determine who I are you see all my people see check in there water now we need to get back to what we call yeah