How to be treated like restaurant royalty.

So, you wanna be a baller? A shot-caller with 20″ blades on your Impala? Sorry, I can’t help you there. But, I can teach you be treated like a king every time you visit your favorite restaurant. Hopefully, you’ve been reading my past blog posts and learned a thing or two. Anything that I’ve made mention of people doing wrong, you shouldn’t be doing and everything I’ve told you that we as waiters love, you should be. Go back and read “The Do’s and Don’ts of Dining Out”

http://servernotslave.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/the-dos-and-donts-of-dining-out/

This is your basis of being an excellent customer andhaving a good night. But what if you want more? What if you want every waiter to scramble to find you a seat in their section when you walk through the door, or have it like “Cheers” where everyone knows your name? Perhaps you just want to be guaranteed the best service possible? This is the post to read.

Even though you may have your favorite restaurant and visit the place once a week. If you don’t set yourself apart from every shlub that walks through that door, you’re just “repeat business”. What you want is to become what we call in the industry a “regular”. A regular is the cherry on top of a waiter’s night. If we know a regular is coming in on a particular night then our entire shift is going to go well. It could be the shittiest night ever, but when a regular walks through the door that waiter is happy as a clam in high tide. So, you wanna be restaurant royalty? Here’s the way to do it:

I will remember you… you will remember me… don’t let your life pass you by… Since you’ve read the Do’s and Don’ts from earlier (if you haven’t, then do it now. I’ll wait), you’ll remember that I made it a very big point to remember your waiter’s name. This is absolutely key to becoming a restaurant favorite. If you haven’t already started remembering your waiter’s name, the next time you go in remember it and use it. That means “Hey, Sam, can I get a refill?” or “Hey, Sam, what do you suggest for dessert”. This way, the second time you come into the restaurant, you can request Sam’s section. Now, Sam probably won’t remember you, but if he does then you’ve already got your foot in the door to becoming a “regular”. Of course, you have to make sure that Sam is a waiter that you’d like to have waiting on you each time you go in there. It’s usually a good idea. Now, you can be a “player” when it comes to the waiters. If you happen to go in there when Sam isn’t around, then start up a new rapport with another waiter; remembering their names, etc. The more people that you get to know your face, the better chance it is that you’ll receive special service from everyone. If Sam doesn’t happen to get you on the second visit, he’ll tell your waiter “hey, take care of that guy. He’s great, and he tips well.”

New car, caviar, four star daydream, Think I’ll buy me a football team. Money talks the talk while you walk the walk. When you went in on that first visit you remembered Sam’s name (I’m assuming Sam is a good waiter), so that second time where you tell the waiter you want to sit in his section, Sam’s going to wonder why you requested him. He’s going to treat you a little bit better, but he’s obviously going to wonder what he did that was special enough for you to ask for him. So tell him: he gave you great service and you wanted it again. That will put a big smile on his face and you’re already in the door to being a regular. The second visit is the crucial time to spend money. It’s a wise investment, I promise you, to spend a little extra cash on the second visit. This will solidify you as one of Sam’s favorite customers. Order drinks, appetizers, salads, entrees, and dessert. The whole nine yards. Even if your bill is $60-$80 for two people, it’s worth it to you and it’s worth it to Sam when you surprise him with a nice hefty 20% tip at the end of the night. Why? Because every night after that you go visit, you won’t have to spend as much, as long as you keep leaving nice tips. Even a $30 table ticket is great for a waiter if he expects he could get anywhere from $8-$10. Leaving a great tip is the best way for someone to remember you.

Don’t worry, be happy. You are more than welcome to follow the first two steps to being a restaurant king, but if you’re an annoying or mean customer, then you become a “rich bitch”. If you’re a terrible customer, and request your waiter, then it’s going to only backfire on your plans to being royalty. If you treated Sam like crap, sent back food because you didn’t like it and constantly pestered him, the biggest tip in the world isn’t going to change his mind that you’re a pain in the ass. He may see you walk through the door, and let out a big sigh or a grunt because he knows that although he’s got five other tables, he’s going to have to take away time from those tables to make you happy. It could actually cost him tip money in the end to wait on you if he has to mis-manage his time to give you more of it. So again, you should have read the Do’s and Don’ts because one of the first things that I mentioned was to be polite, have fun, and don’t draw attention to yourself. Pestering your favorite waiter with constant drink refills, or being upset with him because your food is undercooked is going against what we’re trying to do here. Politely motion him over, and with a nice tone of voice let him know that your food is undercooked and you know it’s not his fault. Be patient. Patience is a virtue to be hand, and he knows it. If you’re patient, he will be more than happy to take care of you and probably apologize about taking so long.

He say “I know you, you know me”, one thing I can tell you is you got to be free. This is a short one. If you do happen to give your name to your favorite waiter because you want that personal service. Strike up a conversation with him or her. Ask them about what they’re doing when they’re not working, or if they’re in school. If you show interest in them, they will show interest in you and want to do more things for you. However, don’t try to spark up a conversation when you can obviously see that he or she is really busy. Conversations are to be had during off-hours, not from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm when it’s the busiest time of the night.

Nice to know you, goodbye. Lastly, near the end of your meal -if you have time- ask your waiter what nights they work. Some restaurants will have a set schedule, but most usually will schedule as needed. But, for the most part, your waiter will know what shifts they usually work and they’ll tell you. When you’re done, thank your waiter, and let them know that you will request them the next time you come in.

If you’ve done everything I’ve told you earlier (remembering their name, spending money, having fun, and being happy), then the only thing to do is tell that waiter that you’ll see them again. I promise you that if you do all these things, the next time you walk in that door and your waiter sees you walk in, I can almost guarantee you that they will interrupt the hostess and tell them to seat you in their section.

You are now wanted. You, my friend, are restaurant royalty.