HOST 8 STEPS OF SERVICE

A bad meal CAN be fixed with great service,

but bad service CANNOT be fixed by a great meal.

Function of a Host in a Restaurant

Hosts greet guests and guide them to their seats. Great Hosting is more involved than you may realise. A
good host must be always aware of the flow of service in the dining room. The host must manage
reservations, waiter seating rotation, and guest wait times, all while welcoming each guest that walks
through the door. The host may also have to juggle answering phones, meeting & greeting guests, assist
guests, and walk the floor to stay up to date on table status.

What Does a Restaurant Host Do?

From the guest's perspective, the host welcomes them to the restaurant and leads them to their seat in
the dining room. But a restaurant host does more than just greet and seat. An excellent restaurant host
knows the dining room floor plan, including table numbers, covers per table, and waiter sections. They
multitask behind the scenes to keep the flow of service on track and maximise table turnover.

The host is responsible for many tasks and must learn to manage the floor, help guests, and stay
coordinated with other staff members.

We will now go through the Host 8 Steps of Service

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 1! Be AWARE as soon as guests approach the restaurant.

Never underestimate the importance of greeting! First impressions are made within seconds. If you are
busy with another guest, acknowledge the guest by saying, "I will be right with you," and always make eye
contact.

Never Leave Your Post Unmanned

This rule ensures that every guest is greeted properly. If a host must walk away from their post, they
should ask someone to keep a lookout while they are gone.

Open the Door

Instead of waiting for guests to come to them, a great host takes initiative with opening doors and greeting
guests before they enter.

Make Eye Contact

An outstanding host cannot afford to be shy! Making eye contact shows you value a guest.

Greet Each Guest

Offer a warm welcome to every guest, ensuring it is not robotic.

Pay Attention to the Order of Guests

One of the quickest ways to earn a guest complaint is to neglect the order of a guest's arrival. First come,
first serve is what guests expect with regards to being assisted with either their booking or a request for an
available table.

No Personal Chatting
When guests are present, it is vital for the host to avoid chatting with each other. Chatting between team
members may become an opportunity when it distracts the host from noticing a guest entering through
the door. Guests should always feel as if they are the top priority.

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 2! Greet them with a SMILE and welcome them to Brand and
location!

Remember, you are the first and last chance for the restaurant to make a good impression. You are the
face of the Brand.
What are first impressions? First impressions are the almost-instant conclusions we draw when meeting
someone for the first time. We form this opinion by quickly taking in information about a person, including
their face, dress, posture, and tone of voice.

So therefore, always remember, to greet your guest with your most warm and welcoming smile!

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 3! Confirm Reservation or Walk-in

After you have greeted guests, we need to find out if they have made a Reservation or not.

If they have made a Reservation:

Ask for the name under which the booking was made, confirm many people will be attending the party,
take the menus and guide them to their table.
You should never allow guests to float aimlessly through the restaurant; it is your responsibility to guide
them to their designated table.

Walk at the pace of your guests. This gives you a great opportunity to develop a relationship with your
guests. Always chat with the guests. If you know their names, greet them using their name, i.e., “Good
evening Mr./Mrs. Smith, great to see you again.”

Help your guests carry bags, coats, etc. Let the children carry their own menus to the table. This will also
give you an opportunity to point out certain features in the restaurant, e.g., stairs, toilets, a tiled area that
could become slippery when wet.

While you are walking with the guest, converse with them on topics such as “how did they hear about our
Brand” or “Is it their first time visiting our venue?”. Make a connection with our guests! The better
connection you have the better their experience will be and this is our ultimate goal.
After you have seated the guests, hand menus out and offer first drink, inform the guests the name of their
waiter and that they will be at the table soon.
Inform the waiter that the reservation has arrived and their first drink’s order.

If they don’t have a Reservation (Walk-in):

If there is seating availability, please seat the guest. Explain what we can offer, which kind of food we are
serving and whether there is an event happening on the day. Also, be clear to communicate if there is a
booking for that table later in the day and they would need to be finished by a certain time.
Please ensure that you do not turn guests away when there is enough time for them to enjoy a meal or
drink with us before the table is booked for a later guest.
Once this is confirmed, follow same steps noted under Reservation section.

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 3A)! Managing Wait Times

In a perfect world, one party of guests arrives at a time, but that's not the case in a busy restaurant. A line
at the door is great for business if it's handled properly. That job falls to the host or hostess, and it's not a
simple task.

Taking Names –

Once all tables in a restaurant are filled, the host staff should jump into action and start taking a list of
names. Taking down a guest's name, the number in their party, and their seating preference is the best
way to seat all guests in order. It helps to assign one host or hostess to the door so they can greet all guests
and write down their information. Another host should monitor the dining room floor and take guests to
their seats.

First Available –

The term first available is used to identify the guests that have no table preference and therefore get
seated more quickly. Make sure your host staff is trained to explain the meaning of first available to guests.

Observing the Flow of Service –

The host's job isn't complete after guests are seated. Observing the flow of service means monitoring the
stages of the meal (drinks, ordering, payment) for every table. A seasoned host or hostess can tell roughly
how long it will take for the diners to complete their meal based on their observations. This is a skill that
helps the host staff to manage wait times.

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 3B)! Seating Guests

To an observer, seating guests might seem straightforward. In reality, a host or hostess is managing several
considerations when they choose a table. The guest's preferences are a top priority, but floor plans and
rotation are also involved in the decision.

Floor Plans –

Every dining room layout has a floor plan that separates tables into server sections. There could be
multiple floor plans based on how many servers are working per shift. For example, on a slow night, the
floor plan might only divide the dining room into three sections. On a busy night, there could be upwards
of 10 different sections. It's the host's job to memorize every floor plan, choose the right floor plan for the
shift, and know which sections belong to which server.

Rotation –

Seating rotation refers to the order in which each server's section is seated. Because there are multiple
servers on duty, the host must seat each section in turn. The purpose of rotation is to ensure all servers are
seated equally. Sometimes there is no floor plan used, and the host must keep a tally of how many tables
each server receives.

Communication with Other Hosts –

When there is more than one host or hostess seating guests, they must be in sync with each other. Instruct
your host staff to pay attention to where guests are being seated at all times. That way, two hosts won't go
to the same table and cause confusion.

Special Requests –

Regardless of server rotation and floor plans, the host staff should always honour special requests from
guests. If a request isn't feasible, they should do their best to find a solution that makes the guest happy.

Highchairs –

Not all tables can accommodate highchairs. Hosts need to know where highchairs can be added safely
without blocking walkways.

Guests with Disabilities –

Wheelchairs, walkers, or service animals need to be accommodated safely and comfortably. It's the host's
responsibility to seat any guests with disabilities in the right location.

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 4! RESERVATIONS

As a host, it is important to always know what is happening with your reservations. Therefore, when we
arrive on duty, check all your bookings via email, Dineplan, etc. Take note of any handover notes regarding
bookings as well.

Guests have multiple ways of making reservations to dine in our Restaurants.

- Guests can call the restaurant.
- Online via Dineplan, Google or Brands’ website.
- Guests can make a reservation while already dining in our restaurant or when passing the restaurant.

4A! When guest make a reservation online

When guests search us on Google, they have the option to make an online booking.

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 4B! When guests call in to make a reservation

4B.1! ANSWERING
the phone when a guest calls the restaurant.

When you pick up the phone, always smile. People can feel it from the other side and there is nothing better than
positive conversation with our guests. Even if we are very busy, we need to be calm in the moments when we are
talking with our guests.

This is the standard for answering the phone:

“Brand Name and Location Good Morning/Afternoon, _____ speaking, how can I help
you.”

Taking reservations isn't as easy as you think! If you take reservations by phone, you should be trained to ask for the
following information:

• Time and date

• Contact Information
• Number of guests
• Table or booth preference
• Indoor or outdoor preference
• Birthdays or events
• Dietary restrictions

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 When guests call in to make a reservation cont..

When Guests call the restaurant to make a Reservation,

we use Dineplan to make the reservation and add guests to the system.

Below is an example.

“Thank You for calling Tiger’s Milk Kloof Street, Lucian speaking.
How can I help you today?”

TIME

We ask guests what time they would like to join us for Lunch or Dinner

We click on the man with a + next to the Time guest would like to reserve for

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In the above Picture you can see ALL the information needed to make a Reservation for our Guests

Party Size – How many guests will be dinning with us; how many seats are needed?

Any notes about guest we want to keep on record.

i.e., Allergies, Special Occasions

Guests contact number to send reservation confirmation and review link.

Guest name & surname (Host of the party)

Any special requests or notes that was made by Guests.

Name of person who took the reservation.

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 4C! When guest arrive in-restaurant to reserve a table

What to do?

When guest arrive in store and ask to make a reservation. If the stores tablet is readily available for use,
then teams should enter the details directly into Dineplan,

If Dineplan is not able to be used while guest is still in store, Teams to use template below and be sure to get
ALL information needed for reservations,

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 5! COMMUNICATION

Communication is a key in assisting the team. In our hospitality industry, things may change in a moment.
To avoid any issues on the floor, hosts are required to communicate these changes quickly to the team. To
ensure communicate to the right team members is accurate, the host needs to know which team member
is allocate to which section and who is running each section.
Inform all team members about their reservations for the day and the detail of any special requests by our
guests.
This will assist the rest of the team in providing good, organised service for our guests.

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 6! WALK the floor.

The only way to ascertain the progression of each table is to walk the floor and check the progress of each
guest. This will assist you in estimating the time for guests waiting for a table. Be careful not to crowd
guests or make them feel rushed in any way.
Inform waiters regarding guests waiting for a quick turnaround of setting up the table once a guest leaves
our restaurant.

6.1! Supporting FOH Team

Host staff should imagine they have two types of guests – External and Internal. Internal refers to the guests
entering our restaurants to enjoy a meal or drink, and the Internal references our waiters. It is the hosts’
responsibility to keep both guests satisfied. Sometimes it seems like an impossible task, but there are ways
to seat all guests and support the waiter staff through busy shifts.

Communication - An efficient host will know every waiter by name and let them know when they have a
new table in their section. They'll also communicate special requests to the waiters and provide helpful info.

Modified Rotation - If a waiter's section is skipped during rotation, the host staff should adjust the order
so that particular section is seated next. It requires flexibility and critical thinking to modify rotation during a
busy rush.

Staggering Tables - By staggering tables, or adding a little time in between each seating, the host staff
can help waiters provide better service. It also helps the kitchen staff when tables get seated in intervals
instead of seated all at once.

Getting Drinks - If the host double seats a waiter, it's a good practice to provide some assistance so the
waiter can catch up. This is done by getting water for the table, taking a drink order.

Know the Waiter's Shift - The host should be aware when a waiter's shift is coming to an end and avoid
seating tables in their section.

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 7! GUESTS

As a host, you are the face of Brand. You should know your regular or VIP guests, their names… We need to
give attention for every person who is coming in our venue. Point of our job is to make our guests feel
comfortable and happy in our restaurant.

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 8! Calling Guest BACK

Host to call ALL reservations for previous day and follow up for review if guest has not already completed
one.
You and your team can find plenty of opportunities to ask guests for reviews over the phone.
This will also prevent some of these complaints from being posted online, since we actively asked the guest
for feedback.
However, if you have a self-proclaimed satisfied guest (ideally when they express gratitude for their
experience), this is a good time to ask for a review.
"I am glad we were able to provide you with the best guest experience on (date of visit), and we really
appreciate your feedback. If you have time and do not mind, we would love for you to share this experience
on [review platform of your choice]. People want to see that they have the best guest experience when they
visit the brand and location and (what the guest praised)
You make your guest feel valued. This increases the loyalty of the guest and the likelihood that they will
give you that review.
(Read Host Manual - Following up for Reviews)

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