How to Start a Training Program for Your Restaurant

Few things are as critical to your restaurant's success as your staff. No matter how perfect everything else may be, customers won't come back if they're not treated well by your employees. Imperfections in the decor, obnoxious fellow patrons, and even food mishaps can be overcome when a customer dines in the hands of a well-trained server. On the other hand, even a flawless experience can seem sub-par if the wait staff seems hurried, disinterested, or otherwise unfriendly.

Unfortunately, it can be expensive to hire highly experienced employees, and it can be even more expensive to bring in outside help for training exercises. For that reason, every restaurant should have some kind of in-house wait staff training program. With a little bit of time and effort, you can concoct a training program that suits your precise needs for a fraction of the cost of the alternatives.

As you might remember from your own school days, it's important to use several methods to present new material to your employees. Some people respond best to written material, while others may excel with video instruction or live role-playing. Count on using all three methods at some point in your process.

Video training is perhaps the easiest to come by, although the prices can be a little daunting at first. For somewhere between $100-1000, you can purchase an instructional DVD that you can show to each new employee. The added benefit to having a video training aid is that you can have the new employee work with experienced employees until the traffic peaks, then send the new server off to watch the video until things slow down a bit. Having a new employee in the way during the busy hours can hurt the performance of even your best experienced server. It's best if your server-to-be doesn't take in any short-cuts just yet.

When shopping for a restaurant training video, you'll need to consider a few things. Does it deal with roughly the same type of restaurant? It's probably not necessary that it be set in a restaurant just like your own, but if the video's servers say things like "folks" and "y'all" when you're more of a cloth napkin sort of place, you may not get the results you're looking for. Most training videos now offer online previews, though, so this shouldn't be a problem. You'll also want to make sure that the advice is sound. If not, be ready to let your employees know how the training video differs from your own policies.

Written material is another essential, and it can serve as a great refresher for employees even after the initial training period is over. To compile your written materials, think of the mistakes you see your employees making frequently, or the questions they ask over and over again. You'll also want to comb through your menu to look for items that might trip up a new employee. Your written training materials can be as personal as you like, so this is a great chance to get very specific. If you're not much of a writer, see if you have any employees with an interest in writing. You might find that one of your servers is willing to pull it all together during some down time.

As you know, there's an art to waiting tables, and no amount of one-size-fits-all training information will cover every situation that may be encountered. To help your new employees with less predictable scenarios, you'll want to develop a set of role-playing situations that they can run through with yourself or other employees. Overcooked food, spilled drinks, impatient customers, and botched orders should all be covered. Just think back to the nightmare situations you've experienced and you should have plenty of material for your imaginary scenes.

If you're having difficulties creating the materials on your own, don't hesitate to ask your existing staff or even some of the customers that you know well. Most people are more than happy to offer their expertise when it comes to restaurant dining. Everyone's a critic, but those critics can also be your best allies in figuring out potential problem areas.

With a little time and effort, you should have a top-notch employee training program in no time. Your only problem then will be retention, since every place in town will want your servers.