We WANT YOU, But We'll Pay You as Low as we Can

When I browse the restaurant job category in Los Angeles I am horrified by what I witness. Here are some extracts from my reading:

1. Upscale, fine dining restaurant on the Westside is seeking experienced servers capable of acting as part time assistant managers. Applicants should have skill in delivering outstanding service, excellent customer relations, and wine and liquor knowledge. This person will work with existing management to improve service with a structured system in order to increase sales and profitability.
2. Servers / Brunch Servers:
   Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, assisting in the opening and closing of the dining rooms, greeting the guests upon arrival, working closely with restaurant & bar manager, and supporting the service staff when needed. You will be expected to play an active role in selling, describing and learning the food, cocktail and wine menus. Waiters can make $100 - $150 /brunch.
   Please be familiar with:
   • white tablecloth service standards
   • classic new and old world wine knowledge
   • pre-prohibition cocktail ingredients
   • traditional Italian, French and Spanish ingredients
   • the difference between hospitality and service
   Above all - great personality, enthusiasm, welcoming attitude & the ability to maintain grace under pressure. 
3. SERVERS: Ideal candidates will have had prior experience in either a wine bar or high-volume, fine dining restaurants. We are looking for solid candidates who will create an extraordinary dining experience for the guests with their knowledge of worldwide cuisine and an outstanding wine pairing knowledge. Attention to detail, a service standard second-to-none and the ability to create the perfect dining experience.
   
   Requirements-
   
   -Must have at least two years experience in a fine dining or upscale restaurant
   -Needs to have a solid background in wine. (Please be prepared to take a proficiency test)
   -Must be able to be flexible in schedule (Weekends & Holidays) PM Shifts ONLY
   -Have a customers' first attitude
   -Knowledgeable about wine and have a positive attitude
   -Solid references (References will be checked)
   -Energetic, Enthusiastic and Punctual
4.  Servers: (photo optional)
   Responsibilities:
   • Ensure a positive customer experience for customers
   • Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request. (Especially wine pairings)
   • Wine knowledge is a must (quiz).
   • Inform customers of daily specials
   • Serve food or beverages to patrons,
   Requirements:
   • 3 years minimum fine dining experience
   • Highly presentable appearance
   • Professional and elegant demeanor

Compensation: $8.00 per hour plus tips

As you can see in the above four examples, restaurants around Los Angeles have a lot of requirements. I agree with that and the standard should be very high when you are looking to hire employees. Why would you hire people you cannot trust? Why would anyone hire employees that cannot perform a job? Why would you hire unprofessional people? That wouldn't make any sense at all.

Employees should ALL be professional, no matter what the job is. Being a server requires a lot of skills. When you have seven to ten tables you must be multitasks, as you have to know what all your guests need at all time. Some guests may need their water glass refilled, some are waiting for the first course, some need another cocktail, some may need the dessert menu, some may need the wine pairing with their new course, some may need the bill, some may need a bottle of wine and some may need something else. Not everybody has the ability to multitask. That is very hard to do.

Waiters must anticipate their guests needs at all time. They have to deliver great customer experience and they should have excellent customer service skills.

I do not believe you should just hire anyone for such job. Waiters should be professional, have knowledge in food, wine and deliver excellent dining experience to the guests. It also requires understanding what customer service is all about. Waiting tables is has nothing to do with taking orders, it's about dealing with the public, anticipating their needs, getting to know their stories, making a restaurant a home away from home for the guests and deliver memorable dining experience. Please don't assume everybody can do that.

Your employees must understand hospitality.

But requiring so much from restaurant staff and paying them the minimum wage is a TOTAL RIP OFF, shameful and outrageous. How about SLAVERY! How do you expect to get away with that?

Restaurant workers are not fool. They understand what's going on. You will never get the most of your employees if you refuse to invest in them. You will undoubtedly fail if you do not train, educate, reward your employees and continuously exploit them. If there is nothing in it for them, they will give up at some point.

In life you get what you pay for. You can exploit employees for a while, but once they realize that their efforts don't pay off, they only live paycheck to paycheck, get no reward, no thank you, no gratitude, no training, no carer opportunity, no vacation, no sick day, no health and no retirement benefits, they'll treat the customers the way you treat your them. They will have absolutely no regard and no consideration for them.

Your employees cannot deliver great customer experience when they do no experience great employee experience. You lead by example. If management does not value employees, they in turn will not value your patrons. The customers will feel it and won't bother coming back. In the end what you gained by not paying your employees properly, you'll lose as the clients won't have any reason to come back.

There are too many restaurants, too many choices, so if you can't give great reasons for your customers to come back, they won't. Your front staff must built loyalty with the guests. They must establish meaningful conversations with the guests and make them feel special. Not everybody does that, in fact very few understand how to deliver that. That's what customers want.

When you pay someone the minimum wage, you show your employees they are not asset, but a cost to you.

In the end, when you treat your employees that bad, the customer suffers and ends up getting ripped off as you do not meet their expectations. They do not get the most for their money. They feel the same as your employees. They feel ripped off even though they don't tell you. They can walk away and never come back. How much do you lose by being cheap with everybody that works and dines at your restaurant?

Andre Plessis

AP Consulting