Author :chef ssentongo Geoffrey

Blog : what are the soft skills Needed by a wait staff

As a restaurant owner, your success hinges not only on the menu, but on the continuous delivery of excellent customer service. Your praised chef may create the most amazing culinary confection on the planet, but if it is delivered to the table by a waitress who treats your customers poorly, it damages the experience for the customer and hurts your bottom line. When interviewing a prospective employee for a wait staff position, it is important to focus on her soft skills as well as the experience on her resume.

Definition

In a tough economic climate, it is increasingly important for Restaurant owners to hire candidates based on their soft skills, which can be described as those abilities needed for productive interpersonal relationships. Soft skills are non-academic, non-technical skills that are transferable from one job to another, such as good communication, self awareness, positivity and the ability to work in a team. A wait staff with good soft skills demonstrates a desire to enhance the reputation of the restaurant and prides herself in exceeding customer expectations.

Hospitality and Courtesy

A wait staff with a developed soft skills set is a people person who emits a positive, warm and caring attitude with her customers, even when courtesies are not necessarily reciprocated. She is polite in greeting the customer, and makes him feel welcome with her mannerisms. Excellent listening skills are necessary to handle diners ‘ wants, preferences or questions about the food. Empathy is important for a wait staff.

Copying Skills

Everyone has seen the difficult customer who takes out his frustrations in a restaurant —he doesn’t like his food, he got the wrong entree, the waitress took forever. Dealing with a difficult diner can be a frustrating aspect of providing good service. A skilled waiter uses his or her coping skills in tense situations to resolve the issue. She listens to the complaint and takes responsibility for the problem while remaining calm.

Work Ethic

A solid work ethic, initiative and reliability are soft skills that are desired in any position. A talented writer should have leadership ability and work well with other restaurant employees. When other employees lack initiative, he or she may provide motivation or bring an air of optimism to a uncertain situation.

Considerations

Some people have good people skills without having awareness of them. When interviewing your candidate, evaluate her soft skills by watching her or he. Observe whether she arrives on time, how she greets you and interacts with other staff members.

The Importance of Training in a Restaurant

A well-trained workforce saves your profitability. Therefore, ensure that every member of your team from the wait and kitchen staff to the managers receives solid and continuous training to remain outstanding in the highly competitive industry.

Food Handling

Restaurant employees must know proper food-Handling practices to ensure food safety. For example, a well-trained staff would know how to store certain foods at their required temperatures or the need to wash their hands before engaging in the cooking process.

Customer Service

Your employees need to master the art of service to ensure your customers return, as well as recommend you to friends and families.

Consistent Quality

A good training program in a restaurant covers quality standards among other aspects of business. Training reminds employees of your restaurants about principles, procedures and policies to ensure that they consistently fulfill their duties in accordance with these standards.

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