Just a rant about work...

I would rather read the ingredients so I could find exaclty (or close to) what I want. I would never remember which ingredients you are spewing out belonged to which salad!
Desserts? if there are only a few or they are nightly specials that change I could see reciting them, but honestly, most chain restaurants are not fancy enough to worry about a picture menu IMO.
 
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I like it written out. Not just salads, all menu items. I also like a dessert and drink menu - with pictures of the desert and a description of the drink. Personally speaking, if there is a desert menu present on the table, I check it before I decide what I am having for dinner. That way I can order something smaller for dinner and have room for dessert if there is something on it that looks and sounds good. As far as drinks go, if we are talking mixed drinks, I want to know what is in them.
 
I would rather have a description on the menu. I have been to both kinds of resteraunts, and playing 20 Questions with the server is a PITA. I don't want to have to ask, unless its something really specific. TELL ME what it is in the menu.
 
So the consensus is in.

I do work for a company that is run by complete morons. Don't even let me go on about other stuff they do - like making their restaurants decor so low key that we don't even look like we're open, not having a fully stocked bar (we don't even have Southen Comfort!) and offering not refusing to take reservations or call ahead seating.


Now as far as the inevitable "why the hell do you work there then?" that many of you are thinking, well it's a lot to do with liking the job otherwise. I love the people I work with, the managers (not the regionals mind you) are all very cool and they allow me a lot of flexibility in my schedule for school and other things. I know the job backwards and forwards, and the uniform isn't terribly uncomfortable. So I don't plan to leave or find a different job, I just don't understand the place a lot of the time.


Glad to see I'm not the crazy one. I figured as much.
 
You will probably hate me for this but cest la vie

Don't be so lazy, are you an order taker or a sales maker.

If this is a large chain trust me they have spent much in research to come up with this decision.

If you use the right verbage to describe the menu items it all equals UPSELL and upsell equals MORE TIPS!!!!!!

Personally when I served tables I prefered to be able to have some interaction and guide my clientel through their dining experience rather than just have them repeat things to me off the page in front of them.

I am sure that this chain is looking to turn you from simple order takers to salespeople. After all serving tables is kind of like your own little business.

have a customer so ill be back
 
ok back

my menu at my restaurant cosists of 2 word verbage which is stylized to get the customer to ask ?, to the which we give the descriptive and it works very much to catch peoples ear that are passing by. I have actually had customers who have come to order because they heard it described as they walked by.

Now when they become regular clients they cease to ask ? and simply order it as it says on the menu.

When I served tables it was regular for me to net after tip pool from 130-300 a night. If you really want to see smoking tips here are a couple tricks
buy a expensive pen and use it but don't let customers have it to sign unless you are present, I used monte blanc. If your restaurant allows smoking get yourself a nice lighter and light peoples smokes. Make sure to vary the parting greeting you put on the bill and use accessory candies to fit the season if the chain lets you.

Try to think of it this way. Eating out is a luxury and a way that people entertain themselves, so they go to a sit down restaurant looking for(in your case) the experience so expertly put for in adverts on tv(if the chain you work for uses tv).

I am pretty sure if you would look at this from the perspective of potetial upsell openings you will see an increase in your tips. There is one thing that customers can read like a book, an unethusiastic server who is just doing the job. The shagrin you have with the recent menu changes probably translates through to your service. I would recommend either finding another job if you are dissatisfied with your present, or buck it up and do it their way and leave them behind when you are done your shift as you count your money and run.
 
I'd rather see it on the menu, by a long shot, than have to ask the server to explain what is what. It all runs together in my head when that happens.
 
I have been working in restaurants for over 20 years. And I do agree that they can come up with some ideas that can make you scratch your head. As far as the salads go the only people who will ask about the first three would ask the same questions they would even if there was a description, most people dont read the menu scrips anyway. I am sure you have had a time or two when someone had an issue with what was in the food or how it was cooked, when it was clearly printed on the menu. The best way to deal with is to us your maketing skills and try to sell them one of the more common salads from the get go. If you have the time and want to interacte a little more with the peple you can try to go for the chopped or singnatur salads. Its up to you and how you read your people. Some people come to a restaurant just to eat, some come to visit, some to be entertained, and some to vent and make you feel their pian, and some you may think are plannig to move in. Sorry about the dessert menus. their just wrong about that. "PICTURES SELL" but your going to have to live with that. You can allways see what they think about the idea of dessert tray or display. Dont forget your RD just hands the info he gets from corp down the line. So he may or may agree with it. The one thing about restaurant is you have to learn to roll with the punches. you are very much correct about the menus. Most places pay by the number of lines, and pictures are extra. Just smile nod your head sell as much as you can and count your cash at the end of the day. It good to vent.
 
You make points chefjames, but my opinion was not based on the idea of whether a server should or shouldn't be a salesperson, or whether I wanted or didn't want to engage with my customers - not a question of my own laziness or reticence to be an active rather than a passive waitperson - but based upon my assumption that people do not want me to have to describe salad ingredients to them.

And judging from the overwhelming response on this thread, and the countless annoyed comments from my customers over the last two years, the facts do not add up at all in support of it being a good idea. So if there was any market research involved in this idea, the group researched must not have been either customers of the restaurant, or people who post on a fishy forum. Because from what I'm seeing, very few people want to hear a server rattle at them. Regardless of that server's verbal eloquence. And especially over salads on a menu - specials are one thing, but salads on a menu...nah.


If the company really felt that server salesmanship was the key to their success, they would reflect that in two things - one, their training program would be highly focused upon it (it wasn't any more focused on it than any other chain I have worked for) and two, the rest of the menu would have the same or a similar format. Instead the whole menu except for the salads has fully detailed descriptions.

I dare accuse the company of just wanting to save space - I should have also mentioned the stupidity of the menu layout - we used to have nice folio menus with several pages, when the change came it was along with a single page menu that I have disaffectionately labeled The Flapsheet. It looks ridiculous.
 
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