Server position for a restaurant, what kind of experience do you need?

Question

i am looking to apply as a server at a restaurant. i have 2 years experience as a host at a fine dining restaurant. i am hoping to move on and gain experience. i am looking become a server at RED ROBIN, BJ BREWERY, PF CHANGS, ELEPHANT BAR, CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN, CHEESECAKE FACTORY. which of restaurants are easiest to apply for, with less requirements.

Answer 1

To be honest all of the corporate restaurants you mentioned are about the same in hiring practices.  You just have to find a place that needs someone when you apply.  I have 9 years in the restaurant biz and there are times when we are short staffed that I would hire anyone who could spell their name on the application, and other times when servers are fighting for shifts that you could be super-server and I still couldn't hire you.

Fill out an application at all of them and take the ones that offer you a job, and pick the one who you like best (considering the atmosphere/attitudes of the people you encounter).  Remember you will have to spend a lot of time there and deal with the people a lot.

Answer 2

all of these would be good places to look into. if you feel it is time to move on to serving i think changing restaurants is probably a good idea. any of these are good places to "cut your teeth" on serving and get you into the new challenges of this type of job.

good luck!

Answer 3

Why are you leaving the fine-dining establishment? Don't they have any 'Front of the House' positions? What about starting as a Busser / Server Assistant, or a food runner? That's how I got into fine dining. I first worked at O'Charley's in Brentwood, TN (Nashville area). Three years later, I started at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar in Nashville. They wouldn't hire me as a server because I had no fine dining experience or wine knowledge. If things in my personal life had not slowed me down (if I had more time to study early on), and there weren't so many bussers and food runners ahead of me, I would have been a server in a year or less, but it took just over two year there to get on as a server.

It's all up to you how quickly you can advance. If I were you (and your finances allow it) I would get on where you are now as a busser or food runner, or whatever other FOH position they may allow you. Busser seems to be the best bet. Ths way you will be able to understand better what service and hospitality is all about. Hosting doesn't give you as much 'hands-on' experience. While you are working as busser, you can familiarize yourself with the food and wine menues.

At Fleming's, where I used to work, I've seen bussers and backwaiters become servers in fine dining with no previous experience as a server. You just have to show management that you understand and can handle the job requirements.

Here's what I recommend to get you serving in a fine dining establishment as a waiter in less than two years:

The first thing you need to learn is the meaning of hospitality. You cannot gloss over something like this. IT IS EVERYTHING when it comes to this business. If you care more about your pocket than the guest, you'll never fill those pockets. Speak with the servers where you work about their job. Watch what they do and how they interact with their guests. If you have servers that have a lot of guests requesting those particular servers, find out why. Those are the servers you wan to learn from. You, being a host, probably already have a few in mind.

The second thing you need to do is memorize the food menu inside and out. Know everything about it, including the ingredients in all dishes, even though that will take some investigation on your part. Your tip potential becomes no potential by telling a guest "I don't know?"

The third thing you need to do is study wine and spirits. This is essential. You don't need to become an expert, but you do need to know how to intelligent speak to a guest about wine and guide them through a wine menu and pair a wine with their meal. This is a lot easier than it sounds. You just need the right education.

You need to start attending wine tastings at your restaurant. If they don't provide them for the service staff, I don't know where you get off calling them a fine dining establishment. Tell your employer that you intend to become a waiter and ask them to help you. If you're a valued employee, they should be happy to accomidate you.

Get a few good books. I recommend a few below:

Windows on the World Complete Wine Course: 2008 Edition (Windows on the World Complete Wine Course) by Kevin Zraly

The World Atlas of Wine: Completely Revised and Updated, Sixth Edition (World Atlas of Wine) by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson (This is the more up to date than the ones below.)



The Wine Bible by Karen MacNeil

Great Wine Made Simple by Andrea Immer Robinson.

Great Tastes Made Simple by Andrea Immer

What to Drink with What you Eat by Dornenburg and Page.

Exploring Wine by Kolpan, Smith and Weiss (Culinary Institute of America)

The New American Bartender's Guide by John J. Poister.

Get the World Atlas of Wine out. Go through each wine region of the world and write down on flash cards the major regions of the world and the grapes and wines grown and produced in these regions and the various areas wihin them.

Do the same with every grape type. Open the glossary and do the same there.

You don't have to do this quickly. Work for half an hour or more each day, a little at a time. Before long you will have a collection of cards you can practice with every day in your spare time. Before your first year is up, you will know more about wine than most people on the planet.

Hopitality can be read about in a book, but I won't recommend one. I gave you advice on that already.

If the bussers where you work don't make much money (which would be strange), you will, of course, probably have to work somewhere else to get a start in service. At Fleming's, the bussers make more than most waiters in casual dining ($500 or so per week, average, throughout the year/ Nashville wages; $500 is great for the south).

I would recommend PF Change's over the others you mentioned, if you can get on there. With your hosting experience, you might. They have one on the floor underneath Fleming's here in Nashville. They prefer experience as a server. I don't know about Elephant Bar or BJ Brewery. We have a Cheesecake Factory. They will probably hire you. They have a descent wine menu here, but the wine service is poor.

I hope this advice helps you. It's what I recommend. If you move from fine dining to casual, you will regret it. The only way you won't is if you are working in a middle class or better area. Choose an area with a busy business park nearby, and if there are hotels nearby, that is even better. Choose he wrong neighborhood and prepare to be cursed out by the guests, not make any money, and get food thrown at you. Oh, and you get to scrub mac and cheese from the carpet every night.

Touristy areas are iffy.

Believe me, once you know a little wine knowledge and hospitality, fine-dining is a whole lot easier than others.

Who gave me a thumbs down? And why?

Answer 4

All you have to do is fill out an application, and probably have to show up for an interview.

Answer 5

You have to be pleasant and able to follow orders and a good dose of common sense. Oh and a really good sense of humor!! and you just can't miss.