Buzz
Unlike A la carte (Ordering) – a form where customers order the dishes they want from the menu and pay for the selected items, Buffet is a serving style where customers pay a fixed fee for all-you-can-eat meals based on a 'per person' rate, enjoying unlimited dishes from the buffet menu.
Because of the all-inclusive serving style, buffet menus often include numerous dishes, ranging from dozens to hundreds. This entails a standardized serving process that any buffet restaurant needs to train its staff to follow, ensuring customer satisfaction and maintaining food quality.
Here is the standard 4-step buffet service process for restaurants, feel free to explore!
Step 1: Preparing Before Welcoming Guests
– Service staff clean and sanitize the surrounding area of the guest dining tables, food line counters, common areas in the restaurant, and other assigned areas.
– Set up dining tables and eating utensils such as knives, forks, spoons, napkins, etc., according to the specific standards of the restaurant.
– Ensure an ample supply of utensils and other eating tools to serve guests during their meal: bring additional or replace when customers make a mess, drop items, etc.
– Prepare plates, dishes, and other necessary utensils on the food line counters.
– Assist the kitchen team in placing dishes in the correct positions and arranging condiments and sauces appropriately.
– Set name tags for each dish along with utensils for serving (tongs, ladles, lining cloths).
– If there are pre-booked tables, thoroughly check the requests and information of the guests.
Step 2: Welcoming Guests and Providing Service
This marks the most crucial step in serving any buffet meal, be it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The duty of the serving staff at this stage is to do everything possible to delight the guests as they enjoy their meal.
Here are the specifics:
– Greet guests with a smile and enthusiasm as soon as they step into the restaurant. Inquire whether they have a reservation. If not, gather necessary information (number of guests, preferred seating, other requests) and then guide them to a suitable table.
– When escorting guests to their table, proactively pull out the chair to invite guests. Prioritize in the following order: elderly - children - pregnant women - women - men.
- Introduce guests to the prices of the buffet packages available on that day. If guests are familiar with these buffet options (regular customers), proceed to advising on beverages. If guests are unfamiliar with the buffet packages, provide additional guidance on the components of the dishes included in each buffet package.
- Introduce the complimentary beverages included in the service package and other beverage options outside the buffet package for guests to choose. Serving staff record guests' drink orders to send to the bar and cashier.
– If guests have any other special requests (e.g., extra child seats, extra small spoons for babies, etc.), the serving staff notes and promptly serves the guests if within their authority or coordinates with other departments to meet the guests' requests.
- Wishing our valued guests a delightful dining experience.
– While guests are fetching their food, staff members take napkins to the side of the utensils to mark the table as occupied.
– When guests finish their meal, politely ask for permission to clear the dirty dishes and replace utensils when necessary. Tidy up unused items on the table to create space for placing food.
– Serving staff are responsible for closely monitoring the food line counter:
+ Promptly inform the Kitchen team when any dish is running low for a quick replenishment.
+ Retrieve additional plates, bowls, and utensils from the counter when supplies are running low.
+ Replace soiled or dirty utensils and dish liners, ensuring the buffet line stays clean.
Step 3: Assist with payment and bid farewell to guests
– After guests have finished their meal and wish to settle the bill, service staff promptly confirm the details: the number of people, any additional services used, etc. Then, they notify the cashier to prepare the bill.
- Service staff assist and guide guests in swiftly completing payment procedures, such as recording the guest's discount cards and informing the cashier. Direct guests to the cashier counter or assist them in paying with various bank cards.
– When guests stand up to leave, pull out their chairs, offer a warm smile, and express gratitude for dining at the restaurant. Promise to see them again.
Step 4: Clean-up
– When the restaurant still has the capacity to serve the next groups of guests, clearing tables from the previous diners needs to be a priority—quick and efficient.
- Servers clear dirty utensils from tables, wipe and arrange them neatly, ensuring they meet the restaurant's standards. Pay attention to cleaning the area under chairs, keeping the floor and table legs spotless, preparing for the next wave of guests.
– After buffet hours, servers assist the Kitchen Department in collecting trays, utensils for serving food, and dirty plates to be washed. Clean the food counter thoroughly. Gather name tags, dishes, and other tools to their designated places to avoid loss or damage.
- If it's the end of the shift, be sure to check and turn off all kitchen equipment, maintain cleanliness, switch off lights, ventilation, etc., before closing and heading home.
The above outlines the entire 4-step standard buffet service process in a restaurant. You can also apply it to establish a breakfast buffet service process for your restaurant. For breakfast buffets in some hotel restaurants, if the buffet price is included in the room rate, you can skip the payment assistance step.
To reiterate, fundamentally, like other service processes, the general requirement for buffet staff is to maximize satisfaction with guests' needs while they are dining, without being overly rigid or strict according to standard procedures.
To achieve this, our advice is to focus on recruiting and training staff on their 'attitude' first, and then proceed to training in skills and expertise.
Wishing you success in your restaurant business!
Kind regards,
