Congratulations! You've just been offered your very first job as a restaurant hostess! Now what? I'll admit, I went home crying after my first day of training due to feeling very overwhelmed with a bunch of new information that I was expected to know immediately. However, while there IS a lot you'll have to learn in order to be a successful restaurant hostess, that doesn't mean you don't have what it takes to master the role.
To make you even more confident in your ability to succeed, check out the following list of 6 tips on how to be a successful restaurant hostess!
1. Know your table numbers!
As a hostess, you'll need to know the order of the tables in your restaurant so that you can seat your guests as quickly as possible. Note that the specific order of the tables may vary depending on how many people are in your restaurant.
Tips for success:
Remember, learning your table numbers takes practice, and you won't be expected to know all of them the first few times around. To help with the memorization process, make friends with as many of the other hosts/hostesses as you can. After you feel like you've gotten to know them a bit more, ask one of them to walk you around the restaurant to help you learn your table numbers. Finally, familiarize yourself with the order of the tables (i.e. ascending or descending), and you'll be all set!
2. Master the art of rotation.
While knowing your table numbers is one skill you'll need to have mastered, the art of rotation is another. This can be a tricky process only if you aren't given enough opportunities to practice it. Basically, when you're in charge of rotation, you're in charge of making sure that every server gets an equal number of tables assigned to them.
Tips for success:
If it's extremely busy, you'll have no choice but to seat whatever tables are currently open. On a more steady day, however, you'll need to base your decision on which servers to seat depending on what time those servers came in and how many tables they currently have open. To master the art of rotation, simply ask one of the other hosts/hostesses to walk you through their process of doing it, and then try practicing the same process on your own. You can even ask them to review your rotation and inform you of any mistakes you made.
Mastering the art of rotation will likely be the most difficult out of all of the tasks on this list, but it will become easier the more you practice it. Trust me.
3. Answer the phone like it's the best job in the world!
One of my favorite responsibilities as a restaurant hostess is getting to interact with people (which includes answering the phone.) No matter how you're feeling, you need to answer that phone like it's the best job in the world. Why? Because passion brings in business and brightens everyone's day. Not many people can pull it off, but if you love what you do, it will just come naturally.
Tips for success:
Take the initiative to answer the phone as many times as you can for practice. Don't feel bad if you have to ask the caller to repeat what they said if you didn't hear them clearly the first time. Sometimes you may even have to put them on hold to obtain answers to questions that you aren't entirely sure of – and that's fine too! Just make sure to let the caller know that you'll be right back with them and then follow through with your promise.
4. Become a "people person."
One of the most life-changing experiences you'll have as a hostess is learning how to interact with people from a variety of different backgrounds.
Tips for success:
Unfortunately, people can be quite vicious when it comes to food. Some of them will likely even try to make you feel or look bad if they don't get what they want. Don't give into that. Instead, stand your ground and respond diplomatically, or get a manager if you have to. Overall, be positive and try not to let your negative experiences affect the outcomes of your efforts in the future.
Remember, all it takes is listening, observing, and being considerate of how others around you are feeling. You'll get the hang of it!
5. Be dependable.
In other words, don't get comfortable with being responsible for only one or two tasks as a hostess. There will likely be a system that you and the other hosts/hostesses will follow. For instance, one of you might be responsible for greeting the guests, and one of you might be responsible for seating them.
Tips for success:
It's okay to have a system, but you'll eventually need to become as skilled with as many hosting tasks as possible. Both your managers and co-workers will need to know that they can depend on you to accomplish a variety of tasks without their help, and that means you'll need to do whatever it takes to get comfortable with doing those tasks on your own. Ask questions when you need clarification on how to do something. Watch and learn from the other hosts/hostesses around you. Learn to be dependable.
6. Believe in yourself.
Even if you're still not entirely confident in your ability to succeed as a hostess, remember this:
Your manager saw potential in you the moment the hired you, and you were meant to have this job. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten it.
Now, all you have to do is believe that you have what it takes to be successful with it. You're going to make mistakes here and there for sure. Fortunately, those same mistakes are what will make you even more confident in your potential to be an outstanding hostess.
While being a hostess is something that will challenge you, it is also something that will help you to grow in many ways that you wouldn't have expected initially. Overall, don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. Learn from your mistakes and be confident in yourself with everything that you do. You've got this!
