how do waitresses do it?

Question

Im a new waitress at a restaurant, and I'm doing great. Ive been working with people and waiting for 4 years now in the form of children's birthday parties so I already knew what to expect waitressing wise. But now that I'm officially waiting tables, I have a question.

How do you organize your notepad when big groups come in? I always end up missing an order of chicken wings or fries or something cause I have to use like 3 pages. Is there an art to writing the orders?

Answer 1

i've never waitressed a huge party, but i have seen a waitress do it effectively before... she had a plain paper, and started at the head of the table with someone that was clearly recognizable... and went clockwise around the table, making notes around the edge of her pad of paper... so that each persons meal request was written in the order they were seated.... this made it nice when she brought the meals out... instead of standing at one side yelling for who has the chicken wings, she knew exactly where each order should go, based on the seating chart she had set up on her notepad...



additionally, it helps if you repeat each persons order as they are placing it... to make sure you have written it down correctly.



then if they ask for additional things, you will have that info on the list... and you wont have to keep making trips back and forth to the kitchen to get another side of ranch... or another side of fries...



good luck!!

Answer 2

I've been waiting tables for about 10 years now, and I can put a 20-top on the size of a standard blank index card and the entire order be correct, yes, it took a long time to get there. First, start with the size of the party. Let's say it's a 10-top. Make a numbered list from 1-10.... start with seat 1 (the person on the far left of the table, closest to the kitchen and going clockwise is the way this is typically done), get the entire party's drink order, in the order of their seats. Next, get their appetizer order. Make sure to leave enough space for their food order..... save a little room for desserts and random things they may want as well. SHORT HAND WILL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND!!!!! To me, 8-F (MR) means an eight ounce fillet medium-rare. The better your short hand is, the more quickly you will be able to take the order, and it will be a lot easier than using 3 sheets of paper. The numbering system is especially handy when it comes time to divide out the checks.... you can just circle the numbers, put stars, squares, etc over what seats go with which check. Ex: Seat 1,2,6 are on a check together, seat 3,4,7,10 are together, etc...... Good luck to you, practice makes perfect in this industry. :)

Answer 3

Sometimes I draw out a table, marking each seat, and writing what they drink, and order. That especially helps if they decide last minute to get split checks. I dont know if you use a small pad or a book for orders, but Ive also learned wider lined paper helps because you can sometimes fit each persons order across one line for numbering, again easy for split checks also.





When it comes to writing out the ticket, I circle everything as I count/write it, so I can see if I left anything out towards the end.



Another waitress I work with writes all appetizers on one page, entrees on another, but unless your memory is amazing, I find it makes it harder to remember who ordered what without having to ask.

Answer 4

i do the same as when there r just three or six, etc. start with the first person, then take orders going round the table. stay in order, dont skip a person then come back to them. leave a couple of lines blank after each person, so if someone decides to change their mind or add something, then u have room to fit it in, otherwise it gets confusing when u start adding stuff throughout your organized order. when u r done, it helps to repeat to each person his/her order so that u dont forget something. it may take an extra minute, but it is better than forgeting something and making them wait later (when everyone gets theirs and one or two have to sit and wait with nothing to eat.)

Answer 5

I am with Ashley- make yourself a chart and number it. Have one big column for their main entree, another for soup/salad, and another for specialty crap they might want to add (no onions, extra mushrooms). For appetizers, put those at the bottom of the page or another page. Usually a table of ten doesn't order ten appetizers, usually there's a couple for the table.



Then all your soups & salads are in one column, easy to see & assemble. For the misc crap- always double check before you hit "send".



That chart saves my life. I actually print up a lot of them & stash them somewhere