The Rules of Serving: Rule Five

Rule Five: Always recommend what is in the guest’s best interest, not yours.

(Note: There are many hyperlinks today that will send you to posts were I have previously addressed specifically issues that I address in this post.)

This is the second time in two days I have sat down to write this post.  Yesterday, I got caught up in a tangent which I think serves as an important preface to this post.  It even inspired a comment immediately that proved its accuracy.  In the preface, I discuss how restaurant companies have encouraged servers to focus on upselling and thus significantly damaged the relationship between servers and their guests.

Read the full post at Tips For Improving Your Tips

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What Motivates Servers: Purpose

(Note: This is the final part of a six part series dealing with what does and does not motivate servers.  It is based upon research presented in the first part.  If you have not read the initial post entitled “The Epiphany”, I highly recommend you do so to fully understand the series.  Later parts dealt with how money fails and succeeds to motivate servers.  The most recent posts dealt with autonomy and mastery as motivators.  This post is best put into perspective after reading those posts.)

“The sense of paralysis proceeds not so much out of the mammoth size of the problem but out of the puniness of the purpose.”

-Norman Cousins

I have been writing this series for six days straight now.  With each part I write I become more convinced of the validity of the original research the series was built upon.  Every day I see specific examples of how autonomy or mastery inspires people.  Each one of those days I have also had misgivings about writing this post.  The concept of purpose is so immense and so powerful that summing it up in a thousand words of less seems a bit overwhelming.  I have outlined and re-outlined this post numerous times.  To conclude this series I will show how managers can create a sense of purpose for their staffs.

Read the full post at The Manager’s Office

 

What Motivates Servers: Autonomy

(Note: This is part four of a series based on research presented in part one.  Part one serves as the basis for the whole series and gives a great deal of background for this post.  If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend doing so to get the most out of this post and series.  In part two I addressed how financial incentives do not motivate servers.  In part three I looked at how lack of income can destroy your staff’s motivation.  The next few posts will look at what does motivate servers.)

I am sitting at my computer writing this on July 4^th, 2010.  It is Independence Day.  Outside my window I have been hearing fireworks for hours.  They are completely illegal, but what better way of demonstrating independence than by flagrantly and loudly breaking the law.  The news tells us it is dangerous.  The police write tickets.  Cities and tourist attractions sponsor larger and safer displays.  They still go off outside my window.  Even when the law is in our best interest, we love to violate it.  We love exercising our independence despite the consequences.

Yet when people become managers and owners they seem to forget this.  Independence or autonomy is a core principle we are raised on and strive for.  When people try to take away our independence, we fight.  It is no mystery that people will rebel against rules in the workplace.  What is seldom considered is the power of autonomy to motivate.

Read the full post at The Manager’s Office

The Epiphany

“Epiphany: noun- a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.”

I suppose there is nothing more simple or commonplace than scrolling through Facebook.  I was scrolling through Facebook today trying to decide what to write about for today’s post when I ran across a video my friend Drew posted.  The description said it was something people who manage employees should watch.  I have been reading and writing quite a bit about that topic lately so I decided to give it a spin.  In one video I found the most concise explanation of a phenomenon I have been trying to put my finger on for a while.

Read the full post at The Manager’s Office