Don’t let anyone tell you that being a server isn’t a sales position. As a server, you make the majority of your money off of tips. To do that, you need to sell yourself and pad the bill as much as possible; this means putting on a smile and trying to upsell whenever you can. Some servers are afraid of sales, but looking at the simple math of upselling can calm your fears and actually make you excited to sell.
Let’s take a look at Generic Diner in Anywheresville, USA. The average bill consists of two glasses of house wine at $5 per glass, one sirloin at $10, and one chicken salad for $8; this adds up to a tab of $28 and a 20% tip of $5.60. Now imagine this scenario: A new server with some experience in sales comes on the floor. The server gets a table with the average order, but uses a few simple tactics to pad the bill. Pretty soon, the server has upsold the $5 house wine to the $7 wine of the day, started the table off with Generic Diner’s $8 signature jalapeño dip, upgraded the $10 sirloin to a $15 rib eye, added $1 of avocado to the chicken salad, and finished the meal off with Generic Diner’s $10 Double Dare Chocolate Cake. Now that $5.60 tip has transformed into an $11.20 tip—literally doubling the original tip. Multiply that $11.20 tip by 10 tables a day and five days a week, and that new server has the potential to make $1,120 more a month than servers who have not been upselling. Moreover, that server is actually gaining regulars!
That’s right, by not being a pushy sales person, you can gain business while upselling. There are a few things in particular you can do to increase the tab and your tip. The first is to suggest food by simply saying things like, “Would you like to start off with our signature (insert appetizer here)?” or “Would you like to cap off this amazing meal with a delectable (insert dessert here)?” The second is to not just name the food, but use descriptive words like savory, spicy, tangy; anything to make the guests visualize the food and pique their appetite. Finally, it is important to enjoy the company of your guests, listen to and get to know them, and become friends with them; after all, why wouldn’t you want to tip your friend 20%?
These are just a few tricks of the trade that good servers use to increase their tips. Another is to use the best server book on the market. The iServ server book offers more than any other server book with an advanced banking system and multiple pockets for maximum organization with the highest quality. www.iserv.us