Table of Content
Order Taking Procedure
The order-taking procedure in the hotel industry is discussed in detail in the following paragraphs.
Receiving the Guest
- The welcoming of the guests represents the most critical step to his absolute satisfaction and reflects the level and quality of the service of an establishment.
- Guests must be welcomed at the restaurant entrance; they should not wait by themselves for more than 10 seconds at the entrance.
- The first impression received by the guest is the most important. It is not necessary to execute the whole welcoming procedure with each guest (it is not always possible in case of affluence), however, it is indispensable to show him that he has been taken into consideration, if it is only by eye contact.
- If the hostess or the maître d’ are occupied, the head waiter or the assistant waiter must show the guests that they have been taken into consideration.
- If there is an overbooking problem (more tables have been reserved than the restaurant can welcome), guests should not be left at the entrance but invited to sit down at the bar and take care of the problem away from their presence.
- The hostess or Maître d’ must try to seat the guests if he/she has to modify the planning of reservations at the moment of the guest’s arrival.
- The hostess or the head waiter will accompany the guests to his table and pull out the chair for him/her to sit.
- The head waiter or the assistant waiter will immediately present himself at the table to show the guests that he has been taken into consideration.
Attending an Order
- The waiter will approach the guest from the left, place the menus, ensuring they are clean, in front of him, and enquire: “May I have your order please, sir/madam?”.
- He should wait patiently, facing the guests, until (after any necessary advice has been asked for and given) the order is completed as fast as and including the main course.
- When the menus are long and varied, it is advisable to allow customers a few minutes before asking for the order.
- When it is apparent that there is a host, take his instructions first, otherwise receive orders as soon as the guests are ready.
- If the waiter is busy and cannot attend to a customer at once, he should inform him that he will listen to him shortly or “in a moment”.
- When two tables are occupied at approximately the same time, the waiter must take the first party’s order first. Customers are apt to note with annoyance any failure to a “first come, first served” sequence.
- The waiter must know the day’s specialty and reasonable dishes to recommend. He should know the following things as far as possible:
- Knowing which words are ready for quick service to guests in a hurry.
- Items are suitable for children.
- Salad, vegetable, and potato suggestions for grills, roasts, and main courses for a la carte guests.
- Knowing which words are ready for quick service to guests in a hurry.
Recording an Order
- The Head Waiter should write in the corner of the order sheet; the table number and the number of persons being served. He also notes the time at which the order has been taken.
- He takes the order for the appetizer; he indicates the number of guests for each appetizer opted for.
- He takes the order for the main dish. He writes the special notes at the right (for example choice of spice and hotness). He repeats the same for all the guests.
- He takes the order for all other items.
- He affixes his signature and hands it over to his back waiter.
Sample Procedure for Order Taking
| 1 | The front waiter presents himself to the table. | Table No: Covers: |
| 2 | He indicates on the voucher the table number and the number of persons. | Table No: AS Covers: 4 |
| 3 | He writes down the time at which the order has been taken. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m |
| 4 | He takes the order for the first appetizer. He indicates the number of the guest corresponding to that order. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m Shrimp Cocktail (1 |
| 5 | If the order of the second appetizer is identical, the head waiter will only indicate the chair number corresponding to the second guest. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m Shrimp Cocktail (1,4 |
| 6 | If a guest does not take an appetizer, the head waiter will write on the voucher “no appetizer” and the chair number corresponding to the guest, so that there is no confusion in the kitchen. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m Shrimp Cocktail (1,4 No (3 |
| 7 | The head waiter takes the order of the last appetizer. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m Shrimp Cocktail (1,4 No (3 Bisque (2 |
| 8 | When the order of appetizers is finished, the head waiter writes the total number of dishes ordered. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m 2 Shrimp Cocktails (1,4 1 No (3 2 Bisque (2 |
| 9 | The head waiter takes the order of the main dish. The first guest does not take the main dish, the head waiter writes it down on the voucher. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m 2 Shrimp Cocktails (1,4 1 No (3 2 Bisque (2 No(1 |
| 10 | He takes the order of the second dish. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m 2 Shrimp Cocktails (1,4 1 No (3 2 Bisque (2 |
| 11 | He asks the guest how he would like his meat cooked. He indicates this information on the right side of the voucher. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m 2 Shrimp Cocktails (1,4 1 No (3 2 Bisque (2 No(1 Tournedos(3R |
| 12 | He takes the order for the third guest. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m 2 Shrimp Cocktails (1,4 1 No (3 2 Bisque (2 No(1 Tournedos(3R 2wd |
| 13 | He takes the order of the fourth guest. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m 2 Shrimp Cocktails (1,4 1 No (3 2 Bisque (2 No(1 Tournedos(3R 2wd Homard(4 |
| 14 | He writes down the total number of dishes ordered. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m 2 Shrimp Cocktails (1,4 1 No (3 2 Bisque (2 1 No(1 2 Tournedos(3R 2wd 1 Homard(4 |
| 15 | He separates the different headings. He writes down the date and appends his initials in the right inferior part of the voucher. He transfers the voucher to his back waiter. | Table No: AS Covers:4 12h30m 4 Cartes 2 Shrimp Cocktails (1,4 1 No (3 2 Bisque (2 1 No(1 2 Tournedos(3R 2wd 1 Homard(4 18/02 Sz |
Methods of Taking Food and Beverage Orders
Essentially there are four methods of taking food and beverage orders from customers. All order-taking methods are based on these four concepts.
| Triplicate Method | Order is taken, the top copy goes to the supply point, the second copy is sent to the cashier for billing; third copy is retained by the server as a means of reference during service. |
| Duplicate Method | Order is taken; top copy goes to the supply point, second copy is retained for service and billing purposes. |
| Service with Order Method | Order is taken; the customer is served and payment is received according to that order, for example, bar service or take-away methods. |
| Pre-Ordered Method | Order is taken, the top copy goes to the supply point, the second copy is sent to the cashier for billing; the third copy is retained by the server as a means of reference during service. |
Room Service
Room Service generally includes the same dishes offered in the restaurant. A three-star category hotel should be able to serve at least breakfast in the rooms. Room service is part of the food and beverage department and not of housekeeping. The room service can also be responsible, after the closing of the hotel bar, to serve beverages in the rooms and manage the mini-bar.
The waiter will use trays (carried high over the shoulder with the left hand) or rolling tables for the meals. Every element should be covered (film paper, cartons, bells) during transportation and uncovered when entering the room.
The Room Service is often situated inside the kitchen, and close to the service elevator. In this way, hot preparations can be served as fast as possible. Inside this service, the following is found:
- Working station
- Toaster
- Sink
- Coffee/tea machine
- Products shelves (cereals, sugar…)
- Tray shelf
- Refrigerator
- Order-taking office/desk
Room Service Order Taking
One can order room service in two ways:
- By “door hanger”
- By “telephone”
By Door Hanger
It is a document that the guest places on the exterior room door knob. The night audit picks up all the documents during the night. This system allows the room service employees to be ready and serve the guests on time.
This document is often made up of two faces written down in two languages and is placed by housekeeping on the head of the bed. The information found in this document is the following:
- The service hour desired by the guest, leaving a margin of a quarter of an hour (for example between 8:00 and 8:15 a.m.)
- The name of the guest
- The number of people
- The room number
- The detailed order of breakfast desired (filled in cases)
- A choice of newspaper proposed by the establishment
By Telephone
The room service order is placed by telephone. It is very difficult to take an order correctly by telephone. One must be fast, not forget any important information and try to sell the maximum to the guest.
For maximum efficiency, the Room-service personnel use digital telephones that indicate the name of the person and the room number, and the possibility to display the room number of the previous call in case they forget.
The room service order is written down manually or computerized and it should include the following information:
- Room number
- Name of the guest
- Several people
- Detailed order
- Hour the order is taken
- Service hour
The service should be fast and discrete. The service procedure is as follows:
- Verify the guest’s name on the bill
- Knock on the door
- Announce “room service”
- Remove plastic films from the food
- Wait until the guest invites the waiter to come in
- Express wishes “Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, call the guest by his last name (good morning Mister X).
- Ask where to place the tray
- List the different food items ordered by the guest
- Ask the guest to sign the bill
- Thank the guest and explain the procedure to take away the tray
It is to the room service to clear away the tray when the guests have finished, either by asking them to place their tray outside of their room when they have finished and to clear it 20 minutes after the service or by asking the guest to call them to come clear away the tray, which is more delicate because the waiter must come in the guest’s intimacy the least possible.
It is the object of conflict between housekeeping and the room service departments. There is nothing worst than a floor where dirty trays are lying on the floor. One should consider that the job of the room service is finished only when all trays have been cleared away.
The room service employee must have general knowledge about the hotel premises. The room service employee is often the only one to be in direct contact with the guest during his stay. The guest often asks questions concerning the technical equipment of the rooms, the hotel premises, or any other information, and the waiter must be able to answer any need.
Cover Laying for Various Foods
The cover or the standard utensils (knife, fork, dishes, etc.) to be provided for various foods is detailed below:
| Dish | Cover |
|---|---|
| Grapefruit Cocktail | Coupe The doily on the side plate Grapefruit spoon or teaspoon |
| Tomato Juice | 5oz goblet/ or club-shaped glass The doily on the side plate Teaspoon |
| Ham Mousse | Side knife Sweet fork Cold fish plate |
| Potted shrimps | Fish knife and fork Cold fish plate |
| Oysters | A soup plate or welled silver dish filled with crushed ice and placed on an underplate Oyster fork Finger bowl filled with lukewarm water and slices of lemon The doily on the side plate at the top left-hand corner of the cover Spare serviette |
| Snails | Asparagus rack: grid serviette Asparagus tongs: the right of the cover Hot/cold joint plate Joint fork Finger bowl as for gulls’ egg Spare serviette |
| Gulls’ Egg | Small knife and fork Cold fish plate Finger bowl Finger bowl Doily on side plate containing lukewarm water and a slice of lemon Spare side plate for the shell Spare serviette |
| Smoked Salmon | Fish knife and fork Cold fish plate |
| Asparagus | Asparagus rack: grid serviette Asparagus tongs: the right of cover Hot/cold joint plate Joint fork Finger bowl as for gulls’ egg Spare serviette |
| Globe Artichoke | Joint fork on the right of the cover Finger bowl The doily on the side plate Spare napkin Hot/cold fish plate as appropriate |
| Corn on the Cob | Hot fish plate Corn on the cob holders |
| Fresh Prawns | Wine goblet on a doily on an underplate Fish and knife fork Cold fish plate Figer bowl as for gulls eggs Spare serviette |
| Chilled Melon | Sweet spoon and fork Cold fish plate Teaspoon if charentaise melon is offered |
| Avacodo | Cold fish plate Teaspoon |
| Shell Fish Cocktail | The doily on the side plate Teaspoon Oyster fork Shellfish cocktail holder |
| Dish | Cover |
|---|---|
| Crème de Tomate Onion Soup Potage Germany | Crème de tomate Onion Soup Potage Germany |
| Consomme | Sweet spoon Consommé cup and saucer Fish plate |
| Petit Marmite | Special earthenware dish called petit marmite Sweet spoon Doily on underplate |
| Bouillabaisse | Soup plate Underplate Fish knife/fork Sweet spoon |
| Bortsch | Soup plate Underplate Sweet spoon |
| Turtle soup | Consommé cup Consommé saucer Fish plate Sweet spoon |
| Dish | Cover |
|---|---|
| Fish (fried) Fish (grilled) Fish (poached) Grilled Herring Poached Salmon | Fish knife and fork Hot fish plate |
| Mussels | Soup plate Underplate Fish knife and fork Cold fish plate |
| Crawfish | Fish knife and fork Spare plate for the shell Finger bowl containing lukewarm water and a slice of lemon Spare serviette |
| Cold lobster | Fish knife and fork Lobster pick Spare plate for the shell Finger bowl containing lukewarm water and a slice of lemon Spare serviette |
| Dish | Cover |
|---|---|
| Spaghetti | Joint fork Hot fish plate |
| Dish | Cover |
|---|---|
| Curry | Joint knife and fork Sweet spoon Hot soup plate Underplate (fish plate ) or joint plate |
| Roast Beef Roast Lamb Roast Mutton Boiled Mutton Salt Beef Boiled Fresh Beef | Joint knife and fork Hot joint plate |
| Mixed grill and grilled steaks | Steak knife and fork Hot joint plate |
| Irish stew | Soup plate Underplate Joint knife and fork Sweet spoon |
| Dish | Cover |
|---|---|
| Chicken Turkey Roti Goose Wild Duck Duck | Joint knife and fork Hot joint plate |
| Cheese | Side plate Side knife Small fork (if necessary) |
| Dessert (Fruits & Nuts) | Fruit plate Fruit knife and fork: interlocked on fruit plate Spare serviette One finger bowl: on a doily on a side plate containing luke warm water and slice of lemon (for rinsing fingers) One finger bowl: on a doily on a side plate containing cold water for rinsing grapes. It will be placed on the top left-hand corner of the cover. Nutcrackers and grape scissors: to be placed on the fruit basket Spare side plate for shells and peel |
| Savoury | Hot fish plate Side knife Sweet fork |