5 Important Food Service Standards

Working in a restaurant can change your perspective on a lot of things. It can change your perspective on how restaurants work, the working class, and how you see yourself in the world. Working in a restaurant, especially one such as Outback Steakhouse teaches you about standards and just how important those standards are. Think about it- whenever you want to go out to a nice restaurant and sit down, do you want to have to repeat yourself several times? No, you want to be served by a nice, enthusiastic person while you relax. Keeping up with those standards can make or break a restaurant. Here are a couple of standards that stand out to me when going to any restaurant, not just the chain I am employed with.

1. Greeting

Everything comes down to balance. You can't under greet and make the customer feel as though you don't care, but you can't over greeting and scare them away. Make sure your greeting is warm and kind with a smile!

2. Cleanliness

No one wants to eat in a dirty restaurant. But there is a difference between tidying up and cleaning. (My father has been instilling that in me for years.) Making sure that everything is clean and organized will make it easier to function and help the customers. Also, it gives them the impression that your restaurant has everything together.

3. Timing

The timing of anything is CRUCIAL! You have to time your greeting, how long it takes to get their drinks, bread, food, check, etc. Outback especially teaches timing standards whilst training.

4. Food

Of course, the food is important! It's about 70% of why the customers came to the restaurant. Food should go out perfectly prepared. If it's not prepared right the first time, more than likely it's going to be sent back. So why not prepare it the correct way the first time?

5. Goodbye

Greeting customers on the way out is just as important as greeting them on the way in. They want to know that their satisfaction is important to you, even after you've received their money. An enthusiastic "Goodnight!" or "Was everything wonderful this evening?" and holding the door for them can really stand out.

What all of this means is that everyone in the restaurant business is important. From the hosts to the dishwashers. Keep your standards up and you'll do great!