[00:00:00] So our servers are our salespeople, they are our frontline, they are our offense and our defense. Our servers will impact the guest experience more than just about anyone else on your payroll. They will have more contact than your guests and they are the ones that are primarily responsible for generating revenue, for driving more revenue for you. And if they can drive more revenue, they will also help your bottom line make you more profitable. So today, as the title suggests, we're going to talk about how your servers can make you more money and by doing that, can make themselves more money. Tons of actionable pieces on this episode market. You're going to want to come back and listen to this, mark this one and send it around to your servers, to your managers, because it's going to help them make more money. Don't go anywhere. We're talking all about how your servers can make themselves and you more money. On today's episode of Restaurant Strategy.
[00:00:50] There's an old saying that goes something like this. You'll only find three kinds of people in the world. Those who see, those who will never see, and those who can see when shown. This is Restaurant Strategy, a podcast with answers for anyone who's looking.
[00:01:21] Hey everyone, my name is Chip Close and this is Restaurant Strategy, a podcast dedicated solely to helping you build a more profitable restaurant. Each week I leverage my 20 plus years in the industry to help you build that more profitable and more sustainable business. I also work directly with operators all over the world through my P3 mastermind program. What are the three P's? They stand for? Profit, Process and Progress. So if you've got a busy restaurant but struggle to generate consistent, predictable 20% profits month after month, then set up a free 30 minute strategy session with me or someone from my team. We'll get to learn more about you and your restaurant. You'll get to ask some questions about the program to see if you're a good fit for the program.
[00:02:01] Get started by visiting restaurantstrategypodcast.com schedule and as always, you'll find that link in the show notes.
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[00:02:27] Not only are they helping restaurant operators make sense of the changing landscape, but they're also working directly with restaurants to help them overcome challenges with innovative solutions. Their handhelds and QR Ordering can help you turn more tables while creating a better guest experience on the backend. Their labor management tools can save up to 20 hours per week on tasks like scheduling, payroll and tip distribution. And when it comes to rising costs, Spoton's reporting gives you the real time data you need to make informed decisions about your menu, your employees and and your operations. Best of all, Spoton's direct online ordering puts you in control of your takeout and delivery operation without the third party commissions. They've got all these tools in one integrated system backed by a customer support team that actually answers the phone. Learn more by visiting spoton.com chip and yes, you will find that link in the show notes.
[00:03:19] Now we're talking about your servers. We're talking about how your servers can help generate more revenue for you, thereby making more tip income for for themselves. Our servers are crucial to the success of our restaurants. And yes, I think technology is coming and technology will change what they do and how they do it. But ultimately it will not replace the people, it will not replace servers. Their role will continue to change. But as it stands right now, full service restaurant needs really great servers. Not order takers, but servers. And I want to talk to you about the best five ways that they can help make more money for you and therefore more money for themselves. We're going to do four before the break. Then we've got a sponsor or we've got an ad. And then I saved my very best one, my favorite till the very end. So do not go anywhere. There's a really great, compelling thought experiment case study that I want to share with you that will bring all of this into bright living color. So five things we're going to cover. Ways that your that your servers can help make you more money and themselves more money. Without any further ado, let's dive in. The first thing you can help them to do is to be more confident.
[00:04:28] Get them to control the experience and guide the guests through the experience.
[00:04:33] That starts with product knowledge, right?
[00:04:37] You wouldn't buy a car from somebody, from a salesman who didn't know anything about the car, right? Who had to check out everything on the window sticker. That's not what you want. What you want is somebody who knows the product inside and out and can confidently guide you through the experience.
[00:04:51] Confidence sells, right? It's attractive, it's sexy. When we go to a restaurant and I'm not talking about just a big fancy restaurant, I'm talking about the pizza. A place, right? Again, I've shared this on the show But I recently moved out of New York City to the New Jersey suburbs last summer. And I am in a whole new community. I don't know anything around here. I don't know if the restaurant is good or bad. I don't know what they're famous for. I don't know what I should get. Yes, I can certainly order on my own. I'm an adult. I can make decisions, but I want to have a great time when I'm out with my wife or my family or, you know, entertaining friends or what. When I'm somewhere new, I want to know what I should be eating. And a server that approaches the table confidently. Right. That guides them through the experience, ultimately the guests, most guests. Right. I'd say 80% of guests will sort of give over to that and go along with what the server is saying. Now. Are they going to spend money they don't have? No. Are they going to order things they don't like? No. But if a server can take control of the table and guide them through the menu, show them, say, I know the best way to experience this restaurant and I'm going to make sure you have a fantastic time, just trust me. That is very, very attractive. That is your first step in helping your servers be better for you and better for themselves. So the first thing we're going to cover there is that confidence sells. They should be able to control the pacing of the experience. They should be able to control what goes on the check, when it goes on the check, when the stuff hits the table. All of that is crucial. So this is the key difference between a server and an order taker. Somebody who's really great at their job and just somebody who gets through their just sitting there and saying, hey, what can I get for you? Write it down. What can I get for you? Write it down. What can I get for you? That's an order taker. Anyone can do that. I can put a phone in the middle. I can put an iPad. I can put a kiosk. I can have QR ordering. I can certainly leave the guests to do that. They understand how to do that. They do that when they order grubhub or doordash. If we've got a server there, I hope, I hope they are helping. They exist to improve the guest experience, to, number one, make sure the guests have a better time. And they take better care of the guests than an iPad could.
[00:07:02] And I hope they are selling more than an iPad could or a QR code could. And if they're not doing that, that is A huge problem. And you need to figure out how to make sure your people are confident about the product, that they know the product that they're selling, and they feel comfortable enough taking control of a table. And again, the way they approach the table, the way they guide them through the menu, the way they make suggestions, the way they make recommendations as they're ordering, the way they try to get other things on the table and all of that, it begins by being really confident. The way that they approach their job and the table. That's the first thing. Number two. Here's a second, another way that servers can help make you more money, and therefore them more money upsells on premium drinks. This is so, so simple, right? So when somebody says, hey, I'll just take a vodka martini, or somebody says, hey, I'll just take a gin and tonic, we don't write down gin and tonic and just get them the. Well, we always make a recommendation. So if your servers are not poised to do this, then let this be the catalyst to get you to do this right. Somebody says, hey, I'll take a vodka martini straight up with olives. Great. Can I recommend Belvedere, Grey Goose, Tito's, Whatever it is. You go through the list, and you begin by listing the premium spirits you have. Oftentimes, they will just pick one of the first ones that, that you recommend that you suggest that you ask them about. And sometimes every once in a while, they'll say, no, the well vodka is fine. More often than not, they will pick one of the ones you name. So when they say, I'll take a vodka martini straight up with olives, the first prompt should be great. Did you have a preference between Grey Goose, Belvedere, Tito's? They start by listing the premium vodkas, and if they want absolute, if they want Stoli, fine, they'll order that. If they don't care and they just want the well, fine, they'll order that as well. But begin by offering those upsells. It's the same thing with a gin and tonic. It's the same thing with a whiskey sour. It's a same thing.
[00:09:03] So many of these. And if you do that, it makes a profound difference. So here, just a little illustration. So on average, right, a premium spirit is, you know, let's say, two bucks more than a well spirit. So if somebody says, I'll take a gin and tonic. If you say, hey, can I recommend Hendrix? Can I recommend tanker A10? Can I recommend something Boodles?
[00:09:23] A premium product, you'll get on average about 2 bucks. More per drink and 2 bucks doesn't sound like much, but follow the math. Let's say you got a five table station, four guests at each table. You do two turns. That's a total of 40 guests that one server is taking care of. And even if this works on half of them, that's 20 guests times $2 a drink. Let's assume everyone's going to have a drink when they sit down.
[00:09:46] The server has made an additional now $20 for the house that night. And if they, if they work four shifts a week, that's $80 in additional revenue over the course of the year. Right. Let's call it 50 weeks. Because they're gonna take two weeks vacation. That's $4,000 in additional revenue for the house. That's 20%. 20% of that is 800 bucks. You just found a way to make them 800 more bucks at the end of the year without having to work any harder, right? That, that's another week off. I know as being a server, one of the hard things is that when you get paid time off, it's not necessarily you just get paid out at minimum wage. You don't get necessarily paid out the same rate that you would have gotten with all your tips. So $800 allows them to take a vacation, Right.
[00:10:28] So you're helping them work smarter. Not any harder, just smarter. They're asking one question after somebody orders something. You're just showing them to ask a question. And if you cue them, if you make sure that they know that every time that happens, they make the recommendation. Right. I'll take a vodka martini. Great. Which you prefer. And you list the things. I'll take a gin and tonic. Great. Would you prefer. And you list the things. I'll take a whiskey sour. Great. Would you prefer. You do that every single time. It makes a big, big difference. Now, the third thing I want to point out here is about volume, right? I want you to get your servers to play the volume game. And what do I mean by that? It's that if somebody orders a glass of wine, try to sell them the bottle. If two people order the same, you know, I'll take a glass of cab. Yeah, that sounds good. I'll take a glass of cab. Say, great. Do you know you save a little bit if you get a, if you get a bottle, and if you're just gonna have a couple of glasses, I might recommend it, Right? So, yes, they get a little bit of a deal if they order the bottle. In most restaurants that is the case. And you're moving product quickly, you're moving four glasses of wine at a time instead of just two. Same thing, right? Sell pitchers of beer instead of pints.
[00:11:36] This makes for less running around. So it's actually you're showing your servers how they can work less, how they can have an easier giant, have an easier time, have an easier job every night. You're helping them work more efficiently. Right. And then they'll be making money in bulk. Right? 60 bucks at a time instead of just, you know, 8 bucks or 12 bucks or 14 bucks for the glass. Right. And it's easier to get a bottle of wine, open it, pour it off for the table, place it in the table, and you just have to come by and sort of splash off some wine every time they need it. Or by putting a pitcher of be down on the table, people will pour themselves. Or you can come over and pour it off. It's easier to see when people are ready. And then guess what? For the most part, when a table starts ordering a pitcher of beer, they're not going to go back and order one beer at a time. They're just going to get a second pitcher. Same thing with a bottle of wine. Once they've ordered a bottle of wine, they say, yep, bring us another bottle of wine if they want a second bottle. Super, super important to that point. As a little side here, let me share a little bit statistic that I often share with the members of my P3 mastermind. But the power of when it cannot be overstated. Right? Timing when it comes to the meal is pretty crucial. And there's this. There's this really great statistic that was shared with me years ago that I now share with my clients. It says, knowing the right time to offer a second beverage, for example, a second bottle of wine. There's this statistic that says you'll have an 80% failure rate to get a second bottle of wine on the table if you pour off the bottle and offer that second bottle when the entrees have already hit the table. Because what happens, they look around, they say, no, we're fine. Maybe we'll just get a glass of wine, if anybody wants 1.80percent failure rate. If you offer a second bottle of wine when the entrees have already hit the table. And yet there's a 60% success rate if you pour off and offer that second bottle of wine before the entrees hit the table. Literally 4 out of 5 tables will decline if the entrees have already hit the table. And three out of five tables will Say yes if you get to them before the entree. Set the table. I was the king of this when I was a fine dining captain. I was the king of controlling the pacing of my food on the floor so that I had enough time to pour off a bottle, get a second bottle ordered before the entrees came and hit the table. It's such an art to do it, but it's not impossible. You just have to be aware of it. When you're aware of the, when the power of timing, especially it comes to these, in these transactions, it's so, so crucial oftentimes, right? Especially if I had a big expensive bottle of wine, somebody ordered a $400 bottle of wine for the table. Well, I really wanted to get another $400 bottle of wine on the table because guess what I made, I made 20% of that for the most part.
[00:14:20] So $400 bottle of wine, I made 80 bucks. If I get another bottle of that on the table or maybe another more expensive bottle, right? That's 160 plus dollars for me.
[00:14:32] For me. So again, from a server perspective, you get 20% of everything you bring to the table of all the revenue you drive. If you think of it that way, it'll be more productive. It'll help you be a better salesperson. Again, do it for your restaurant, right? Do it for the people you work for, but also do it selfishly for yourself because it'll help impact your life and your family's life. So again, when we play the volume game, and again, timing comes in when we talk about that volume game, but it can't be overstated. Number four. This is something we hear all the time. But I want to make it tactical. You've got to turn your tables faster.
[00:15:10] Again.
[00:15:12] When I first came to the city, my very first waiting tables job was right in Times Square. Times Square, right, has 40 Broadway theaters surrounding it. Everybody is there for pre theater. We're packed for pre theater. So from 5:30 to 8, we're jammed. And then at 8 and 8:30 we get another seating. But this is a 400 seat restaurant. So we would seat 400 seats at between 5:30, 6, 6:30. And then maybe we would only have 200 or 250 covers coming in for the next seating for that 8 or 8:30.
[00:15:46] What happened is that I knew I had to have the first tables available because all those 7:30 and 8:00 clock reservations that are coming in, I know the maitre d, the hosts are freaking out, they need places to put them. So I was the King of getting those pre theater tables out by about 7:15. And then I killed myself with my busser to get our tables reset, clean, ready to go. So I could get a full, full seating at 8 o' clock because otherwise, right. I'd get, you know, four or five tables at 6 o', clock, let's say. And then if I didn't have the first tables available, there was no guarantee that my section was going to fill up completely. And so then I'd be there for another two, two and a half hours taking care of maybe two tables. Right. It was better for me to try to get a full four or five tables again, which made such a profound difference in what I made every night, what I made every week. So you gotta turn your tables faster. Be selfish about this. Faster you can turn the tables, the more tables you'll get. If you're in a pool house, right, you pool with everybody, but the faster you turn your tables, the more, the, the more tables that the front door can take in. Because if they get their tables back sooner, they're not going to put people on a 30 or 40 minute wait. They're gonna say, oh, I probably have a table available in about 10 minutes, come get a drink. Somebody will wait 10 minutes. They won't necessarily wait 30 minutes. Turn your tables faster. Now a couple key areas to focus on. How do you do that? You've got to greet your table faster. This is really crucial. The, the table doesn't turn faster at the end of the meal. The table turns faster by what you do at the beginning of the meal. Again, this goes back to the first note I made. Be confident, be in control of the table. If you greet that table and set the pacing for that meal, you'll, you'll, you'll change. It'll be the difference between getting a table in and out in 90 minutes versus the table out in two hours or two and a half hours. If you set them, if you set the pace for the meal, the way you greet them, the way you take your drink orders, the way you get them water, the way they get them drinks, take the order and get the appetizers down on the table, that will influence the pace that they feel. I'm not talking about rushing guests out. It's about maintaining a pace throughout the meal, taking the air out in the meal. It's super, super important, right? So first one is the way you greet the table. Greet fast, faster than you think you need to take the order for those drinks faster. So on first approach, I'd always Come over right, with the wine list or the cocktail menu and the menus, and I would bring them out. Hey, how's everyone doing? My name is Chip. I'll be taking care of you tonight. Glad to have you. Listen, I'm gonna get cocktails in just a second, but can I can offer anyone some water for the table? Did you prefer bottled water or tap water? I get that water. I get my busser working on that, or I go and get that. Give them a chance. Say, here's the cocktail menu. I'll be back in just a minute to take the. To get your drinks right. That cues them. Start looking at drinks. That's the next piece of information that I'm going to need from you. And you come back, you pour the water, you put down the pitcher, and you come back and say, hey, what can I get you from the bar? Has everyone had a chance to decide? Right. Sometimes when I'm pouring water, I would make suggestions because I'm there, and I'd say, hey, has everyone had a chance to look? You know, some of my favorites are this and this. This is really refreshing. This is a really great way to start the meal, et cetera. I'm just trying to again, increase the pace at the beginning of the meal. So greet faster, get those drinks ordered and on the table faster. Take the order faster, put that order in, get them moving again. The first 20 minutes of a meal can actually be crunched to like 7 or 10 minutes. And if you cut the 20 minutes from when they sit to when they finally get the order to about 10, if you can cut that in half, that will make a huge difference in your ability to turn the tables. The next big place where you can affect a change in the pacing of the meal is how fast you can clear entrees. Get the table wiped down and dessert menus down. Get them down asap. Oftentimes, it's not a matter of what dessert you want, but it's a matter. And you know this. It's a matter of whether people are going to have dessert or not. You can also cue that when you're clearing the table, say, let me get these out of your way. I'll get you all cleaned up and I'll be right back with some dessert menus. If they don't want dessert, they'll just tell you, then say, oh, no, no, no, no. We. We actually have to go. We have to get to a show. I gotta catch my train. We gotta get home for the babysitter. Oh, we're too stuffed. We Couldn't possibly do dessert. Great. If they're going to do dessert, you can sell them desserts. You can sell them after dinner, drinks and coffees and all that. But if they don't want it, fine, clear it, drop the check, get them out of here. That little trick when you're clearing entrees, it's a great way to do it, right?
[00:20:14] When, when you get the desserts, the faster you can get that dessert order taken and get them marked and get the desserts on the table, obviously the better off they're going to be. The other thing that I will say, the other script I often use, because I am a big fan of selling desserts, I don't necessarily want to get apps entrees, just turn them. Sometimes you have to. But getting some desserts on the table, when you're clearing those plates, you go over, say, thanks so much. You know, just want to make a couple of recommendations. You know, we're known for this and this. I know you might be stuffed at this point, but if you just wanted to do a little something sweet, I might recommend getting these two or three desserts, putting them in the middle, or this one dessert, putting it in the middle of the table. That way everybody gets a little bite. Maybe we can get you some after dinner drinks and some coffee to go along with that. And they say, oh, that sounds great. Yeah, yeah, just send that. Perfect. So then I run over, I order that, I mark them while the kitchen's working on that, and I come over and get their coffee order or find out if they want scotch or dessert wine, things like that. Now, this script, these. These things aren't just for fine dining. Yes, I've worked in fine dining, and some of my examples I'm using right now are tilted towards that because that's where my experience is. But I'm telling you, it will work in a more casual restaurant. I've watched it work. You've got to do it. Finally, the last thing about turning tables is you got to pre bus get dead things off the table, Dead glassware, napkins, silverware, plates. Get anything that isn't in use off the table. You're cueing the diner that their time is over, their meal is over, there's nothing left for them to do here except pay and get out of here. And then it goes without saying, right? Number one. Number one way to really turn that table is to. Is to drop the check quickly, get the payment process quickly, collect it, and say, thank you so much. Enjoy the rest of your night. Is there anything else I can get for you. You just got to cue them verbally in as many different ways that it's time for them to get up and leave so you can reset the table and reseat the table. So turning your tables is super crucial. Those are the first four ways. Like I said, my last piece of advice. The number one way to increase revenue for both the restaurant and your servers. It's my absolute favorite. We're going to talk about how we increase check average, which in turn helps you accomplish all of your revenue goals and all of your profit goals and helps you make your people more money. Guess what? When servers make more money, they are more apt to stay. They will not go anywhere because they're making better money with you. So let's show them a way to do that. We'll cover that in depth along with a little fun little case study after a word from another one of our sponsors.
[00:22:38] Now, today's episode of Restaurant Strategy is also brought to you by seven Shifts. Seven Shifts is a team management platform built specifically for restaurants. Great restaurants are built by great teams. And seven Shifts is your secret weapon to better understand your restaurant to hit labor targets and keep your entire team connected with drag and drop scheduling in app communication, task management, tip management, and more. It makes restaurant work a lot easier from back of house to front of house managers, franchise owners, and even larger corporate teams. Seven Chefs has benefits at every single level. Plus it integrates with the other systems your restaurant already uses, like your POS and your payroll. Turn your team into your competitive advantage. Restaurant Strategy podcast listeners get three months absolutely free. Get
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[00:23:41] Now the number one way to increase revenue. The Number One Way is my absolute favorite. It's what I spend a lot of time talking to restaurant owners about. I travel the country. I talk to rooms filled with servers and bartenders. The number one way is to focus on second best beverage sales. And you do that by focusing on table maintenance. It sounds stupid, right? But look, you got to get that second beverage on the table. That's what all servers should be focusing on. And the best way they can get a second beverage on the table is to get that first one off the table. Dead glassware has got to go. If a drink has maybe an ounce left, right. An ounce left of wine, or maybe just a sip or two of beer, your Server should be right over there. Say, hey, it looks like you're almost ready for another glass of wine. May I bring you one? Hey, did you want to try. Have another beer. Hey, did you want to try that other beer you were debating? Hey, can I bring you another cocktail? Hey, are you ready for the wine list? Right. Oftentimes they would bring the wine list over after they were finishing the cocktail and say, you know, looks like you're almost finished with your cocktail. Did you want to take a look at the wine list? Now, the best way to do it is anticipating the needs of the guest. Figure out not when you gotta be ahead of them. You have to anticipate when what they're gonna need and when they're gonna need it. A lot of times the guests won't realize that they need something until they need it, right? Oh, my drink's empty. Well, as a server, we gotta get better at saying, hey, their drink is almost empty. They're gonna need another drink soon. So it's not about over serving. It's not about getting people to spend money they didn't want to spend. It's about making sure that people have everything they want, everything they need. And when you do this, everyone wins. I promise you, the guest has.
[00:25:22] I promise you, you will help make the restaurant more money. And I promise you, any servers listening to this, you will make more money if you learn to do this and do it well. Now, I promised you this, this thought experiment, this case study that I have delivered. I've shared this in front of rooms filled with, you know, 500, 600 restaurant owners before. I've said this to rooms filled with 30 or 40 servers before. And I watch their eyes light up. It's very easy math to follow.
[00:25:48] So go along with me. Let's say you got four waiters on the floor, right? Let's say each of those waiters has a five table station. So to be clear, I'm going to make this math pretty conservative for this case study. For this thought experiment, I'm imagining a pretty small restaurant, just 20 tables, right? So there are four waiters on the floor. They each have a five table station. That's 20 tables in this restaurant. And if your servers could get just one additional drink on each of their tables, it would have a profitable, profound impact on not only revenues, but ultimately, yes, on your bottom line. The bottom line, profitability of the restaurant. Let's say the Average drink costs $10, right? So we're going to say a cocktail or a glass of wine might be more like 12 or $15.
[00:26:33] But a mere beer might only be 6 or 7. So for the case of this experiment, for the. For the sake of this experiment, we're going to take the average. We're going to say each additional drink we get on the table is about $10. So if a server got one additional drink onto each of their tables. Now, I'm not talking about a round of drinks, just a single drink onto each of their tables. That would be a hundred dollars in additional revenue. Because I think we're going to assume that the restaurant is doing two turns. Two turns a night. So over the course of the night, right, each server's got five tables. So five times ten is 52 turns. That's $100. Right?
[00:27:11] Over the course of the night, if all the servers did that, it would be an additional $400 in revenue, right? Because each server is going to generate an additional $100. There are four servers on the floor. That's $400 of an additional revenue a night. And that might not sound like a lot, but over the course of the week, that means $2,800 in additional revenue. At the end of the month, that would be an additional $12,000 in revenue. And extrapolated out at the end of the year, that's nearly $150,000 in previously unrealized revenue for your restaurant. Then, yes, there is a cost to serving those drinks. But I promise you, it's minimal. Right? It didn't cost you more in labor or didn't cost you more in rent or utilities. Didn't cost you more marketing dollars, just the cost of purchasing the item. And if you're doing it right, your beverage program should be at or below about a 20% cost. So of that $150,000 in revenue that your service generated for you, my guess is something like $120,000 would drop to the bottom line.
[00:28:14] That is huge. You're not asking your staff to do much more than they're already doing. You're just showing them how to do their jobs better. And here's the best part. Sometimes I'll speak to rooms again, rooms filled with servers and bartenders. And I'll ask, hey, let's see a show of hands. Who wants to make more money?
[00:28:31] And of course, they all raise their hands. We'd all like to make more money. And then I show them how this exercise actually impacts them.
[00:28:40] So I showed you how it will impact the restaurant and how it will ultimately impact the. The owner of the restaurant. But let's go back and let's show how this actually impacts your servers. So each server is now focused on second beverage sales and is generating, on average, about $100 in additional revenue every single night. If they work five shifts a week, that's $500 in additional revenue. And they get tipped, of course, right? So 20% of $500. Because on average, people make about 20%. 20% of that is $100 in tips. And yes, they're probably chipping out the bussers and the runners and the bartenders. But let's say for the sake of this, they keep 80% of that money. So that's $80 a week that goes into their pocket by doing that. And again, just like we did earlier, we're gonna extrapolate that out over 50 weeks, let's say, and we've shown them a way to make an additional $4,000. At the end of the year, they will make more money without having to work more shifts. They will make more money because you've shown them how to do their jobs better, more effectively, ultimately more efficiently. And guess what? My numbers were conservative. As I said at the beginning, right? I remember I began by saying, what if we sold one additional drink on each table?
[00:29:56] But you run the math. What happens if each of your servers sold two additional drinks? Well, then 150k in additional revenue turns into 300k in previously unrealized revenue. And each of your servers gets not just a 4k raise, but an $8,000 raise. Again, not by working more shifts, not by having to beg for a raise, but because you showed them a way to do their job better, a way that made you more money as the proprietor, as the owner of the restaurant, and a way that they can make more money.
[00:30:28] That's how I became a great server, someone who made a lot more money than many of the people that I worked with. And as a manager, I was really good at helping my servers by showing them this and teaching them how to do this. And again, now, as a consultant and a coach, I do this. I travel the country, travel the world, really speaking to rooms filled with restaurant professionals to show them tricks like this. This is a trick simply by focusing on table maintenance, we'll get better at driving second beverage sales. And again, I'm not talking about third, fourth, and fifth, not talking about over serving. Most people, when they come out, have a drink, and they would happily have a second drink.
[00:31:07] You just have to help them get better at doing that. There's again, there's a timing to doing it. There's a way to do it. But a lot of times we're just not focused. Our servers are in the back on their phones, sipping coffee. But this keeps them on the floor in their station, showing them how to anticipate the guests needs.
[00:31:26] So again, I did this really well and I got good at showing other people how to do it really well. I'm now teaching you how to do it and I hope that I'm showing you how to teach your servers. Right? That goes back to my last question here. The question is how will you. Yes, you. How will you implement this in your restaurant this week? I promise, if you're running a full service restaurant and you got your liquor license, you've got a bar, you'll have a wildly different business next year. If you can get your staff to focus on this, if you can see these kind of increases I'm talking about right? That's what I want you to do. This whole episode, right? That's it. The five best ways I know to help your servers make more money and to help your servers make you more money.
[00:32:11] This is the kind of work we do every single week in my P3 mastermind. Again, if you're curious, set up a call. It's absolutely free. It'll be with me or with one of my coaches. We'll get on the call, we'll learn more about you and your restaurant. You'll get to ask some questions about the mastermind, about the program we run. We can see if you're a good fit for the program. If you are, we'll talk about what the next steps would look like. There's absolutely no pressure to join, but if you're curious about it, you want to learn more, then please set up a call again. That's restaurantstrategypodcast.com schedule again. I'm helping you make more money. I'm helping you be more profitable. I hope you took away some, some things from this episode. Like I said at the very beginning, one of the best things you can do for this do with this episode is to go back and listen to it again, either later today or tomorrow is to send this along to your managers and get your servers to listen to it again. I'm trying to make them more money. I'm trying to show them a way to make you more money. Ultimately, everybody wins, including the guest. If we can get better at doing this. As always, I appreciate you guys being here. I know there are a lot of great restaurant podcasts that you can listen to. I'm thrilled that you carve out time in your week to listen to this one. All the best to you. And I will see you next time.
[00:33:35] Sa.
[00:34:07] Sam.
