Tavern on Kruse: Host Training Manual

What To Expect On Day 1:

You will turn in all of your employment paperwork. This should be placed in plain sight on the office desk.

You will learn how to clock in and clock out for work. If you cannot clock in or out on the POS computer, don’t panic. We will get you into the system within 24 hours and we will keep track of your hours with you and for you.

You will be given a tour of the restaurant. This is your chance to show us what anything have already learned from the floor plan.

You will start learning how to host!

On your first day of training, you will be faced with a bunch of theory and a bunch of technical stuff. The person training you will do their best not to overload you. You need to be very clear with your trainer about what you understand, what info you need repeated, and when you become overloaded. They were trainees once; they will understand!

The Technical Stuff:

• You will have an account set up in our “P.O.S.” computer system. This is how you will clock in and out for work so that you will get paid.

• You will get a tour of the restaurant. You need to know where everything is.

• You will be asked to do something for “Table 12” or “Table 84” and by the end of your training you will need to know where “Table 22 seat 4” is. You should study this floor plan, even before you go in for your first shift.

• You will be expected to understand how to operate an IPad running the most recent operating system. If you have an IPhone, it is the same operating system. If you don’t know the basics of how to run an IPad, you will struggle to operate the reservation system. For a six-minute IPad tutorial click here.

• You will be taught the basics of our reservation system, which is run on an IPad. The program we use is called OpenTable. There are a number of video links below (as you read further) that you can watch to make sure you understood what you learned.

• You will learn about the “duties” of a host. You won’t be expected to perform them all during your first training shift.

  • These include things you probably expect:

    • Welcoming Guests.

    • Walking them to tables.

    • Taking reservations.

    • Answering the phone.

  • Things you probably wouldn’t expect:

    • Controlling the music.

    • Dealing with Take Out orders.

    • Preparing the host stand for a successful shift and leaving it prepared for the shift after yours.

    • Reading through the reservation notes guests made in their reservation. This could be that they are celebrating a special occasion or that they are deathly allergic to something we serve.

    • Assigning and/or learning the “sections” assigned to servers that night.

The Theory Stuff:

• The host must control the flow of the restaurant: how many people we sit down over what period and where we sit them.

  • Our kitchen can only cook so fast, so if we have too many people arrive at once and we sit them all at one time, the food for many of them will take too long.

  • Our servers can only be one place at a time. If you sit 3 tables in a row in one server’s section, two of those tables will wait too long to be greeted. You have to allocate guests among servers.

• Greeting and Seating: When guests walk up to the host stand, you should greet them as quickly as possible. After saying “Welcome in,” inquire whether they have a reservation or not and then proceed accordingly.

  • For guests with reservations: Learn the name of the guest and find them in the Open Table reservation system.

    • Are they on time? If so, walk them to their table at an appropriate pace. After you’ve seated the table, immediately find their server and notify said server of the party size and table number. Grab a water for each guest.

    • Are they not on time? This can be a really big deal!!!

      • If a reservation arrives (for example) 30 minutes early in the middle of a dinner rush, we cannot seat them without worsening service for people who showed up at the right time; so don’t be afraid to make them wait! The language to use when telling an early guest is simply, “Your reservation is at 7:30 and we should be ready for you about 7:25,” (always about 5 minutes before their reservation time.

      • If on the other hand, they are early for their reservation but we are going to be even busier when they should be coming in, take advantage of the situation and seat them when they show up. This will make our busiest time easier!

      • If a reservation is more than 10 minutes late (and hasn’t called), our policy to mark that reservation as a no show. If anyone gives you grief, refer to our Open Table website where said policy is clearly stated.

  • For guests without reservations: When taking walk-ins on busy nights, always look first to the “shift overview” screen on Open Table to see how many guests were seated in the past 15 minutes and how many more are expected during the next 15-30 minutes. This will help you determine whether servers and the kitchen are prepared to handle walk-ins.

    • Inquire the party size and whether there are minors in the party. After 3 pm, minors (under 21) cannot legally sit in the bar or lounge area.

    • Determine which server sections are ready to accommodate walk-ins and then give the guest their table options. Example: “Would you prefer an indoor or outdoor table? Are you okay with sitting at a high top table in the bar?”

      
      

• Understanding “flow:” Our Open Table system will automatically limit the number of covers (guests) that we may seat within a 15 minute period. The “shift overview” screen on Open Table is very important because it shows us the pacing throughout the evening, which allows us to manage the flow of guests for the servers and the kitchen so that the night may run as smooth as possible.

Taking Reservations:

Learning the basics of our reservation system, Open Table. Below are the procedures that you will be taught. You should read these lines and watch each of these videos as soon as possible and as many times as it takes until you understand the system.

To make a reservation for our restaurant, start at the Open Table system by pressing the book symbol with the plus sign:

1.     Inquire first what date our guests are looking to book. Keep an eye out for “Modified Hours” or “Closed” written in red on any calendar dates to inform the patron of irregular hours.

2.     Inquire the number of guests within a party.

3.     Inquire what time the reservation should be made for. You can toggle between earlier lunch and brunch reservations, or dinner.

a.     The latest reservation of the day must be no later than 8:30 pm.

b.     Reservations for happy hour may only be placed over the phone not through OpenTable.

c.     In the winter time, unless otherwise specified, place all reservations in the dining room.

d.     In the summer time, ask if folks would like to sit inside or outside.

e.     Any bar table is non-reservable until 6:30pm as to prioritize walk-in Happy Hour.

4.     On the next page, please take a first and last name, then press enter.

5.     The last thing you absolutely need to make a reservation is a contact phone number. Please however take any notes that may affect the seating or service of this reservation (minors in the party, or special events/circumstances such as a business meeting, anniversary, or birthday).

6.     Whether on the phone or in person, once the reservation has been made, confirm all details of the reservation and let them know that we look forward to seeing them.

Large Parties: if a large party (between 7 and 10) attempts to make a reservation day before or day of, even if the reservation can be made, make sure to clarify with a senior member of the kitchen that the kitchen is prepared to accommodate said party.

That should be it for “Stage One” of your training. Have fun!