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Restaurant Training Manuals

The restaurant training manuals are detailed and comprehensive in scope, while maintaining a
universal quality.  The rules can be applied to almost any restaurant training program; you can
also supplement with your own specific rules.

When ordered as e-books, you will receive them in .doc format so you may modify them to fit
your specific restaurant's needs.  You may also make as many copies as you need for your staff.

Following is the table of contents for each individual manual:

Bus Manual
- Introduction
- Equal Opportunity Employment
- Sexual Harassment
- Non-Discrimination
- Workers' Compensation
- Pay Periods
- Drinking
- Drugs
- Employee Theft
- Security
- Lost Employee Articles
- Customers' Lost Belongings
- Breakage
- Accidents and Safety
- Bulletin Board
- Personnel Records
- Your Earnings
- Parking
- Promotions
- Liquor Laws
- Pre-Shift Issues:  Schedules, Shift Changes and Calling In
- Appearance & Professionalism
- Cleanliness (detailed FOH cleanliness knowledge)
- Job Duties and Expectations (includes proper language vs. slang)
- Tips and Reporting to the IRS (from the NRA site-official information)
- Company Agreement Forms

Host Manual
- Introduction
- Equal Opportunity Employment
- Sexual Harassment
- Non-Discrimination
- Workers' Compensation
- Pay Periods
- Drinking
- Drugs
- Employee Theft
- Security
- Lost Employee Articles
- Customers' Lost Belongings
- Breakage
- Accidents and Safety
- Bulletin Board
- Personnel Records
- Your Earnings
- Parking
- Promotions
- Liquor Laws
- Pre-Shift Issues:  Schedules, Shift Changes and Calling In
- Appearance & Professionalism
- Cleanliness (detailed FOH cleanliness knowledge)
- Job Duties and Expectations (includes telephone etiquette/language)
- Calming the Crabby Customer
- Tips and Reporting to the IRS (from the NRA site-official information)
- Company Agreement Forms

Server Manual
- Introduction
- Equal Opportunity Employment
- Sexual Harassment
- Non-Discrimination
- Workers' Compensation
- Pay Periods
- Drinking
- Drugs
- Employee Theft
- Security
- Lost Employee Articles
- Customers' Lost Belongings
- Breakage
- Accidents and Safety
- Bulletin Board
- Personnel Records
- Your Earnings
- Parking
- Promotions
- Liquor Laws
- Pre-Shift Issues:  Schedules, Shift Changes and Calling In
- Appearance & Professionalism
- Cleanliness (detailed FOH cleanliness knowledge)
- Job Duties and Expectations (includes proper language vs. slang)
- Calming the Crabby Customer
- Server's Script
- Tips and Reporting to the IRS (from the NRA site-official information)
- Company Agreement Forms

Below you will find excerpts from each manual:

Excerpt from the Bus Manual

Basic Responsibilities
You are expected to be able to fulfill many different tasks for several people, including your
servers, hosts, managers and guests.  The following checklist includes many of the required
tasks and could include more or less:

- greeting guests when you approach a table

- serving bread and water

- pre-bussing

- clearing tables

- re-setting tables

- maintaining tables and floor appearance                                               

- cleaning and re-stocking service stations

- overall floor maintenance

- re-filling beverages and bread baskets

- cleaning spills

- taking out garbage

- wiping down high chairs and boosters with clean bar towel

Table Setting Guide


Before service, make sure that each table in the restaurant is set correctly.

1.       Check that all tables are stable and do not wobble.
2.       Wipe the chairs and be sure they are clean and set at an appropriate length
from the tables.

3.       Check that the tables are clean on the top and edges.  If plants or ledges are
nearby, they should also be free of dust and dirt.

4.       Examine the salt and pepper shakers, sugar bowl and any table
tents/promotions.  The shakers and bowl should be full and clean; sugar and
sugar substitute should be stocked.  Position these items at the centers of
tables according to your restaurant’s procedures.

5.       Inspect the table settings.  Be sure everything is clean and aligned properly.

6.       Be sure the floor is clean around and under the tables.  Pick up trash. 

Whenever you have extra time, perform extra duties to make sure our guests are taken
care of.  Side work duties are assigned and are expected to be carried out at the end of a
shift to the expectations set forth.

Suggestions for extra duties

·        offer pepper for salads and soups

·        clear and crumb tables between courses and replace soiled silverware

·        serve beverages

·        remove trays and tray jacks left in a walkway/path

·        change out ash trays, light cigarettes, bring toothpicks, assist with coats

Clearing and re-setting tables


When clearing a table, have a tray with you for entire removal of all items.  Take care not to
put your fingers inside of glasses, used or clean.  When wiping the table down, brush excess
and large crumbs into your hand or onto a plate or napkin so they aren’t just thrown onto
the floor for clean-up at the end of the shift.  Move salt and pepper shakers and sugar
container and any other items off to the side while you clean the entire table.  Brush off
chairs and booths so guests do not have to brush crumbs off their seats before sitting
down. 

If using a large tray, come prepared with as much as possible for the clean set-up of the
table.  The set up of all tables should be the same.  If you have room on your tray after you
are finished with the set-up, take a quick look around and make sure there aren’t any other
dishes from any other tables that you can pick up.  Cover your tray of dirty dishes with a
napkin before taking back to service area. 

There will be times when it is necessary to replace silverware or dishes between courses. 
Servers should communicate with you as to what they need you to do for them. 

There are a few basics to handling dishes, glassware and silverware, whether clean or dirty. 
   - When handling glassware of any type, always handle them by the stem or base
section of the glass or cup.  Guests don’t know how clean your hands may or may
not be.  It doesn’t matter if the glasses are clean or dirty; do not get into the habit of
grabbing glassware by the rims or sticking your fingers into several glasses at once
to more quickly bus a table.  It is a completely unsanitary practice and horrifying to
guests who witness you doing so!

   - Plates of food should be served with your fingers splayed under the plate to balance,
while your thumb is at the very outermost rim of the plate to avoid touching people’s
food.  A service napkin may also be used to deliver a plate of food. 

   - Silverware should only be handled by the handle, never the end that is put into the
mouth. 

   -The clearing of dishes and glasses should be done from the right of the guest, using
your right hand to avoid awkwardness.  As when you serve food, you should clear
dishes for everyone at the same time.  When it’s clear that everyone is finished,
begin by asking the host or someone else’s permission to take things away. 

Examples:

·        “May I take these away for you?”

·        “May I take your plate?”

 Avoid slang terms and phrases, such as:

·        “All finished?”

·        “Still workin’ on that?” 

Asking permission is polite.  Saying other things can be offensive, especially if


someone isn’t finished eating and you attempt to take away his/her plate.  Never
make a guest feel uncomfortable.  The safest way to do that is to always ask
permission to remove dishes and be reasonably sure a guest is finished eating. 

Take plates and other items from the right of the guests.  Anything that will no
longer be needed should be cleared, including entrée plates, bread plates, silverware
and glassware.  The only things that should be left are those items still being used,
such as coffee cups, spoons for coffee, wine and water glasses.  If wine glasses are
empty and there is no more wine to be drunk, remove them. 

Understand the proper etiquette that the servers follow and do the same.  We want our
guests to feel as if the entire staff is there for the sake of their hospitality and comfort, and
you are!

Excerpt from the Host Manual                   


Basic Responsibilities
You are expected to be able to fulfill three different hosting tasks:  seating, podium and
phones.  Greeting is a given that must be done by all employees all the time, not just our
hosts! 

Answering the Phones involves:

·        taking reservations

·        providing detailed information about the restaurant’s operations and policies

·        routing phone calls to the proper source when the information is not available to you

·        confirming reservations

·        handling sales calls                                                                           

Seating guests means you are responsible for:

·        expediting the seating of our guests

·        clearing and resetting tables when necessary

·        explaining certain promotions at the time a party is seated

·        checking and straightening up the restrooms and lobby area

As the Podium host person, you will also have to answer phones, as well as:

·        greet guests as they arrive

·        assign tables or assist the manager with this by following proper procedures

·        assist the other two aspects of hosting as needed

·        ensure the guests are pleased with their visit by inquiring as they depart

·        saying good-bye and thanking guests for their business

These three positions are intertwined, which is why you may find yourself filling all three in
a single shift.  Also be aware that the management can and will ask you to fulfill tasks not
necessarily associated with the position of the shift for which you were scheduled.  These
tasks may include cleaning areas or items in the restaurant, assisting with paperwork or
changing displays for promotional items as well as assisting in other areas of the restaurant.

Excerpt from the Server Manual


SERVER’S SCRIPT
A large part of excellent customer service is “suggestive selling.”  Suggestive selling is suggesting beverages or
food items along the course of the guests’ dining experience.  Your job is to guide their dining experience and make
it as enjoyable as possible.  Suggesting and describing items along the way gives your guests an idea of what to
order, which can save you time and extra effort. 

“Planting a seed” is the suggestion of an item and “assuming the sale” is the assumption that your suggestion will be
taken.  In the following script, note the language the server uses to plant the seed and then to assume the sale.  It
doesn’t work all the time.  Whether or not your guests take every suggestion you offer is irrelevant.  You are
displaying your knowledge of the menu and offering the best possible experience for our guests. 

The very generic script that follows can be modeled into any style of service.  It’s an ideal script and by no means
does it imply exactly what will happen at every table just because you are suggestive selling.  Also, this script
suggests a more formal atmosphere; you can change the language to fit your style and your restaurant’s style.  Just
keep the basics in place! 

Greeting and Offering of Beverages 

You:           Good evening, my name is _____ and I’ll be your server this evening.  May I bring you a cocktail,
glass of wine, perhaps a gin and tonic?

He:             Yes, she’ll have a glass of red wine and I’ll have a vodka tonic.

You:           Do you like a lighter red or something a little fuller-bodied?

She:            Something fuller-bodied.

You:           I have a very nice Zinfandel – XYZ is one of my favorites.  Another good wine is the ABC
Cabernet Sauvignon – very tasty!  (Points them out on the wine list)

She:            The Zinfandel sounds great!

You:           Very good…Sir, for vodkas, I have Absolut, Chopin…?

He:             Do you have campary? 

The Guest -

One of the best and most sought after Customer Service programs available.

No matter how large or small a business is, its success depends on the level of service it delivers
to its customers. The choice is ours, do we treat them as an interruption in our day, or as a
welcomed guest?

THE GUEST uses humor to change the way we see our customers and to remind us that
everything we need to learn about great customer service, we already know.

Treating customers as guests is as simple as:

 Welcoming Them
 Using their Name
 Taking Care of their Needs
 Thanking Them
 Inviting Them Back

Treat your customer like a guest in your home.

The fortunes of any business rise or fall based upon the level of customer service it delivers to its
customers. No matter how large or complex a company may be, great customer service usually
comes down to one employee, serving one customer, one day at a time.

Great customer service is no secret. That's the message behind the remake of this hilarious hit.
We all know how to take care of a guest in our home; we welcome them, we take care of their
needs, we thank them for behind the remake of this hilarious hit. We all know how to take care
of a guest in our home; we welcome them, we take care of their needs, we thank them for
coming and we invite them back. A guest at work is no coming and we invite them back. A guest
at work is no different. It's that simple.

Great customer service lies within each of us. With each new customer we have a choice: we can
treat them as an interruption in our day, or we can greet them as a welcomed guest. Let this video
forever change the way we see our customers ... our Guests!

Restaurant Hourly Inspection


Click to view 60 sample manual pages at five-startraining.com, a restaurant
training company.

To ensure we are keeping high standards, hourly inspections are to be performed


by all managers. The first inspection begins in the morning with the opening
checklist and the last inspection is conducted at the close of business. The Hourly
Inspection is conducted throughout the day. Here is a list of the areas that are to be
inspected:

KITCHEN AREA

Kitchen Staff Cleanliness and Image


Kitchen staff should be inspected to ensure:

 Proper dress code standards are followed according the employee


handbook
 Proper sanitation standards are followed according to heath codes
 Nametags are in place
 Staff is friendly and smiling

Kitchen Equipment, Tools, and Supplies:


Equipment should be inspected to ensure:

 Set at the correct degrees/time interval


 Timers are being used (if applicable)
 Clean and well-maintained - grease build up to create a fire hazard
 In working condition along with each component and accessory in place
 Safe (Safety instructions posted nearby)

Bleach Buckets
The Bleach Buckets should be inspected to ensure:

 Water is clean
 Towel is clean
 Bucket is used properly �V towel is in bucket
 Buckets are in the proper locations
 Test strip is indicating the proper measurements

Kitchen Walls
The Kitchen Walls should be inspected to ensure:

 Dry
 Clean
 Without cracks or tears

Kitchen Floors
The Floors should be inspected to ensure:

 Dry
 Clean
 Even and safe without cracks
 Obstacle-free

Kitchen Counters
The counters should be inspected to ensure:

 Dry
 Clean
 Even and safe without cracks
 Without clutter

Employee Hand Sinks


The Employee Hand Sinks should be inspected to ensure:

 Hourly checklist is up-to-date and all items meet standards

Temperature Charts
The Temperature Chart should be inspected to ensure:

 Located in the correct areas


 Neatly and legibly completed
 Are current and recorded on an hourly basic

If any temperature is in the Danger Zone, call refrigerator repair person


immediately

Welcome to Xyz
Click to view 60 sample manual pages at five-startraining.com, a
restaurant training company.

You have been chosen to join our team of stars because of your
positive attitude and willingness to learn -- two qualities that we value
most in our team members. Not only are we selective when choosing
our team members, but we also take the same care in making correct decisions about every
aspect of our operation, particularly the food we serve.

Xyz has conducted extensive research to provide our guests with the finest selection of food
available. We serve only fresh, Grade A products that meet only the most exacting standards of
quality. But quality food and beverages are only one aspect of Xyz's fare. We also pride
ourselves in offering an exceptionally clean and attractive environment, along with courteous,
efficient service.

In the following pages you will learn about our company goals and philosophy, our expectation
of you as a new team member, and your role as part of our team. By reading this information
carefully, you will develop a clear understanding of your responsibilities within our organization.
We look forward to developing a relationship that is mutually beneficial--one that achieves a
balance between our growth and your professional development.

We welcome you to our team and are confident that your friendly personality, commitment to
excellence, cooperative attitude, and winning smile will help us achieve our goals.

Welcome To Our Team!

Your Manual: Your Road Map to


Success
Click to view 60 sample manual pages at five-startraining.com, a restaurant
training company.

This manual has been designed to prepare you, as a new team member, to hop on
the fast track to success in your new role. In addition to introducing you to our
company, this manual will:

 Show you how to fit in as quickly as


possible and help you feel comfortable
working here.
 Increase your awareness of our goals and
standards for guests and team members.
 Define Xyz policies from the start so you
know what to expect from us and what we
can expect  from you.
 Assist you in answering our guests' questions professionally and
accurately.
 Serve as a quick reference of company standards and job guidelines.
 Teach you how to perform your job smoothly and help you become a
successful, knowledgeable team member.
 Demonstrate how you can help create an atmosphere that encourages open
communication among your managers, co-workers and guests.

This manual is not the only training you will receive in our company. Xyz
believes in your growth and development, therefore, we offer continuous
training and development to help you succeed in your new role. Your
manager will inform you of upcoming training seminars/workshops,
meetings, surveys, and focus groups that relate to your job position. Take
time to review the contents of this manual carefully. If you have any
questions, your direct Supervisor will be glad to answer them for you.

Be a Winner: Be Part of Our Team


Click to view 60 sample manual pages at five-startraining.com, a restaurant
training company.

Teamwork is the key to our growth and success at Xyz. When each area of Xyz
works together to support one another, our goals are achieved quickly and easily.
Without the cooperation of a team, the work environment becomes disorganized
and chaotic; leading to poor morale, low sales volume, and dissatisfied guests. It's
a proven fact: the most successful companies thrive because their people aren't
afraid to pitch in and be a part of the team.

At Xyz, we view teamwork the same way a coach or


choreographer views a football or dance team -- as a
single well-trained machine working toward one specific
goal. In any team effort, each team member contributes
his or her best efforts to reach a goal. It works the same
way in our business. Front-of-the-house team members
work together to seat and service our guests promptly and accurately. Behind the
scenes, the timeliness and efficiency of the food prep staff permits the line cooks
to process orders quickly for the service staff. And just like any team activity, the
individual effort and performance of each team member reflects on the success of
the entire team.

Our primary mission at Xyz is to maintain quality standards and delight out guests.
Like the rest of your teammates, you build respect and cooperation by helping
others. It is your responsibility to offer your co-workers a hand when they need it.
An attitude of "it's not-my-job" is guaranteed to break the team's spirit and lower
morale. Having a true concern for each and every guest and team member will
ensure everyone wins.

Restaurant Hourly Inspection


Your Road Map to Success
Ordering Products
Management Training Schedule
Local Restaurant Marketing

Restaurant Policies and Procedures Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly
from this manuals. The complete manual has a total of 45 pages)
Welcome to Xyz Company
Your Manual: Your Road Map to Success
Be a Winner: Be Part of our Team
Attendance & Punctuality
Disciplinary Action

Waiter Manual & Waitress Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly from this
manual. The complete manual has a total of 42 pages)
Summary of Tasks Performed
Organization and Consolidation
Opening Procedures
Operating Procedures: Proper Table Service Techniques
Service Times

Bartender Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly from this manual. The
complete manual has a total of 37 pages)
Summary of Tasks Performed
Money Responsibility
Ongoing Duties
Closing Procedures

Cocktail Server Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly from this manual. The
complete manual has a total of 34 pages)
Welcome to Xyz Company
Organization and Consolidation
Opening Procedures
Statement of Compliance

Host/Hostess Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly from this manual. The
complete manual has a total of 31 pages)
Seater Function
Types of Guests
Closing Procedures
Statement of Compliance

Cashier Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly from this manual. The
complete manual has a total of 41 pages)
Welcome to Xyz
Summary of Tasks Performed by the Cashier Job Position
Closing Procedures
Statement of Compliance Form

Busser Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly from this manual. The
complete manual has a total of 30 pages)
Proper Hand Washing Procedures
Summary of Tasks Performed
Handling Tableware
Statement of Compliance

Cook Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly from this manual. The complete
manual has a total of 35 pages)
Summary of Tasks Performed by the Cook Job Position
Practicing Cost Cutting Measures
Tracking Food Quality
Communicating Effectively with Coworkers and Managers

Prep Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly from this manual. The complete
manual has a total of 30 pages)
Welcome to Xyz Restaurant
Stocking and Rotating the Food
Performing Ongoing Duties
Appendix B: Restaurant Terms Glossary

Expediter Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly from this manual. The
complete manual has a total of 35 pages)
Summary of Tasks Performed by the Expediter Job Position
Practicing Cost Cutting Measures
Coordinating, Garnishing,and Plating Food
Closing Procedures

Dish Machine Operator Manual (Here are some sample pages taken directly from this
manual. The complete manual has a total of 31 pages)
Welcome to Xyz Restaurant
Opening Procedures
Operating Procedures
Statement of Compliance Form
Restaurant Forms (Here are some sample pages taken directly from these forms. There are
total of 90 forms)
Transfer Request Form
Meeting Checklist
Alley Rally/Pre-shift Meeting Topics
Kitchen Waste
Re-cook Food Master Log
New Hire Skill Level
Sign-in/Name Registration
Training Evaluation
Fundraiser Opportunities

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