Secrets To Get The Table You Want at Any Restaurant

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Secrets To Get The Table You Want at Any Restaurant

With the economy so tight, I’ve been cooking at home more and looking for quick and easy ways to get dinner on the table. So when I do go out, I want to make it really count. I've found that where you sit in a restaurant can have as profound of an effect on your night as what you order. Facing a swinging kitchen door, being banished to a desolate back room, getting wedged next to a cougar birthday blowout: a bad table can really put a damper on your dining experience. But I’ve learned that you don’t need to be a big shot to get the best seat in the house. Here are some tips for scoring a coveted table:

Be Your Own Personal Assistant. When you call to make your reservation, say you’re making it “On behalf of Mr. or Mrs. (your last name).” Try to sound harried but polite. The reservationist will take note, or, at the very least, relate.

Be a Regular. Instead of bouncing from bistro to grill to cantina, cultivate a relationship with a favorite restaurant. Make a point of telling the owner how much you love their establishment (and how the competing place next door has an underwhelming ribeye). They’ll likely reward your loyalty with prime real estate.

Bribe. If you're bold and somewhat freewheeling with your money, the “slip the host some cash” trick is usually quite effective. I never have the guts for it, but rest assured that this practice is completely acceptable within the restaurant industry. Just try not to be showy about it, and never attempt it with denominations under $10.

Arrive on Time. This seems obvious (it is) but keep in mind that if you’re more than fifteen minutes late, your reserved table is likely to disappear. If you know you’re going to be late, always call to alert the restaurant – hosts and managers genuinely appreciate this.

Look Sharp. In our super-casual country, some people consider their favorite pair of sweats perfectly appropriate for more formal situations. Not to pass judgment on these choices, but just remember that “your lawn” and “a nice restaurant” are very different fashion moments. The front-of-the-house tends to give high-profile tables to well-dressed clientele.

Say It’s a Special Occasion. It’s best not to outright lie about a birthday or anniversary – your waiter might stick a candle in your crème brûlée, which can be awkward. But consider telling the host, vaguely, that the night is a special one. Because it is!

Send Yourself Champagne. If you’re planning on ordering champagne or wine with dinner, call ahead (as though you were someone not joining the dinner) and say you’d like to send your party a bottle of champagne. This puts you in the category of people popular and influential enough to have champagne sent to them—which restaurant managers love. When it’s delivered, appear surprised but nonchalant. Bonus: your dining companion will be thrilled.

Make A Personal Connection

Someone asked me last week "What is the key to building business in a nightclub?" Now my answer is not the typical answer that he or most people are looking for. It does not involve budgets or promotions or costs or advertising. It doesn't involve staffing. It doesn't involve planning or organizing. It doesn't involve maintenance or repair or music or atmosphere. It is just one simple statement that you should live by....

Make a Personal Connection.

Sounds funny and sounds easy... I will say that it can be funny and I will also say that it is definitely EASY. Try it for yourself and see.

Make a point to talk to every single guest that comes into your venue.

Ask questions... Where are you from? What brings you to XYZ Bar? What is the occassion? How do you like the music? How was your experience?

Introduce yourself...Learn names...Make eye contact...Engage Conversation...Invite people to come back...Buy patrons a drink or a shot...Do a shot with the entire party..Don't be afraid to make people feel special.

Once this becomes habit for you, cultivate it amongst your entire staff. Get every person in the building to do the same thing. Have everyone "Make as many personal connections" as they can throughout the night with old and new customers. Have a postshift to discuss customers they met and things they learned about those guests.

Now you and your staff will have a better undertsanding of who your guests are...Not only that, but you are creating regular customers everytime you open the doors by remembering people's names and why they are out. When people are deciding where to go for this or that special occassion, your name will be at the top of the list.

Best of all....IT IS FREE!

I believe that the theme song from Cheers was correct when it stated..."Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name..."