Module 4 of 6

Guest care & problems

Reading tables, fixing service problems, and working as one team.

Reading the table

Menus closed means ready to order.

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A guest scanning the room is looking for you.

Empty glasses mean a drinks round is being missed.

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Server notices a guest looking for assistance and approaches attentively.

Phrases to keepClick audio icon to listen

“Are you ready to order?”

When the menus close

“Can I get you anything else — another round, perhaps?”

When glasses run low

When service goes wrong

Wrong dish, long wait, cold food: own it fast.

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Apologise without blaming the kitchen ('I'm sorry about this' — the guest doesn't care whose fault it is), tell them exactly what happens next, and make it happen.

If a wait will be long, say so before they ask, and offer something concrete — bread, a drink, a realistic time.

1/4

Server calmly acknowledges a wrong dish and arranges a replacement with the guest.

Phrases to keepClick audio icon to listen

“I'm so sorry — I'll have the right dish out to you in a few minutes.”

Wrong dish: apologise, fix, no excuses

“The kitchen is about ten minutes behind tonight — can I bring you some bread while you wait?”

Bad news early, with an offer

Quick Shift Check

The wrong dish arrives at a guest's table. What's the right response?

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