This is the final installment of a four-part introduction. If you missed the previous posts on the overview, the guest’s perspective, and the manager’s perspective, click the links in this sentence. People ask me on occasion if I aspire to open my own restaurant one day. It always reminds me of the old Mitch Hedburg […]
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Understanding Restaurants: The Other Perspectives
Servers are required to constantly juggle multiple priorities on a minute-by-minute basis. Continually reevaluating what is the most urgent guest need and how to address other needs efficiently to prevent anticipatable needs from becoming urgent. Our guests, managers, and co-workers determine our priorities. All three of these groups have no problems speaking up and letting […]
The Rules of Serving: Rule Three
 Rule Three: Generic Servers Receive Generic Tips.  We all have seen it before. The server who walks up to a table and lifelessly repeats the corporate approved script when greeting a table. They seem as if they are only about three more repetitions from developing a facial tick from irritation. No inflection or […]
A Bit of Publicity and the Response
For those of you who missed it, this blog was written up in the local alternative weekly paper. If you want to check out the story (or just find a really cheesy waiter pic of me), click here. I do feel it necessary to point out that I am far more humble than the article […]
Foodie Friday: Salmon Basics
I spent most of my life disliking the flavor of salmon. Growing up most of the salmon I ate came from a can and was served in “patty†form. As I worked in casual dining restaurants I would occasionally try the salmon dishes only to be turned off by the lingering flavors it would leave […]
About The Author
David Hayden was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He took his first serving job in 1996. Since that time, he has worked for over a dozen different restaurant companies. He has held both hourly and salaried positions at independent and corporate restaurants. He has waited on over 100,000 guests and trained hundreds of servers. He has been named "Best Server in Kansas City" the last three years by the local weekly paper.