Foodservice is a large industry of many different positions, from chefs and cooks to waiters and waitresses. One of the most important positions in the restaurant industry is the wait station. The wait station helps to ensure that all customers are satisfied with their experience by providing them with drinks and food as quickly as possible. For a customer to be satisfied, some items need to be stocked at your wait station at all times. Here are a few things you should include on your list of products to have at your restaurant’s waiting station.
How to Stock Your Wait Station
To provide your customers with the best experience possible, it is important to ensure that you have various products stocked at your wait station. Every restaurant should have a few items on hand at their waiting station.
Napkins: This is an essential item for any restaurant. You want customers to be able to wipe off their hands or mouths after using the restroom or eating something messy.
Plates: It may seem like a no-brainer, but plates are necessary for those who want to eat in your establishment. If you don’t have any plates available, they will end up eating all of their food on the tray they use to carry it out.
Beverages: Be sure you always have plenty of beverages available at your wait station as well. Customers might need water if they ate spicy food or are breastfeeding their baby and soda waiting for their kids’ meal to arrive.
Condiments: If a customer doesn’t want what you prepared in front of them, they may need more condiments such as salt, pepper, and ketchup. Having these items readily available will make things much easier for them and show that you care about them being satisfied with their dining experience.
In your restaurant checklist, list out the items you will need to have on hand at all times. This will help you make sure that you have everything ready for your customers when they come in. For the case of the wait station, you will want to have napkins and plates on hand.
A customer service representative is the first face that customers see when they enter your restaurant. They are the first to greet the customer when they walk in and ensure that their experience is pleasant. You need to make sure that your customer service representative at the wait station has the training, knowledge, and ability to do their job correctly for them to be able to provide excellent customer service.
A good wait station can make your restaurant service more efficient and, more importantly, satisfying for your customers. By providing waiters with the items they need to serve customers, you’ll reduce the amount of time they spend away from the table and, in turn, improve customer satisfaction. The wait station should include everything a waiter may need to provide service to your customers, including menus, to-go boxes, condiments, silverware, and napkins. You might also want to stock your wait station with a small refrigerator to ensure that waiters have access to cold drinks without having to walk back to the kitchen.