Whether you are serving food at tables or behind the bar you are always going to encounter spills and accidents. Cleaning up quickly and efficiently is the mark of a great waiter, waitress or bartender and will increase your tips! Never consider a spill a big hassle. Heck, it's a great opportunity for you to show off your skills and most customers will reward you for it in the form of higher gratuity. It's usually not that big of a deal on your end but it is to the embarrassed customer.
When a spill occurs, it should take priority over everything else. You can politely excuse yourself from waiting on another table to attend to the spill as these folks will plainly see what's happened. Even if it's just to bring some napkins or pick up the big pieces of broken plates. Chances are a bus person or manager will be out to assist shortly especially if you are busy. Still, you must be the one to arrive at the scene first, if only to throw down a towell and let the guests know that someone is coming to their aid right away. This shows you care and it's the mark of a professional. By doing this, you've shown not only the spill victims, but everyone else in your section the true professional you are!
Never make it seem like a chore to clean up a mess. Do it quickly and efficiently. Replace everything affected like silverware, napkins or drinks. Just do it without asking! Take charge and get it cleaned up, smile and get your guests back on track to their meal. Later they may even make jokes about it.
While bartending is usually not going to entail as much cleanup you should still react immediately to spills. If a patron tips over a drink or beer and more than just an ounce or so spills out, you should replace the beverage. It should just be done, not asked. Again, Simply do it! Wipe up the spill real good. Please make sure you use a nice rinsed out, wrung out bar wipe and make sure the bar surface is dry when you are finished. There is nothing worse than a sopping rag being plopped down in front of you only to have a "kiddie pool" of water instead of a clean, dry bar surface!
Have the new drink ready. As soon as that bar top is clean take the old drink from the customer while replacing with a fresh new one and saying "Here's a nice fresh drink for you". The timing is essential. Most customers will want to keep the old just because they feel bad enough for making a mess but when you can do this smoothly and efficiently with a smile they will truly appreciate it. They will not feel embarrassed anymore and you'll likely gain a bigger tip! Most bar owners will not have a problem with this. It's just good business but if there is a policy at your place of employment that prohibits you from replacing spilled drinks you of course will have to abide. (You might want to look for another place to work too!)
Another important point and just plain common politeness is to assist other waiters or waitresses when their table has a spill. This is not to say you should rush accross the room to every spill not in your section but if you actually have the time you certainly should take action. Again, your customers in your section will see this and it will make them think more of you.
Spills are common in the restaurant business and while they can sometimes be a time killer, most are not that big of a deal. Regardless, you can turn these spills and accidents into more admiration towards you from your customers. Consider spills a tool that you can utilize to earn bigger tips!
When a spill occurs, it should take priority over everything else. You can politely excuse yourself from waiting on another table to attend to the spill as these folks will plainly see what's happened. Even if it's just to bring some napkins or pick up the big pieces of broken plates. Chances are a bus person or manager will be out to assist shortly especially if you are busy. Still, you must be the one to arrive at the scene first, if only to throw down a towell and let the guests know that someone is coming to their aid right away. This shows you care and it's the mark of a professional. By doing this, you've shown not only the spill victims, but everyone else in your section the true professional you are!
Never make it seem like a chore to clean up a mess. Do it quickly and efficiently. Replace everything affected like silverware, napkins or drinks. Just do it without asking! Take charge and get it cleaned up, smile and get your guests back on track to their meal. Later they may even make jokes about it.
While bartending is usually not going to entail as much cleanup you should still react immediately to spills. If a patron tips over a drink or beer and more than just an ounce or so spills out, you should replace the beverage. It should just be done, not asked. Again, Simply do it! Wipe up the spill real good. Please make sure you use a nice rinsed out, wrung out bar wipe and make sure the bar surface is dry when you are finished. There is nothing worse than a sopping rag being plopped down in front of you only to have a "kiddie pool" of water instead of a clean, dry bar surface!
Have the new drink ready. As soon as that bar top is clean take the old drink from the customer while replacing with a fresh new one and saying "Here's a nice fresh drink for you". The timing is essential. Most customers will want to keep the old just because they feel bad enough for making a mess but when you can do this smoothly and efficiently with a smile they will truly appreciate it. They will not feel embarrassed anymore and you'll likely gain a bigger tip! Most bar owners will not have a problem with this. It's just good business but if there is a policy at your place of employment that prohibits you from replacing spilled drinks you of course will have to abide. (You might want to look for another place to work too!)
Another important point and just plain common politeness is to assist other waiters or waitresses when their table has a spill. This is not to say you should rush accross the room to every spill not in your section but if you actually have the time you certainly should take action. Again, your customers in your section will see this and it will make them think more of you.
Spills are common in the restaurant business and while they can sometimes be a time killer, most are not that big of a deal. Regardless, you can turn these spills and accidents into more admiration towards you from your customers. Consider spills a tool that you can utilize to earn bigger tips!
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