The Finer Points of Dining, Brought to You by the Melting Pot

Published on Monday, February 5, 2007, by James Norton / Edit Post

You probably didn’t expect the future of refined dining to emerge from a Melting Pot chain restaurant in Durham, North Carolina. And yet, if you take the News & Observer, a North Carolina daily newspaper, at its word, that’s exactly what you’re looking at.

The Melting Pot (along with other bourgie chains such as the Cheesecake Factory) is drilling the essentials of good waitering and waitressing into its new hires. Some of the commandments for the world’s new elite corps of waitstaff, as articulated by the News & Observer:

1. Don’t point with your finger.

2. Don’t talk too much. It irritates the customers and increases the number of chances for you to look like a buffoon.

3. Know your food. If a customer asks what’s in a particular dish, have a comprehensive answer handy.

4. Raw food is referred to as “uncooked.”

Along with the advent of gas-station cappuccino, the thoughtful training of professional waitrons at places like P. F. Chang’s and TGI Friday’s is a minor but significant sign of civilization slowly oozing forth from New York, San Francisco, Chicago, and other bastions of old-school culture. More relevant, it’s a sign that good service is being recognized as an economic asset-– at this point in time, it takes more than yet another version of a giant batter-fried onion to turn a one-time customer into a regular.

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POST A COMMENT |3 Comments

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  • I agree that it is not only hard to find a good server when eating out, but it is also hard to find good servers as employees. From the moment a customer walks into the restaurant, he or she needs to have a great experience. I recently bought a training DVD to use (I own a small Italian restaurant), and I think it is going to really help. I have tried to give my employees the best training...+READ

    I agree that it is not only hard to find a good server when eating out, but it is also hard to find good servers as employees. From the moment a customer walks into the restaurant, he or she needs to have a great experience. I recently bought a training DVD to use (I own a small Italian restaurant), and I think it is going to really help. I have tried to give my employees the best training possible, and this is something new that I have added on to their training. The DVD is called The Perfect Server. I actually found it online at http://www.vat19.com/dvds/the-perfect-server-dvd.cfm I feel confident that this year I will have the best staff I've ever had.-COLLAPSE

  • A couple of other favorite bits of mine that I use in service are ones gleaned from the French Laundry. The first is to not instruct the guest to "Enjoy" once you have served their food. Of course they're going to enjoy it, you don't need to remind them to do so. Also, ditch the name tags. They look hokey, and if the guest really wants to know your name, they'll ask.

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  • It's hard to find a good server now days. The key for managers and owners is in the training. Train your staff the way you want service to be done. With proper training and the latest service excellence you are ensuring that your service is top notch. The best training I've ever recieved was at Walt Disney World. They strive to give their employees the very best knowledge to enhance their...+READ

    It's hard to find a good server now days. The key for managers and owners is in the training. Train your staff the way you want service to be done. With proper training and the latest service excellence you are ensuring that your service is top notch. The best training I've ever recieved was at Walt Disney World. They strive to give their employees the very best knowledge to enhance their service. I agree that you just can't let your food do the talking about your restaurant. It needs to be a whole package.-COLLAPSE