Front Lines O N t h e
An informed front-of-the-house staff well-trained in the art of service will serve you well.
By Suzanne Hall
Double Crown
IF YOU DON’T provide patrons
with good customer service, someone
else will. Even when your kitchen does
an outstanding job, if the service is
inconsistent, inefficient or inhospitable,
customers probably won’t come back.
And in the restaurant business, repeat
customers are essential to success.
The more your staff knows about your
business, the better equipped they will be
to contribute to its success.
TRAIN THEM UP
Training should begin from the moment
your wait staff sign on and continue
throughout their tenure.
That’s why it’s so important for wait staff
to be as well-trained as chefs and cooks.
Your servers hold the success of your
restaurant in their hands. You’ve developed
the theme, menu, recipes and decor,
but they are the ones who present your
restaurant to customers. Successful
owners recognize the need to constantly
train and groom staff.
“We all tend to assume that people
prioritize the way we do, but they may not,”
says Patricia Koyich, owner of Il Sogno,
an Italian-inspired dining room in Calgary,
Alberta, Canada. Koyich was the 2010
winner of Women Chefs & Restaurateurs
