Four years ago, I took a big step up in restaurants to start my current job. A co-worker’s girlfriend recommended me to her boss. I interviewed and was hired on the spot. I still remember the way it felt walking into the restaurant for that interview.  How impressive the building was. How professional the staff […]
Tag Archives | Serving
Is Running Hot Food Always The Priority?
I have worked for a number of companies and managers over the years who repeated a similar mantra: ‘Running hot food from the window is the top priority.’ This is often echoed by managers, kitchen staff, and expediters. It has been emphasized so frequently that it’s generally accepted as fact. While this is an important […]
The Lost Art Of Suggestive Selling
“Subtlety is the art of saying what you think and getting out of the way before it is understood.†–Anonymous  We as a society have really lost the power of subtlety. It could be because we have lost the patience to unravel it. We receive far more information on a daily basis than our […]
A World Without Tips
I am still incredibly grateful for my recent guest post on tipping. It inspired my response that discussed the economics of tipping. It also raised a few other interesting points that I am now learning are common misconceptions about restaurants. For people who have never worked in a restaurant, these misconceptions can easily be mistaken […]
The Economics of Tipping
I still occasionally get the guest who will say, I can buy this wine for half this price at the store. Which is true, but it doesn’t come with a staff to serve it and a crew of chefs ready to cook you an incredible meal from a fully stocked kitchen. I wonder if the […]
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.