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Do you have robot servers on your floor during meal service? Everyone knows what I am talking about - the sense of complacency that can take over in most of our servers - or even a sense of fear they might have about conversing with our residents. This sense leads to servers having tunnel vision and being almost robotic when serving or taking orders at a table. In this day and age of texting, tweeting and Facebook; the art of conversation is quickly dying out. As managers, we need to be aware of this and do everything we can to fight this complacency. Sometimes all you need to do is loosen your servers up at pre-service. After going through the important items of the day and daily features, shake things up and ask your servers what their favorite books, movies, rock bands, TV shows, restaurants or type of food are. This will help to lighten them up and get them talking with each other. It will even lighten their mood through dinner service.
Another tactic that can help is approaching a table while the server is there to help them break the ice. "Did you know that Johnnie (the server) is the captain of the tennis team at his high school?" Or "Did you know that Janie (the server) is a National Merit Scholar and plans to attend Harvard in the fall?" One of our most important jobs as Front of the House Managers is to facilitate the overall atmosphere in the dining room and this begins with our servers' attitudes and personalities. Don't let your dining room be overrun with robot servers!