FINAL JOB MEMO

 August 28th 

Blue Sushi Sake Grill Server

The summer after my freshman year at USC I went back home to Indianapolis and decided serving at one of my favorite restaurants would be a quick and easy way to make lots of cash! Money came quick, but I wouldn't say the job was any kind of breeze. Working as a server can be really fun because you're constantly interacting with people and your job is basically just to make sure your guests are having a good time! However, this job tested my patience, tolerance and sometimes, my faith in humanity. 

 Training

The first call of duty for serving at Blue is completing an extensive training process which includes:

• Sushi and drink menu memorization
• Wine and sake service training
• Developing sharp interpersonal skills
• Learning to manage panic and stress 

I learned the key to making good sales and collecting 25%+ tips was to be very familiar with the more expensive menu items and having irresistible descriptions such as ...

The Godzilla Bomb: A snow crab roll with bigeye tuna, yellowtail, togarashi, serrano, ponzu sauce and sriracha. 

Hakutsuru Awa Yuki (Sake - Slightly Sweet): Sparkling sweet, floral and fruity aroma, with hints of tropical fruits, banana cream, hazelnut, vanilla and honeycomb. 

A TYPICAL SHIFT

Pre-Shift

A busy dinner shift starts with a pre-shift meeting lead by management in the kitchen. During these meetings management will:

• Read recent service reviews from Yelp and OpenTable, the good and the very ugly.
• Reveal the number of reservations and who gets to serve the big parties.
• Announce the sales competition for the night. Competitions involve selling the most bottles of a specific wine or sake in one night. The winner gets to leave a shift with no linen folding! A real prize since each shift requires folding 100 linens before cashing out. 

The Shift

The real part of the shift is repetitive and fast-paced, especially when the reservations really start coming in. I would greet my tables, make friendly small talk, push the good appetizers, take their orders, and ask, ask, ask:

• How's everything tasting? 
• Can I get you another drink?
• How's that sushi roll I recommended?
• If you liked X, you would just love X! Want to try it?
• Want to see the dessert menu?

My favorite experience serving was when a party of guests would get very comfortable with me and ask me to place their orders for them and surprise them! 

Lessons Learned for Pleasing Guests and Making More Money

• EYE CONTACT
• When a party asks for recommendations, they're not actually asking what you like even though you may think so! Suggest the menu items that regulars love and come back for.
• Add edible orchids to your party's sushi platters. Their phones will definitely be eating first. 
• Oh, it's someone's birthday? Keep birthday candles in your apron and top their dessert.
• Have nice pens for guests to sign the check with.  It's all in the details.

One of the interesting things I learned when I started serving was to not introduce myself by name. Apparently, research shows guests don't care and will tip you better if they don't know your name because saying your name invokes a false sense of familiarity.  

"You're Cut"

These are the nicest two words management could ever say to you after a long night. Cuts to the floor chart meant I no longer had to greet new tables and could start my side-work. If I was lucky, I wouldn't have any parties staying hours past close!

Clean-up and Side-work

Completing side-work at the end of a shift is the ticket to leave and to collect the cash!

• Clean and sweep my section of tables. 
• Polish silverware, soy dishes and soy sauce bottles.
• Produce 100 crisply folded linens. 
• Help take out the trash and ask the kitchen staff for mochi and fried rice. 

Flesch Reading Ease: 66.7%

Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level: 8

Passive Sentences: 0%