Some common mistakes we all make during the shift as a server.

They are easy to prevent those mistakes. It helps us to get through our shift without stress.

One of the common mistakes is miscommunication with your table. After taking food or drinks orders, repeat the guest's order and double-check that order is correct.

During rush hours, Unavoidable to make mistakes on the POS system. Ring in the wrong food or drinks. The best way to prevent those mistakes is to double-check the POS system before you send it to the kitchen or bar.

If you have any other suggestions to prevent mistakes, please, share them with us in the comment.

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The food industry dress code was known for a black shirt, black shoes, and black pants for so long. I was told to wear black when I got my first restaurant job.

Some places prefer a little bit casual such as dark jeans and a restaurant shirt or t-shirt where the restaurant logo appears on the shirt. My experience with the restaurant shirt was of low quality, which is hard to work on the hot summer patio. The uniforms give by the restaurant for free. If you need more than a shirt, my old job wanted us to pay if we get an extra shirt.

One of my restaurant job dress codes was a light blue color stripes shirt, choice of scarf, and black pants and shoes. I must admit that annoying to wear a scarf, especially in the hot summertime.

My latest restaurant job doesn’t require any uniform. We can wear any style of button-up shirt or blouse for a woman as long as a person looks good and sharp. Sometimes, restaurant guests struggle a figure out if that person works in the restaurant or is just a restaurant guest.

All overdressed comfortably during my restaurant shift was helpful. I have never become a big fan of ugly uniforms.

How do you feel about the restaurant uniforms or uniform-free casual style? Please share your opinion about uniform pros and cons with your comments.

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Auto gratuity features are available with modern POS platforms. Most restaurants will only apply the automatic gratuity fee to larger parties of six or more people.

Some restaurants will do this without prior request and will state this policy on their menus, usually listed near the bottom of the menu.

Some restaurants receive complaints about automatic gratuity from customers. Sometimes patrons do not pay attention to their checks. They tipped additionally.

I used to work in a restaurant the server needed to get a signature from a customer if patrons tipped additionally on top of the automatic gratuity. It was proof that the customer was willing to tip the server additionally. If there is no sign from the patrons, the restaurant does not allow us to take additional tips.

I worked in a restaurant that doesn't allow me to apply the automatic gratuity if a group party is more than six people. In the past, the restaurant received complaints because of the automatic gratuity.

In the end, automatic gratuity is the guaranteed tip for servers. Especially after taking care of the large group party and providing top service for them.

Unfortunately, some people are still out there who are not willing to tip their server enough after demanding attention interaction while dining in. I have an experienced group of people who spent 500 dollars. They tipped me five dollars.

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I always find learning the menu challenge when I start to work in a new restaurant. Be honest with each other! The best way to learn anything can take time. There is no such thing that I memorize everything on the menu in a week. Even though I worked at the restaurant for more than six months, there are some items on the menu I didn't remember correctly.

A server should know the menu very well, which helps the server be confident during interaction with guests. Since a pandemic happened to us, I have to change my workplace three times this year. One of the common suggestions; when a server needs to learn the menu items is the Flash Cards technique. Flashcards are typically two-sided, with the prompt on one side and the information about the prompt on the other.

I use the flashcard learning technique when I start to work in a new restaurant. In a short time, it helps me to learn some ingredients. There are always some menu items that make me confused to remember.

My other method is taking small notes about the menu items in my notebook. If a patron asks me about a specific menu item or ingredients, I can check the information in my notes and answer their question fast. After I followed this procedure to answer the menu questions, I started to remember them, and I didn't even need to look them up anymore to answer questions.

I hope you find this information helpful. Please add your comment if you have any other techniques to help you learn the menu faster.

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Nobody in the food industry asked the patron if they had any food allergies when I started to work in the restaurant ten years ago. It wasn't even a thing.

One of our patrons yelled at me because every food delivered to the table had a cilantro topic on food. His reaction "What if he has a cilantro allergy." It was six years ago.

After I saw the patron's reaction, I just started asking my table if they had any allergies or dietary restrictions every time.

Some servers believe that If patrons have real allergies, they let the server know. They don't need to ask them.

Some patrons look up the ingredients of a dish on the menu instead of asking their server. The problem is not all the ingredients are listed on the menu.

Most of the time, the dish sends back to the kitchen, and they have to cook the food again without allergen ingredients. It is causing losing money for the establishment.

If the server knows the patron has an allergy and does not let the kitchen knows. Patron gets sick because of the allergen. A server can lose its job.

At some point, a server must ask allergen and deliver the information to the kitchen vital. We don't want our patrons to get sick just because we do not pay attention.

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