Think of a memorable service experience.

What stands out to you? Usually the answer here is the waiter. They were engaged. Prompt. Intuitive. Friendly. Fun. Non-intrusive. Whichever adjectives you are conjuring to mind, “food-deliverer” is probably not among them.

What’s the easiest way to let your staff focus solely on delivering a great, personable experience to guests? Increase the amount of time that they have to spend in their sections and at their tables. How do you do that? Identify tasks that you can take off of their, (pun intended), plates. Connections don’t happen between customer and server when the server is running around dropping off dishes. Food runners and assistant waiters keep your section waiters in their sections, where they can concentrate on giving the customer the best experience and surreptitiously selling more items, increasing the bill and spend per head.

Adding extra staff seems like a splurge? Think about the value versus the cost of one incremental hourly wage. Even just adding one food runner (the size of your restaurant matters here), at, let’s say $12 U.S/ $18 AUS/ £6 UKP an hour – is it worth it? It pays for itself immediately – you only have to sell two extra desserts per hour, or a few extra drinks, to offset that wage. And who’s best equipped to do that? The waiter, who’s now happily spending more time in their section, taking care of guests, resetting tables faster and better equipped to help manage the customer expectation and experience.

For a more in-depth look at this check out the Sales chapter in How to Run a Successful Restaurant for more ideas on how to use sales to offset the cost of (and profit from) adding a food runner.

Story

When I started working at a new fine dining restaurant in the area, I was so excited at the idea of how much more money I could make than my previous restaurant. I was going from serving at a restaurant with average check of  $50 to a  $100+ per head, so I thought that naturally my tips would double. Score! Then, as we wrapped up training, I found out that we would have only 4 tables per section (at my other restaurant, I was used to 8). My excitement deflated.

But then, after a few nights on the floor, I saw I was making so much more in tips, despite the fact that my section was half the size. Why? I got great feedback from my tables – they loved how I took care of them and connected with them. I had the same personality and engagement level at both restaurants, so what was the difference? At my other restaurant, I was constantly running around delivering food, getting drink refills, etc. At my new restaurant, I had a section assistant who took care of all of that. With fewer tables, and someone whose job was to keep me at them, I connected with my guests better than ever before. That meant that I had one of the highest check averages of the staff because I could make great suggestions (menu knowledge), and because of that, I made considerably more tips because of it and I genuinely had more fun at work every day.

As a restaurant owner or manager it is essential that you are able to make a conscious decision relating to the perception of your restaurant. By employing a trainee waiter or food runner for a restaurant that turns tables twice at lunch and dinner this is a must. If you are not at this level yet trial it on a Friday or Saturday night and see how it travels over a 3 month period. Either way it is the customer who must always come first.