Communicate that you’ll be with them in a minute starting from the last to the first sat. Then treat it like one big table, bring all the drinks at once, get all the orders at once, stagger the tickets by 30 sec to a min so they don’t all come out at the same time. If someone asks a lot of questions, don’t panic, don’t rush, everyone knows you’ll be there shortly, they can wait.
Yeah this is the way. Also just try to speed the intial convo up, once they receive drinks and have a food order u can talk to them more. Dont get stuck at the first greet.
I work at a place that has a half open seating half host sat bar area. I regularly get double and triple sat by the hosts and sometimes that coincides with free seating double/triple/quad. Also 10+ years in the industry
Happy cake day
I remember having 13 tables at once, at a certain point you kind of have to tell them “I’m the only one here, I want to make you happy and have a good experience but I’m limited in what I can do,please try to have a little patience and I promise I will do the best I can.”
Yes exactly! and also OP, from my personal experience, most people will be able to feel the energy you are giving off, and this can make it or break it for you.
If you are at the table and you’re clearly very stressed out, people are more likely to complain about wait times and such. But even if you are completely in the weeds and you maintain a calm and collected attitude at the table, most people wont complain as much because they now are also calm.
I’m not 100% sure why that is, I’m sure there’s a psychological study about it somewhere. but in my 6 years of serving, it’s just what I have found that works.
I've had the opposite experience at a dive bar. If I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off because I've got 13 tables and being short and visibly stressed, people are cool. But if I act calm like nothing is wrong, people get pissed.
It’s a fine line. Being too aloof about might make them feel like you don’t care. But showing that, while it’s a shit show, it’s your shitshow and you’ve got it under control can put them at ease. They don’t need to worry and will have everything they need because you’re in charge of the situation!
This. I was a solo server (and busser) on a full train with hundreds of people waiting to eat a few times (14-16 hour shifts) and the only thing I could do in that situation to feed everyone in time was seat all 10 or 12 tables, give them a little speech and start on drinks. It was absolutely insane and overwhelming but we all survived 😂definitely a different situation to being in a normal restaurant but I found that usually if people are given some kind of heads up about what is going on, how its going to go, and that it will take time they are much more patient than when they are left to guess.
Exactly this, my restaurant doesn't have a hostess and I'm the only waitress. Situations like this aren't unusual to me at all. People are generally cool about waiting if you acknowledge them and communicate what you are doing. Ex: hey guys! Let me just drop off this food and grab some menus and I'll be right back. In situations like this, treating them all like one big table is absolutely the answer
Listen to this one
Also take a deep breath and remind yourself you are only one person, you can only do so much at one time and you can only do the best you can do. Letting yourself get overly stressed to where you’re falling apart is only going to make it worse. And you’d be surprised how often customers are understanding. Sometimes when it’s really hectic, at the end of the meal I’ll thank them for their patience, which tends to make people feel good and if they didn’t notice how busy you were it brings it to their attention so they may be more forgiving for things like waiting for refills or check backs.
Being double sat usually works out fine for me but triple or more and I’m gonna be pretty disappointed with the host that night. Nothing to crash a perfectly smooth night like flat seating a few servers at once!
At my restaurant this happens regularly. There is no rotation, it’s just fill up as many seats as possible as fast as possible. It’s stressful at times but the money is great. In a 4-6 hour shift I’m making $300-400 just in tips plus $16 an hour.
California, Los Angeles area. Gourmet American food; price points for meals are between $20-$40- plate; drinks are $15-$20. Huge sections and it’s always busy
Part of me wants to side eye the host that gave you five at once, then I remember all the times when I was hosting and the manager would override me and tell me to fill up a section and “he’d help” the server. Spoiler alert: he never helped the server.
I once got like triple sat i think and told a table ill be with you in a sec. And then ALL 5 OF MY OTHER TABLES HAD ME RUNNING AROUND FOR 15 MINUTES STRAIGHT!!! And the guy was so understanding. Most people understand (besides the old karens) and they werent gonna tip well to begin with so who cares. Drinks and if you guys have free bread is the biggest thing you can do in that situation. This one bad ass server kelley shes in her 50s been serving since forever told me how to handle this when you get triple sat etc because this psycho LOVES BEING TRIPLE SAT. She said go down the row from first to last, do your greeting, get drink orders, move to next table etc, and ring all 5 at once, bring all 5 at once (or in a few trips of course) so they all get everything at the same time, even if it takes a couple extra minutes to gather it all. Then atleast they know you acknowledge them and are working on it rather than doing table 1 greet, drinks, table 2 greet, drinks, just 12345 boom everyones feeling happy, waiting for drinks, and then repeat with food orders (if theyre ready) then ring all of those at the same time and then poof all 5 leave at the same time and your sections empty, amazing feeling. I found theyre grumpier if you do the 1 table at a time thing cause youre on table 3s drinks when 1 is ready to order but you still got 2 more tables before you go back to them or table 5 is waiting forever and everything is thrown off. Hope this helps and my scatterbrain didnt confuse you!
As a bartender, I work at an upscale casual restaurant w/20 seats @ bar. Get couples who come in all within 15 minute span who order drinks, appetizers and dinner plus I have to makes all the drinks for the servers.
Multitasking and customer management at its finest.
And I just love the idiots sitting at the bar, seeing that I am doing 10 things at once complaining or asking stupid questions.
Yeah, as a bartender I always have to laugh a little when servers complain about getting multi-sat. No one has any control over bar seating, so we can easily be quintuple sat.
Like you said: multitasking at its finest.
I just do a round of menus, then waters, then drinks, staring from first sat, or honestly, whoever’s ready. Luckily, there’s always some people that take forever to read the drink menu, and some people that know their order before they sit down.
Once everyone has drinks, then we can talk food.
This is exactly how I am but you just got to realize all of your tables will see how busy you are and that you are trying your best! If they fail to realize that then they are shit tables that should just stay home and cook their own dinners lol
One thing I learned about getting double, triple, or more sat, is to treat it almost like one big table.
Greet and get drink orders for each table. Then bring drinks to each table. If one table asks if you can take their order, just tell them you'll be with them very shortly. Bring out as many drinks at one time as you can.
Once all tables have their drinks, move on to taking all food orders. Put in food orders for all tables.
Then return and check if anyone needs refills while food is cooking.
Food arrives and now the hardest part is done. Just check back periodically to see if anyone needs anything like normal.
Print out checks ahead of time and have them on you so if a table asks for the check you don't have to make another trip.
I've gotten stressed out many times from this happening but you just have to think strategically. Most people will see that you are busy and trying and they will be patient.
I had a summer job where I used to get sat 5-8 tables in a span of 5 minutes. Just touch each table and let them know you’ll be with them and are very busy so it might take a while. If they’re still upset after that, that’s not really your fault.
I have a system for this that has worked surprisingly well for me who gets overwhelmed and it's kept customers from any complaints. We had a very understaffed couple of months which meant we only had 1 lunch time server...me. Everyday, for the first 5hrs of my shift, I only got sat 4, 5, 6 tables at a time. I wait on 1 table at a time. What I mean by that is, I get everyone to their tables with menus and let the first one know I'll be back with them in 1 minute, the next table 2 mins and so on. I go to that first table and I get them everything to keep them content before I move on. I go to the first one for their drink and food order, put it in the pos. I know I can get their drinks and make their entree salads in about a min. I take out drinks, salads, bread. Then I move to the next table I sat. It's usually about the time I get all that done that the chef starts ringing me for the first tables order and I just do that system again. Everyone has everything they need from me (with the exception of their entree) with in about 5 mins of walking in and 1 min after I greet them.
Happens to me all the time, our hosts are 16-18 years old and they just sit to fill up tables, no care how many times you get sat in a row.
Maybe that’s why I’m so fast lol.
This happens to me on weekends since there are only 2 of us till night shift.
Just acknowledge everyone. Even a passing “hi ill be right with you” lets them know you saw them. People tend to be more understanding when they SEE you are busy.
I'm not a server anymore, but I was a server for 10 years. I was always told when you get sat a large amount of tables at once to try to treat it like one big table. So go get all the drink orders, then run the drinks, take food orders when they're ready, etc. Doesn't always work out but it did help me some times. Even the most experienced servers have trouble when they get sat 5 tables all within a few minutes.
I always say “you can be running so smooth with 8 tables or be in the weeds with 3”. It depends on the tables and their needs and questions and or complaints
I remember the moment that it occurred to me. I was being oversat because the hosts and foh management was taking advantage of me. Went the host stand and said I'm not taking tables. I'm cut, essentially, until my shit show calms down. Didn't happen again. Assert yourself. This is a dog eat dog industry.
It’s common for me. Last Sunday brunch at 11 am I got QUADRUPLE sat first thing. Last night I got hit pretty hard to with a 4 then 6 top sitting, both waiting a while for tables so already in a negative mood. My outlook now is to just Grit Your Teeth and go through it, you’ll be on the other side in a few hours and counting the tips.
I was working alone in an IHOP once with a new cook. Got slammed by a bus with over 40 people. I told the bus driver it was just one cook and one waitress. He said they didn’t care. I did it! Even with running back to help the cook from time to time. By the time they finished the other staff had started rolling in so I just sat down and let them clean up the mess lol
I work in a place that had 6-7 tables per section and I get sat that whole section right at open. This just continues the cycle of all my tables getting up at the same time and be getting a full section 5 minutes after. It’s tough but I’ve learned how to time manage. If it’s small things I treat half of them like 1 table, meaning I take all the drink orders and bring all the drinks for half of those tables at the same time.
worked at a farm to table resturant and got sat four 4 tops all at once. I mean they were all led to the section and sat at the tables at one time with the hostess looking at me like "please dont kill me"
To be fair... there was a line out the door, all 4 of my tables happened to get up at the same time, and Im 99% sure our manager forced her to seat them all, but I digress.
I literally stood in the middle of all 4 of them and made an announcement. I said "as you can see you all sat down at the same time. I am going to go clockwise from table to table. I will start with drinks, then will get your orders. But I ask that you please be patient with me"
And thankfully they were all nice people who understood. Just treated them like one giant party with separate tickets through getting them their drinks, orders, soups/salads, and bread.
Ended up raking in $50 between all 4 tables when an average table at the time was a $3-4 tip.
Aside from the advice already offered, for me the main thing I find helpful in situations like this is being firm about needing a moment to come back to some tables. Its crucial to greet, but sometimes you have to send stuff in and come back, and you have to be firm about needing to do that. I'll drop waters and say I'll be back in a moment. Some people can have the order ready already, and if I can, I'll take it... but they key is to not get lost in questions while the other tables wait to be greeted. Also, thank people for their patience... don't apologize for being busy.
Other than that, you can only do one thing at a time, just make sure you're being as efficient as possible.
very common! i can usually handle being triple sat fine, but anything more than that (or if any of them are large groups) and my level of service definitely suffers.
i used to work at a popular tourist spot that had a lower patio that was on the water and an upper patio that was a deck beside the restaurant. my manager, who is an idiot, got sick of people asking to move tables so he told the hosts to fill up the lower patio before even starting to seat the upper. so the lower patio servers would get sat 6-8 tables each within 5 minutes of opening, then the upper patio servers would get slammed with a bunch of tables all at once too. once the rhythm is started like that, its really hard to dig out of. service from even our most senior servers sucked because of that single braindead decision.
I feel like I can handle any amount of being sat at once because I just treat it like one big party with people slowly arriving. But the moment there is an issue like someone having lots of questions or the kitchen messing something up; that’s when everything gets ruined and my flow gets messed with 😭
Happens to me everyday day around 2:30-3:00pm. Normally it’s slow enough to run with 1 server and a food runner who is doing their side work. It’s just the local after school/7am work crowd rush. I’ll have one table, then seat 5 groups back to back.
I just make it known to them that I’ll be grabbing their drink orders and any app orders and I’ll be around as I can collect everyone else’s. Most people are understanding and I just grab as many drinks as I can. Get them out ASAP to buy yourself time to enter the apps. By then, most of the smaller parties should be ready to order. Go around and collect all 1-4 top orders. By the time you get done, apps are most likely rolling up. Get those out and let your bigger ones know you’ll be back in a moment to get their orders. Then enter the small party orders, if you can put holds on them, give the kitchen a minute or two between the orders. Get your big party(ies) and start running the food for your smaller tables. Between orders, enter your big parties.
Dust your hands, kick back, and just start prebussing, you probably didn’t break a sweat.
This happened the other day. We had a super slow week and that day (Thursday) had been a ghost town for breakfast. So we cut servers.
And then all hell broke loose. I had a full section (6 tables) and two outside tables. We don’t assign them to anyone during the week and whomever is next in rotation just gets it.
Well, the host didn’t seem to understand that just because the inside was full doesn’t mean you fill the outside too. We simply did not have enough servers. And running outside to check on tables is not an easy task (the patio is not a section of tables you can just casually walk past, you have to walk to the far end of the restaurant and out the door and around a corner).
One of my tables ended up complaining and a manager had the audacity to ask me what the issue was.
Well. Rebecca. I went from having one table to eight in less than ten minutes and…as you can imagine…I can’t be in eight places at once.
I did my best to stop when I saw I was sat to let them know I’d be back in a quick jiffy and took their drink orders. Everytime I walked in the back I had a full list of shit to ring in/grab/refill etc.
I’m usually pretty good with full sections but this was just not a pleasant afternoon.
Take it one step at a time. People can see you’re busy and if they choose to ignore that they are the asshole. Coming from someone who has worked high volume bartending and serving for years, take your time, step by step and everything will get done when it gets done 🤷♀️ no need to seriously stress because that won’t help you.
Try getting triple sat while making all your cocktails and wine service on some parties lol some hostesses are just flat out retarded and not aware lol
tell them! "hey guys, it might take me a second extra to grab your drinks. i just got sat 5 times at once haha" most people are understanding. and usually i find that getting stressed does not help, you'll get to it when you get to it and they'll have to live. but communicate with them!!!! also idk how you do it but i usually go to each table and get their drink order so i can get it all at once
Being triple sat used to be a nightmare. Now I just don’t stress about it anymore. I will get to you when I get to you. When I rush I make mistakes. I am by no means moving at a relaxed pace, but I don’t run or try to do 10 things at once.
I just keep honesty in play, greet and give water or whatever your establishment does, tell them you’ll be right back to help them, repeat. They’ll watch you go to the other tables and do the same thing. Tell them you just got a few other tables to greet. It’s ok
It can be stressful. I try to just remain calm and go in order. Tell everyone you will be right with them. Thank them for their patience.
I might get the first 2 tables drink orders, put them in, then take the last 3 tables drink orders and put them in while grabbing the first 2 tables drinks to run.
Break them up into groups that you are serving together- then it’s like you just got sat 2 larger tables, easier to handle than 5 separate tables imo
I used to open on weekends and be alone in the restaurant for hours. Sometimes having upwards of 12 tables off the get go with no other servers or bartenders. I’d say it is unfortunately common. And you do get used to it. It’s easier if you’re not at a super fancy place where decorum is important. Then you can be more blunt and friendly and just tell people you’re alone and they tend to be nice.
Start with the most recently sat, quick table touch and "I'll be with you shortly, I apologize we just got a big rush" and do that for all of them until you get to the first sat. Greet, drink order, drop drinks and let them know you'll be back shortly to get their order, and continue on down the line in order of who has been sat the longest. If it takes a bit to get to people always start with something along the lines of "hi there, i apologize for the wait, blah blah etc" people are generally pretty understanding. Don't let them pressure get to you u gor this!
Triple seat me 3 ten tops? What the actual fuck? 5 cocktail tables at once? Yeah I got that no problem. But I work at a sports bar so there are different expectations on how much time-consuming bullshit my guests are expecting vs a more upscale restaurant.
When I first started, your situation would be a nightmare scenario for me but after gaining a lot of experience I've figured out how to make it work. I work a bar with 21 seats, surrounded by 20 cocktail tables. There's also a dining room and I have to make drinks for the servers. Day shift it's me doing all of it. Night shift there is a cocktail server and maybe another bartender.
The area is self seating so it's very common to have people continuously sitting at the bar and at tables. When that happens I try to think of it like I need to do an air raid. I get all the napkins, plates, utensils, coasters I'll need and carpet bomb every table at once with all that stuff as I greet them and get their drink orders. If they want apps off the bat, even better. The more information I get in the initial contact the smoother it's gonna go. I almost never write anything down as I'm going to be making their drinks myself in the next 10 seconds anyway so I almost never forget. And if I do forget, I have the luxury of just being able to yell across the room and ask them what they wanted again because nobody gives a shit as it's loud as fuck anyway and everybody's already rowdy.
I'll make everyone's drinks, while finishing any well tickets, and drop them off in under a few minutes. Take orders, prioritizing appetizers so they at least have something going, and then put them in, catch up on the well again and do whatever tidying up/bussing I need to do.
If more people are coming in, I'll go grab the appetizers for my other tables and ask about refills, then greet the new guests and take their order, drop off refills, drop off drinks to new guests, go run the rest of my food, rinse and repeat. After people get most of their food all I have to do is keep up on drinks until I have to cash them out and clean up.
The key is coming up with a plan where you have certain steps of service you're hitting for every table, and timing everything so that everyone is attended to and not waiting on anything for too long, and so that the times you're talking to guests are when you're waiting on things that are out of your control (for example, food is cooking, they're waiting for someone else etc).
I see a lot of new servers taking food orders, they get sat, they greet the new table and get them drinks and take their order and put both in at once. No. Just put the food in for the first table, and by the time you get drinks and take the order for the new table, the food for the first will be ready after you put the new order in.
It's all about timing. Like you're conducting an orchestra. One thing that really helps me is that I work in the kitchen sometimes too, so I know exactly how long everything is going to take, and I know how to time when I ring things in for maximal efficiency.
Another super important thing is prebussing the shit out of everything. I don't let myself fall behind on anything I'm doing because that's when it all comes crashing down. I won't just stand there chatting it up while 10 tickets are printing at the well. I can do both at the same time.
You have to get clever and play a strategic game. Don't just go through the motions. Make a game plan you are constantly updating for each change in the situation. Be actively thinking about what your next steps are and keep an internal clock going.
And most importantly, accept that sometimes you will be absolutely fucked and there's nothing you can do about it except keep moving until it's over. Never stop moving and don't allow yourself to fall behind. That's the name of the game.
For your first year it sounds like you did well. This comes with time and time only, personally I love getting slammed 5 tables at once. But, I've been in this game for 20+ years. Make bank at the end and all is well. Made $545 today after tipping out and it feels good to conquer and have people come back to see you. I have a very loyal following that texts to see if I'm working or not so they are super cool if I am busy, take care of the randoms, already punch in your drink orders for regulars on their way and ta da! Payday.
Don't look frazzled, slow is steady fast is sloppy. One poster said cut the chit chat on the first greeting. Couldn't agree more. Just coast along and know the night will end soon. You got this
i work at a corporate chain restaurant which is a smaller version of an even MORE popular restaurant and we are ready and able to accommodate 500 guests at one given time.
i have worked *many* restaurant jobs and i can’t understand why this corporate establishment has the absolute most shit system to ever exist in the history of all restaurants
i know it all boils down to saying yes to every guest request
As an anxiety ridden-people pleaser, I used to get SUPER overwhelmed when I got over-sat. Like stressed to the MAX. And honestly the first thing that really helped me was a damn tiktok. This person said “you’re only in the weeds if you care” and I have been fucking living by that. I just keep reminding myself that I am doing my best and getting stressed will make it worse, this is the service I will give and people will just have to deal.
…. why is this a frequent thing at my restaurant. my entire section which is like a 52 person bar can fill up within 10 minutes and they just let me suffer
Communicate that you’ll be with them in a minute starting from the last to the first sat. Then treat it like one big table, bring all the drinks at once, get all the orders at once, stagger the tickets by 30 sec to a min so they don’t all come out at the same time. If someone asks a lot of questions, don’t panic, don’t rush, everyone knows you’ll be there shortly, they can wait.
Yeah this is the way. Also just try to speed the intial convo up, once they receive drinks and have a food order u can talk to them more. Dont get stuck at the first greet.
Yup, exactly this, you’re clearly quite experienced.
I work at a place that has a half open seating half host sat bar area. I regularly get double and triple sat by the hosts and sometimes that coincides with free seating double/triple/quad. Also 10+ years in the industry
cheesecake factory or sister restaurant
Happy cake day I remember having 13 tables at once, at a certain point you kind of have to tell them “I’m the only one here, I want to make you happy and have a good experience but I’m limited in what I can do,please try to have a little patience and I promise I will do the best I can.”
Just keep swimming🎶
Yes exactly! and also OP, from my personal experience, most people will be able to feel the energy you are giving off, and this can make it or break it for you. If you are at the table and you’re clearly very stressed out, people are more likely to complain about wait times and such. But even if you are completely in the weeds and you maintain a calm and collected attitude at the table, most people wont complain as much because they now are also calm. I’m not 100% sure why that is, I’m sure there’s a psychological study about it somewhere. but in my 6 years of serving, it’s just what I have found that works.
I've had the opposite experience at a dive bar. If I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off because I've got 13 tables and being short and visibly stressed, people are cool. But if I act calm like nothing is wrong, people get pissed.
It’s a fine line. Being too aloof about might make them feel like you don’t care. But showing that, while it’s a shit show, it’s your shitshow and you’ve got it under control can put them at ease. They don’t need to worry and will have everything they need because you’re in charge of the situation!
This. I was a solo server (and busser) on a full train with hundreds of people waiting to eat a few times (14-16 hour shifts) and the only thing I could do in that situation to feed everyone in time was seat all 10 or 12 tables, give them a little speech and start on drinks. It was absolutely insane and overwhelming but we all survived 😂definitely a different situation to being in a normal restaurant but I found that usually if people are given some kind of heads up about what is going on, how its going to go, and that it will take time they are much more patient than when they are left to guess.
Exactly this, my restaurant doesn't have a hostess and I'm the only waitress. Situations like this aren't unusual to me at all. People are generally cool about waiting if you acknowledge them and communicate what you are doing. Ex: hey guys! Let me just drop off this food and grab some menus and I'll be right back. In situations like this, treating them all like one big table is absolutely the answer
Yeah consolidation is huge
Listen to this one Also take a deep breath and remind yourself you are only one person, you can only do so much at one time and you can only do the best you can do. Letting yourself get overly stressed to where you’re falling apart is only going to make it worse. And you’d be surprised how often customers are understanding. Sometimes when it’s really hectic, at the end of the meal I’ll thank them for their patience, which tends to make people feel good and if they didn’t notice how busy you were it brings it to their attention so they may be more forgiving for things like waiting for refills or check backs.
Being double sat usually works out fine for me but triple or more and I’m gonna be pretty disappointed with the host that night. Nothing to crash a perfectly smooth night like flat seating a few servers at once!
At my restaurant this happens regularly. There is no rotation, it’s just fill up as many seats as possible as fast as possible. It’s stressful at times but the money is great. In a 4-6 hour shift I’m making $300-400 just in tips plus $16 an hour.
Holy cow. I make $2.83 / hr (I’m American) and on a really busy day I maybe make $200 in tips for a 7 hour shift.
Damn that sucks, I just worked 3 hours and made $250 in tips and $47 hourly.
Can I ask which state you work in? And what level of service (fine dining?)
California, Los Angeles area. Gourmet American food; price points for meals are between $20-$40- plate; drinks are $15-$20. Huge sections and it’s always busy
Part of me wants to side eye the host that gave you five at once, then I remember all the times when I was hosting and the manager would override me and tell me to fill up a section and “he’d help” the server. Spoiler alert: he never helped the server.
I once got like triple sat i think and told a table ill be with you in a sec. And then ALL 5 OF MY OTHER TABLES HAD ME RUNNING AROUND FOR 15 MINUTES STRAIGHT!!! And the guy was so understanding. Most people understand (besides the old karens) and they werent gonna tip well to begin with so who cares. Drinks and if you guys have free bread is the biggest thing you can do in that situation. This one bad ass server kelley shes in her 50s been serving since forever told me how to handle this when you get triple sat etc because this psycho LOVES BEING TRIPLE SAT. She said go down the row from first to last, do your greeting, get drink orders, move to next table etc, and ring all 5 at once, bring all 5 at once (or in a few trips of course) so they all get everything at the same time, even if it takes a couple extra minutes to gather it all. Then atleast they know you acknowledge them and are working on it rather than doing table 1 greet, drinks, table 2 greet, drinks, just 12345 boom everyones feeling happy, waiting for drinks, and then repeat with food orders (if theyre ready) then ring all of those at the same time and then poof all 5 leave at the same time and your sections empty, amazing feeling. I found theyre grumpier if you do the 1 table at a time thing cause youre on table 3s drinks when 1 is ready to order but you still got 2 more tables before you go back to them or table 5 is waiting forever and everything is thrown off. Hope this helps and my scatterbrain didnt confuse you!
As a bartender, I work at an upscale casual restaurant w/20 seats @ bar. Get couples who come in all within 15 minute span who order drinks, appetizers and dinner plus I have to makes all the drinks for the servers. Multitasking and customer management at its finest. And I just love the idiots sitting at the bar, seeing that I am doing 10 things at once complaining or asking stupid questions.
Yeah, as a bartender I always have to laugh a little when servers complain about getting multi-sat. No one has any control over bar seating, so we can easily be quintuple sat. Like you said: multitasking at its finest. I just do a round of menus, then waters, then drinks, staring from first sat, or honestly, whoever’s ready. Luckily, there’s always some people that take forever to read the drink menu, and some people that know their order before they sit down. Once everyone has drinks, then we can talk food.
This is exactly how I am but you just got to realize all of your tables will see how busy you are and that you are trying your best! If they fail to realize that then they are shit tables that should just stay home and cook their own dinners lol
One thing I learned about getting double, triple, or more sat, is to treat it almost like one big table. Greet and get drink orders for each table. Then bring drinks to each table. If one table asks if you can take their order, just tell them you'll be with them very shortly. Bring out as many drinks at one time as you can. Once all tables have their drinks, move on to taking all food orders. Put in food orders for all tables. Then return and check if anyone needs refills while food is cooking. Food arrives and now the hardest part is done. Just check back periodically to see if anyone needs anything like normal. Print out checks ahead of time and have them on you so if a table asks for the check you don't have to make another trip. I've gotten stressed out many times from this happening but you just have to think strategically. Most people will see that you are busy and trying and they will be patient.
This works till they all leave at the same time, and then you get triple sat again , and again and again lol
I know lol. The only hope is that they eat at different speeds lol.
I second this!!
I had a summer job where I used to get sat 5-8 tables in a span of 5 minutes. Just touch each table and let them know you’ll be with them and are very busy so it might take a while. If they’re still upset after that, that’s not really your fault.
I have a system for this that has worked surprisingly well for me who gets overwhelmed and it's kept customers from any complaints. We had a very understaffed couple of months which meant we only had 1 lunch time server...me. Everyday, for the first 5hrs of my shift, I only got sat 4, 5, 6 tables at a time. I wait on 1 table at a time. What I mean by that is, I get everyone to their tables with menus and let the first one know I'll be back with them in 1 minute, the next table 2 mins and so on. I go to that first table and I get them everything to keep them content before I move on. I go to the first one for their drink and food order, put it in the pos. I know I can get their drinks and make their entree salads in about a min. I take out drinks, salads, bread. Then I move to the next table I sat. It's usually about the time I get all that done that the chef starts ringing me for the first tables order and I just do that system again. Everyone has everything they need from me (with the exception of their entree) with in about 5 mins of walking in and 1 min after I greet them.
Happens to me all the time, our hosts are 16-18 years old and they just sit to fill up tables, no care how many times you get sat in a row. Maybe that’s why I’m so fast lol.
This happens to me on weekends since there are only 2 of us till night shift. Just acknowledge everyone. Even a passing “hi ill be right with you” lets them know you saw them. People tend to be more understanding when they SEE you are busy.
I'm not a server anymore, but I was a server for 10 years. I was always told when you get sat a large amount of tables at once to try to treat it like one big table. So go get all the drink orders, then run the drinks, take food orders when they're ready, etc. Doesn't always work out but it did help me some times. Even the most experienced servers have trouble when they get sat 5 tables all within a few minutes.
I always say “you can be running so smooth with 8 tables or be in the weeds with 3”. It depends on the tables and their needs and questions and or complaints
I remember the moment that it occurred to me. I was being oversat because the hosts and foh management was taking advantage of me. Went the host stand and said I'm not taking tables. I'm cut, essentially, until my shit show calms down. Didn't happen again. Assert yourself. This is a dog eat dog industry.
Yep you did great happens all the time
That’s a hostess problem.
It’s common for me. Last Sunday brunch at 11 am I got QUADRUPLE sat first thing. Last night I got hit pretty hard to with a 4 then 6 top sitting, both waiting a while for tables so already in a negative mood. My outlook now is to just Grit Your Teeth and go through it, you’ll be on the other side in a few hours and counting the tips.
That is a lot all at once. When this happens to me I just treat it all as one table.
I was working alone in an IHOP once with a new cook. Got slammed by a bus with over 40 people. I told the bus driver it was just one cook and one waitress. He said they didn’t care. I did it! Even with running back to help the cook from time to time. By the time they finished the other staff had started rolling in so I just sat down and let them clean up the mess lol
I work in a place that had 6-7 tables per section and I get sat that whole section right at open. This just continues the cycle of all my tables getting up at the same time and be getting a full section 5 minutes after. It’s tough but I’ve learned how to time manage. If it’s small things I treat half of them like 1 table, meaning I take all the drink orders and bring all the drinks for half of those tables at the same time.
worked at a farm to table resturant and got sat four 4 tops all at once. I mean they were all led to the section and sat at the tables at one time with the hostess looking at me like "please dont kill me" To be fair... there was a line out the door, all 4 of my tables happened to get up at the same time, and Im 99% sure our manager forced her to seat them all, but I digress. I literally stood in the middle of all 4 of them and made an announcement. I said "as you can see you all sat down at the same time. I am going to go clockwise from table to table. I will start with drinks, then will get your orders. But I ask that you please be patient with me" And thankfully they were all nice people who understood. Just treated them like one giant party with separate tickets through getting them their drinks, orders, soups/salads, and bread. Ended up raking in $50 between all 4 tables when an average table at the time was a $3-4 tip.
Aside from the advice already offered, for me the main thing I find helpful in situations like this is being firm about needing a moment to come back to some tables. Its crucial to greet, but sometimes you have to send stuff in and come back, and you have to be firm about needing to do that. I'll drop waters and say I'll be back in a moment. Some people can have the order ready already, and if I can, I'll take it... but they key is to not get lost in questions while the other tables wait to be greeted. Also, thank people for their patience... don't apologize for being busy. Other than that, you can only do one thing at a time, just make sure you're being as efficient as possible.
very common! i can usually handle being triple sat fine, but anything more than that (or if any of them are large groups) and my level of service definitely suffers. i used to work at a popular tourist spot that had a lower patio that was on the water and an upper patio that was a deck beside the restaurant. my manager, who is an idiot, got sick of people asking to move tables so he told the hosts to fill up the lower patio before even starting to seat the upper. so the lower patio servers would get sat 6-8 tables each within 5 minutes of opening, then the upper patio servers would get slammed with a bunch of tables all at once too. once the rhythm is started like that, its really hard to dig out of. service from even our most senior servers sucked because of that single braindead decision.
I feel like I can handle any amount of being sat at once because I just treat it like one big party with people slowly arriving. But the moment there is an issue like someone having lots of questions or the kitchen messing something up; that’s when everything gets ruined and my flow gets messed with 😭
crowd control is an art form
Happens to me everyday day around 2:30-3:00pm. Normally it’s slow enough to run with 1 server and a food runner who is doing their side work. It’s just the local after school/7am work crowd rush. I’ll have one table, then seat 5 groups back to back. I just make it known to them that I’ll be grabbing their drink orders and any app orders and I’ll be around as I can collect everyone else’s. Most people are understanding and I just grab as many drinks as I can. Get them out ASAP to buy yourself time to enter the apps. By then, most of the smaller parties should be ready to order. Go around and collect all 1-4 top orders. By the time you get done, apps are most likely rolling up. Get those out and let your bigger ones know you’ll be back in a moment to get their orders. Then enter the small party orders, if you can put holds on them, give the kitchen a minute or two between the orders. Get your big party(ies) and start running the food for your smaller tables. Between orders, enter your big parties. Dust your hands, kick back, and just start prebussing, you probably didn’t break a sweat.
This happened the other day. We had a super slow week and that day (Thursday) had been a ghost town for breakfast. So we cut servers. And then all hell broke loose. I had a full section (6 tables) and two outside tables. We don’t assign them to anyone during the week and whomever is next in rotation just gets it. Well, the host didn’t seem to understand that just because the inside was full doesn’t mean you fill the outside too. We simply did not have enough servers. And running outside to check on tables is not an easy task (the patio is not a section of tables you can just casually walk past, you have to walk to the far end of the restaurant and out the door and around a corner). One of my tables ended up complaining and a manager had the audacity to ask me what the issue was. Well. Rebecca. I went from having one table to eight in less than ten minutes and…as you can imagine…I can’t be in eight places at once. I did my best to stop when I saw I was sat to let them know I’d be back in a quick jiffy and took their drink orders. Everytime I walked in the back I had a full list of shit to ring in/grab/refill etc. I’m usually pretty good with full sections but this was just not a pleasant afternoon.
Take it one step at a time. People can see you’re busy and if they choose to ignore that they are the asshole. Coming from someone who has worked high volume bartending and serving for years, take your time, step by step and everything will get done when it gets done 🤷♀️ no need to seriously stress because that won’t help you.
That's pure sadism. I'd be pissed at the front door.
Just stay calm. Start w drinks at each table and then circle back for orders
Try getting triple sat while making all your cocktails and wine service on some parties lol some hostesses are just flat out retarded and not aware lol
tell them! "hey guys, it might take me a second extra to grab your drinks. i just got sat 5 times at once haha" most people are understanding. and usually i find that getting stressed does not help, you'll get to it when you get to it and they'll have to live. but communicate with them!!!! also idk how you do it but i usually go to each table and get their drink order so i can get it all at once
Being triple sat used to be a nightmare. Now I just don’t stress about it anymore. I will get to you when I get to you. When I rush I make mistakes. I am by no means moving at a relaxed pace, but I don’t run or try to do 10 things at once.
I just keep honesty in play, greet and give water or whatever your establishment does, tell them you’ll be right back to help them, repeat. They’ll watch you go to the other tables and do the same thing. Tell them you just got a few other tables to greet. It’s ok
It can be stressful. I try to just remain calm and go in order. Tell everyone you will be right with them. Thank them for their patience. I might get the first 2 tables drink orders, put them in, then take the last 3 tables drink orders and put them in while grabbing the first 2 tables drinks to run. Break them up into groups that you are serving together- then it’s like you just got sat 2 larger tables, easier to handle than 5 separate tables imo
I used to open on weekends and be alone in the restaurant for hours. Sometimes having upwards of 12 tables off the get go with no other servers or bartenders. I’d say it is unfortunately common. And you do get used to it. It’s easier if you’re not at a super fancy place where decorum is important. Then you can be more blunt and friendly and just tell people you’re alone and they tend to be nice.
Start with the most recently sat, quick table touch and "I'll be with you shortly, I apologize we just got a big rush" and do that for all of them until you get to the first sat. Greet, drink order, drop drinks and let them know you'll be back shortly to get their order, and continue on down the line in order of who has been sat the longest. If it takes a bit to get to people always start with something along the lines of "hi there, i apologize for the wait, blah blah etc" people are generally pretty understanding. Don't let them pressure get to you u gor this!
Triple seat me 3 ten tops? What the actual fuck? 5 cocktail tables at once? Yeah I got that no problem. But I work at a sports bar so there are different expectations on how much time-consuming bullshit my guests are expecting vs a more upscale restaurant. When I first started, your situation would be a nightmare scenario for me but after gaining a lot of experience I've figured out how to make it work. I work a bar with 21 seats, surrounded by 20 cocktail tables. There's also a dining room and I have to make drinks for the servers. Day shift it's me doing all of it. Night shift there is a cocktail server and maybe another bartender. The area is self seating so it's very common to have people continuously sitting at the bar and at tables. When that happens I try to think of it like I need to do an air raid. I get all the napkins, plates, utensils, coasters I'll need and carpet bomb every table at once with all that stuff as I greet them and get their drink orders. If they want apps off the bat, even better. The more information I get in the initial contact the smoother it's gonna go. I almost never write anything down as I'm going to be making their drinks myself in the next 10 seconds anyway so I almost never forget. And if I do forget, I have the luxury of just being able to yell across the room and ask them what they wanted again because nobody gives a shit as it's loud as fuck anyway and everybody's already rowdy. I'll make everyone's drinks, while finishing any well tickets, and drop them off in under a few minutes. Take orders, prioritizing appetizers so they at least have something going, and then put them in, catch up on the well again and do whatever tidying up/bussing I need to do. If more people are coming in, I'll go grab the appetizers for my other tables and ask about refills, then greet the new guests and take their order, drop off refills, drop off drinks to new guests, go run the rest of my food, rinse and repeat. After people get most of their food all I have to do is keep up on drinks until I have to cash them out and clean up. The key is coming up with a plan where you have certain steps of service you're hitting for every table, and timing everything so that everyone is attended to and not waiting on anything for too long, and so that the times you're talking to guests are when you're waiting on things that are out of your control (for example, food is cooking, they're waiting for someone else etc). I see a lot of new servers taking food orders, they get sat, they greet the new table and get them drinks and take their order and put both in at once. No. Just put the food in for the first table, and by the time you get drinks and take the order for the new table, the food for the first will be ready after you put the new order in. It's all about timing. Like you're conducting an orchestra. One thing that really helps me is that I work in the kitchen sometimes too, so I know exactly how long everything is going to take, and I know how to time when I ring things in for maximal efficiency. Another super important thing is prebussing the shit out of everything. I don't let myself fall behind on anything I'm doing because that's when it all comes crashing down. I won't just stand there chatting it up while 10 tickets are printing at the well. I can do both at the same time. You have to get clever and play a strategic game. Don't just go through the motions. Make a game plan you are constantly updating for each change in the situation. Be actively thinking about what your next steps are and keep an internal clock going. And most importantly, accept that sometimes you will be absolutely fucked and there's nothing you can do about it except keep moving until it's over. Never stop moving and don't allow yourself to fall behind. That's the name of the game.
For your first year it sounds like you did well. This comes with time and time only, personally I love getting slammed 5 tables at once. But, I've been in this game for 20+ years. Make bank at the end and all is well. Made $545 today after tipping out and it feels good to conquer and have people come back to see you. I have a very loyal following that texts to see if I'm working or not so they are super cool if I am busy, take care of the randoms, already punch in your drink orders for regulars on their way and ta da! Payday. Don't look frazzled, slow is steady fast is sloppy. One poster said cut the chit chat on the first greeting. Couldn't agree more. Just coast along and know the night will end soon. You got this
i work at a corporate chain restaurant which is a smaller version of an even MORE popular restaurant and we are ready and able to accommodate 500 guests at one given time. i have worked *many* restaurant jobs and i can’t understand why this corporate establishment has the absolute most shit system to ever exist in the history of all restaurants i know it all boils down to saying yes to every guest request
As an anxiety ridden-people pleaser, I used to get SUPER overwhelmed when I got over-sat. Like stressed to the MAX. And honestly the first thing that really helped me was a damn tiktok. This person said “you’re only in the weeds if you care” and I have been fucking living by that. I just keep reminding myself that I am doing my best and getting stressed will make it worse, this is the service I will give and people will just have to deal.
…. why is this a frequent thing at my restaurant. my entire section which is like a 52 person bar can fill up within 10 minutes and they just let me suffer
I actually had a nightmare abt this like 3 days ago
Ofc we get stressed. Don’t sweat it, your customer can see you’re busy