“I don’t know.”
The three worst words a server can use to respond to a customer’s questions. Especially when it comes to describing the products that they are explicitly hired to sell. But when a server doesn’t know what something tastes like, is it really their fault? They are going to get a feel for your menu each time they eat at your restaurant, but most often, your restaurant is not where they’re getting their meals.
So how do you educate your team to describe and sell your products? Tastings. Tastings are a bit of work, but they’re worth the rewards. Here are 5 specific benefits to hosting staff tastings.
The Staff Who Knows your Product, Sells Your Product
Servers want to be guiding guests through their dining experience and helping them make great decisions. And they want to do so with integrity. So it’s really hard for a waiter to recommend something to a customer if they haven’t tried it themselves, especially if they don’t feel they have the confidence to describe it or answer follow up questions. Have you ever brought in a new dessert and let the staff try it? Your boost in sales is likely not from customers happening to notice the new item, but excited servers telling them about it.
If they know it, like it, and are confident to describe it, they’ll sell it.
Customers Want Recommendations
While making recommendations can feel uncomfortable for some staff, the best are great at it. And rewarded. Studies show that great staff recommendations directly correlate to guest satisfaction. They want someone who knows the menu, can describe items in detail and make great suggestions.
Engaged Staff are Happy Staff
Millennials get a bad rap for being “needy”, but the data really tells us they want to be engaged. They want to feel like they’re part of the organization that they work for and they want to be proud of it. Well, since you’re likely dealing with a mostly millennial workforce, this applies to you! Tastings are a great way to reward your staff with the education and engagement that they crave, subsequently increasing their pride and sense of ownership in their work.
Connect the Front and Back of House
Getting the front and back of house on the same page is always a difficult task, so anything you can do to better connect them helps. Tastings help get them connected because they’re speaking the same language and the FOH has a better understanding of the behind the scenes of each item. If you’re having a large tasting event with your team, even better because the event itself will increase staff connection.
They Can Be Big or Small
Doing an overhaul on the menu? Invite the whole staff in for a big tasting of all of the new items. Want to focus on continuing education? Do a mini tasting during your Friday and Saturday night pre-shift meetings. Staff education does not have to be a big to-do, but it does have to be done.
Story
When I moved back to Australia from the UK I took a GM role at one of the most prominent restaurants in the region I lived. This business was open breakfast, lunch, and dinner 7 days a week. It was exceptionally busy due to its proximity to the beach and walking tracks.
When I took over, as with all my restaurants, I took a week to work on the floor, waiting, running food and working in the bar. This experience gives me an excellent view of what the staff see and deal with everyday (it also proves I can do what I ask of them but that’s another blog). The one thing that stood out was that the chef had created a brilliant summer menu taking inspiration from Curtis Stone and Gordon Ramsey. It was fresh, had great colours and well balanced with good depth of flavor – but no one knew how it tasted!
When I asked the owner why the staff hadn’t tasted the dishes he explained that it was a costly exercise and he was not going to pay people to sit down and eat.
I was slightly shocked to hear this. I then proceed to educate him on the benefits of staff tasting including cocktails and wines and what the benefits were in absorbing the short term cost for long term gain.
He reluctantly agreed and I arranged a full menu tasting on a Monday evening. We stayed open for service I had the receptionist and the supervisor on the floor and so we held our tasting with the owner.
The outcome was as follows: staff bonded, staff were educated, staff learned new skills (sales), staff learned that all dishes were outstanding. The follow on was that the spend her head increased through wine recommendations and drink sales. The staff were confident with their new skill set and what followed was wine and drinks tastings, cheese education etc.
By educating your staff you will only stand to profit from it and have a more cohesive, competent team.
