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Articles
Summertime Clues
May, 2007
Originally published in the Service That Sells! Newsletter
As the warm season approaches, there are 2 opportunities to serve better, sell more and make more money. First, guests get more casual and offer more clues. T-Shirts and hats from their favorite sports teams or vacation spots are worn giving you an instant connection to help personalize the visit. Connecting to the guest equals more tips!
Lose the generic, ‘Hi, I'm TJ. I'll be serving you tonight. Can I take your order?' Instead, use the clues provided by the guest to start the meal off right: ‘Did you just get back from Florida? How was it?' Vary the greeting as needed. Instead of the guest thinking it will be another generic experience, you've connected to them. Don't forget at the end to thank them by name if they used their credit card and let them know to request your section the next time they come back in.
Second, learn those summer drinks! It's now time to promote those frozen, refreshing drinks to our guests. After months in the cold (in many parts of the country), guests are ready to try your great alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
Strawberry lemonade and flavored teas are great alternatives (and upgrades) to regular iced tea and soft drinks (and especially tap water). Frozen drinks from the bar are also popular this time of year - margaritas, pina coladas, new crazy bar concoctions, etc so learn what the bar is featuring. Ask the vendors to come in and do a training session for the service staff to help educate them on each drink. Then, use your selling skills to enjoy summertime sales success!