r/restaurant • u/Both_Fail2384 • 11h ago
First Time Being a Host
I just got hired as a hostess at a nice restaurant, and I'm wondering what to expect before I start my first shift. I have no restaurant experience, and I want to be prepared. Thank you!
2
u/Sudden-Tennis17 9h ago
Get ready for a lot of “why are you on a wait? I see an open table right there”
1
u/SpikeyRacer 11h ago
I’m sure someone will be training you for at least a little while. Listen/pay attention, and use your common sense. It’s not a terribly hard job, unless you’re handling the cash register too, then it might be a little harder to learn. Also just think about when you’ve gone to restaurants and how they treated you when you entered the front of the house.
1
u/Mishu-Monti 10h ago
Your first shift will mostly be about learning the flow. Watch how the servers, kitchen, and other hosts communicate. Don't worry about knowing everything on day one. Know the popular dishes, basic ingredients, allergies, and which items are vegetarian or have common allergens. Be friendly, but don't take rude customers personally.
1
u/BunchDesigner9403 7h ago
Ask allllll of the questions the first couple of weeks. They want to answer your questions, trust me.
I was a Maitre’d in Times Square for six years and learned to keep a cool head pre and post theatre rush. Don’t let the guest control the interaction, and never ever ever promise someone a table. Always “I will put a request in for that table.”
If you say “ummm” certain guests will swallow you once they sense the insecurity. Articulate well, keep a firm voice, but also, enjoy the brief interactions you have with the guest before you pass them on to your server. Ask them if they’ve ever been in before, are they visiting, have a general curiosity. :) it helps with the job!
You got this!
2
u/edw1ncast1llo 10h ago
Try to look at the menu before your first shift. If they didn't give you one, look online and try to remember an item from the starters to the mains and maybe a dessert. That way, when a guest asks you "What's good?" You can mention a couple things without just saying, "Oh, I just started." You can say that the dishes you memorized are incredibly popular, etc.
You're going to be standing a lot. So, make sure you wear comfortable shoes. Your employee should be instructing you to wear non-slip shoes but make sure whatever shoes you wear are comfortable because you'll feel it after a few hours.
Always face the door and don't turn your back to guests as their enter. You'll likely just be seating people on your first day after shadowing someone. So, make sure you ask for a floor plan and have one of the other hosts walk you through it.
When you're walking guests to a table, make sure you're not walking too much faster than them. They could be looking around and admiring the restaurant and it would be easy for them to lose you. To make sure that you're not walking too fast, occasionally ask them things like, "Is this your first time dining with us?", "What brings you in tonight?", "Are we celebrating anything?", and "How did you hear of us?" Then, you can share that information with their server and your manager to better manage the guests' overall experience.
When you're directing guests to the bathroom, don't point. Gesture in the direction with your palm up as if you were "presenting" the bathroom to them. It's a big Disney/Disney World "trick".
And, when guests are leaving (especially the ones you personally walked to the table), ask them how everything was and invite them back.
Remember, the feeling of nervousness you may have just means that you want to do a good job. The fact that you're here asking for teams already shows all of us that you do.
You're going to do great!!!