Week 11
 
 
Objectives 
1. State the important of service to the customer 2. Describe two ways in which service is important to
guests 3. Describe the role of servers in the foodservice
operation 4. Distinguish between the various categories an types
of service 5. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of
formal and informal methods of service 6. Describe the obstacles to good service 7. Consider the suggestions form restaurateurs on how
to improve service 
Outline 
1. Dining room service from the customers’ point of view 
 
Introduction 
 
1 
 
 
Dining room service from customers’ POV 
• What’s frequent complaint of FS customers?  
 
When Dining Experience is lack of
• Friendly • Competent service • Ignore for period of
time • Refuse to honor their
requests 
Even ………
 
What’s customers’ want? 
menu 3. Willing to provide
reasonable variations in the menu
 
2 
The importance of service 
1. Value for the guest 2. Impact on dining experience of the guest
Positive VS Negative  
Determining Value 
• Generally, the greater the level of service provided to a guest, the more the guest is willing to pay for a meal.
 
Determining Value 
• When deciding where to dine, customers are aware of the amenities each type of operation offers and approximately what they will be charged for those amenities, and they make their choices accordingly.
 
• Attentive • Well-organized server • Available when guest
needs • Suggestive not
 
2 
 
 
The key points in maximizing customers’ enjoyment include the following:
1. Accommodation  • In planning a menu for their favorite combination • Servers must be provided w/ a list of items on
the menu that can be switched to better accommodate guests
2. Attitude of servers’
• Good attitude is difficult to teach • Good attitude and enjoyment in working are key
characteristics
Food and Beverage Service Method
What Customers Expect From Servers 
3. Attentiveness – Guests like to have their needs attended to while
dining out – they prefer to treat themselves by having someone else take care of them.
 
Food and Beverage Service Method
What Customers Expect From Servers 
4. Timeliness – Guest like to be taken care of in a timely fashion. – They expect to be greeted at the table, presented
with the menu, have their order taken and their course delivered.
– If there is going to be delay with any part of the service sequence, the problem should be communicated to the guest as soon as possible
 
5. Anticipation    
– To anticipate rather than react; to be alert to guests’ needs and potential problems rather than having to react a problem
– E.g. Guest with infant should assume HIGH Chair and server bring it to the table before the guest has to ask for it.
 
6. Suggestive selling  
– Some guests arrive at a restaurant with – Their minds already made up as what they
are going to order – Some make a decision after reviewing the
menu – Some can't decide and need some assistant
– Suggesting menu by listen what they like or dislike
 
3 
The Role of Servers 
• The tasks of server include guest-contact to ensure a pleasurable a dining experience
 
The Role of Servers 
1. Teamwork – Sorry this is not my station. I’ll
find your server and tell him that you need something
 
The Role of Servers 
 
The Role of Servers 
3. Menu knowledge – The basics such as how a dish
is prepared (Baked, Broil, sautéed, fresh. Frozen)
 
The Role of Servers 
for an operation, providing the guest with its daily offerings
– The server has an opportunity for a much more effective and personal level of selling.
– Merchandising skills are easily taught.
 
4 
Type of Services 
 
 
Scope of Service
should • When taking the order, the server
should • When delivering the food, the
server should • Toward the end of the main
course, the server should  
Food and Beverage Service Method
 
1. Self-Service 
1.1 Buffet Service 
• With buffet service, guests select their meals from an attractive arrangement of food on long serving tables.
 
Buffet Service 
• The service usually combines both methods – the guests select relishes, salads, and vegetables themselves, and the meat is carved and served to the guests by chefs.
 
Buffet Service 
 
 
Advantages and Disadvantages 
• One advantage to buffet service is that food can be displayed in a very attractive manner.
• However, this can quickly become a disadvantage if care is not taken to keep the food selection fresh and complete.
 
 
Food and Beverage Service Method
2. Seated or Table Service 
 
Table Service 
• There are many styles of table service: French, Russian, English, American
• No one style of service is better than any other. Each form of service meets the specific need and demands of individual circumstances.
 
What is Table Service? 
• In the past forty years restaurant service has changed as dramatically, especially in America.
 
What is Table Service? 
• American service evolved from there European forms of service, utilizing aspects of all three styles in vary combinations.
 
Service Styles 
 
FRENCH SERVICE 
FRENCH SERVICE 
• Or Service à la française, is the most elaborate and labor intensive of all serving styles.
• Traditionally in French service, a meal was divided into 3 separate services or courses – 1st, 2nd, and dessert
 
French Service 
• The food is cooked or completed at a side table in front of the guests. 
• The food is brought from the kitchen to the dining room on heavy silver platters and placed on a cart called a guéridon .
 
French Service 
• Most graceful and formal style of service originated in Europe
• Use of silver serving pieces
• The final cooking and garnishing taking place on a side table (guerdon)
• French service is the most elegant of seated services
 
French Service 
• Foods that can be cooked, assembled, or in a reasonably shot time are prepared in front of the guests.
 
French Service 
• Waiters more likely to be MALE than FEMALE 
 
THE GUÉIDON Service
 
French Service 
• Commis de rang (  )  •   
– Must serve an apprenticeship under a chef de rang
• Chef de rang ( )  •   
– Or professional waiter
French Service 
• They work as a team to take are of the guest’s needs. 
• The chef de rang always remains in the dining room, whereas the commis de rang is to go to the kitchen to pick up the food or to return soiled items 
 
Chef de rang 
• Seat the guests if there is no host for dining room
• Take the guests’ orders  • Serve the beverages • Finish the preparation of food at the table in
view of the guests • Plate and garnish the food on a heated plate • Present the check to the guests and collect
the payment 
Commis de rang 
• Receive the order from the chef de rang and deliver it to the kitchen
• Pick up the food in the kitchen on a silver tray and place it on the side table
 
 
Special Techniques done by Chef de Rang 
• Tossing and Mixing • Plate Presentation
 
 
 
 
French Service 
** Advantages **  Very stylish and formal  Guest can enjoy food prepared at side table
** Disadvantages **  required a highly skilled staff  Expensive on labor and equipment needs  necessitates wide aisles, which means fewer tables
in the dining room  
French Service 
Guéridon / Carving Trolley
Rechaud
French Service Table Setting 
 
Table Setting 
RUSSIAN SERVICE 
Russian Service 
• Russian service is similar to French service in many respects.
• It employs the use of heavy silver serviceware, and the table setting is identical to the French setup.
 
Russian Service 
• Server places a heated plate from the right side, going around the table clockwise.
• Then the server brings the platters of food to the dining room from the kitchen and presents them to the guests at the table.
 
RUSSIAN or PLATTER SERVICE 
• Russian service, currently considered platter service in America, is used mostly for banquets.
• It is less showy then French service, but it is quicker and no less elegant.
• In platter service, the food is fully cooked and arranged and garnished on large platters of food to the dining room and present them on Table
 
RUSSIAN or PLATTER SERVICE 
Advantages and Disadvantages of Russian Service 
• The advantages of Russian service are that only one server is need and this service is as elegant as French service, yet faster and less expensive. No extra space is needed for special equipment, such as the gueridon.
 
Russian Service 
ENGLISH SERVICE 
English Service 
 
English Service 
• The food on platters and the heated plates are brought from the kitchen and placed before the host at the head of the table.
 
English Service 
• She hands the plates to the server standing to the left, who server the guest of honor and all other guests. Dessert may also be served in this manner.
 
 
Advantages and Disadvantages 
• The advantage of English service is that it involves a great deal of showmanship for a special occasion.
 
 
English Service 
• Or Family service • The food is prepared in the kitchen and taken
to the dining room in serving platters and bowls by the dining room staff
** Advantages **  Service is quicker and easier  each guest are allowed to choose the portion they
wants 
English Service 
Food and Beverage Service Method
ENGLISH service and Family Service 
• In restaurant, usually reserved for private rooms or special group dinners.
• All food fully cooked in the kitchen.
 
AMERICAN SERVICE
American Service 
 
 
American Service 
• In American service, food is dished up on plates in the kitchen.
 
American Service 
 
 
American Service 
 
American Service 
• The food is prepared and plated in kitchen • The food brought to the dining room and
served by server.
 
American Service 
 
American Service 
Basic Rules of American Service
1. All solid food is served from the guest’s  LEFT  with the LEFT HAND
2. All beverages are served from the guest’s
RIGTH  with the RIGHT HAND  
3. Dishes are cleared from the guest’s RIGHT  
 
American Service 
American Service Table setting 
American Service Table setting 
American Service Table setting 
American Service Table setting 
When Seating guests, the server should: 
• Seat guests as soon as they enter the dining room, or at least acknowledge them, and then seat them as soon as possible. 
• Greet the guests when he or she arrives at the table, welcome them to the restaurant, introduce him- or herself, present them with the menu, tell the guests about any specials for the day or any dishes on the menu that are not available, and ask them if they would like anything to drink or anything from the bar (if available at the operation). 
• Fill their water glasses and remove extra place setting. 
• Leave the table to pick up the customer’s cocktails and to give
the guests an opportunity to look over the menu. 
 
Food and Beverage Service Method
When taking the order, the server should:  • Deliver the cocktails (if any have
been ordered) from each guest’s right. 
• Take the guest’s order. Most operations have a standardized system for numbering the customers at the table based on a geographical portion of the dining room, such as the front door or fireplace, so that any employee can deliver food to the proper guest. 
 
When taking the order, the server should: 
• Remember that the goal of the operation is to satisfy the guests. Try to accommodate guest’s needs and desires. Be aware of the policies of the operation so that special orders can be offered or accepted. 
• Serve the bread and butter. A general policy is to deliver the bread and butter after the order is taken to prevent guests from filling up on bread instead of ordering appetizers. 
 
When delivering the food, the server should:  
• Deliver the appetizer, soup, or salad. This course serves two purposes—it stimulates the guest’s
 
When delivering the food, the server should:  
• Clear the first-course dishes and tableware, from the right, to make room on the table for the main course. 
 
When delivering the food, the server should:  
• The food is usually carried to the dining room on a tray, so the server needs to pick up a tray stand to set the food on while serving the main courses to the guests. 
 
 
The end of the main course 
• Keep an eye on the guests while they are eating to see if they need anything else. When they have finished eating, remove the main course dishes from the right with the right hand. 
• Remove items from the table that are not needed for dessert, such as salt and pepper, extra silverware, etc. 
• Use a folded napkin to remove crumbs and food scraps from the table. 
• Ask the guests if they would like a refill of their beverage, coffee or tea, or an after-dinner drink. 
 
BANQUET SERVICE 
Banquet Service 
 
Banquet Service 
 
 
Banquet Service 
• The food is put on plates in the kitchen and served to the guests in the usual American serving style or in French, Russian, or buffet style, as predetermined.
 
 
Banquet Service 
 
 
Advantages and Disadvantages
• The advantage of banquet service is that the menu and serving time are predetermined, which makes service a simple routine, accomplished by fewer servers than needed for other types of serving.
 
BUTLER SERVICE 
BUTLER Service 
 
ROOM SERVICE 
ROOM service 
Room Service 
Room Service 
Formality and Elegance 
5 
 
Food and Beverage Service Method
The Obstacles to good service 
 
Food and Beverage Service Method
The Obstacles to good service 
 
Food and Beverage Service Method
The Obstacles to good service 
 
Food and Beverage Service Method
The Obstacles to good service 
 
Food and Beverage Service Method
The Obstacles to good service 
• The new server is given an opportunity to pick up the good habits and methods of the trainer; the problem is that he or she also has an opportunity to pick up the bad habits. The success of shadowing is limited to the learning the mechanics of serving—how to fill out a ticket, how to set a table properly, and how to do the side work. The key components of the server’s job are not usually
addressed, such as suggestive selling, anticipation, and accommodating the guests’ needs. 
 
Obstacles to good service 
• Is complex from the customer want and demand better service.
• Understand the importance of providing good service to the guests
• Pay the wage at reasonable level on their jobs
• Training for a better service