Food &

Beverage
Service
PREPARED BY: NICKALYN M.
SALANAP
 Staff attributes,
skills and
knowledge
CHAPTER 2
S _ _ _ _ S_

AIM
GOAL
ACHIEVEMENT
OUTCOME
S__L_S

EXPERTISE
STRENGTH
ABILITY
TALENT
Attributes of Food & Beverage
Service Personnel

Appearance and behavior contribute to the first

impression others have of you and are seen as a
reflection of the hygiene standards of the
establishment and the quality of service to come.
Professional and hygienic
appearance
Essential Technical Skills
 Holding and using a service
spoon and fork
Expertise in this technique can only be achieved with practice. The purpose
of the service spoon and fork is to enable the waiter to serve food from a flat
or dish onto the customer’s plate quickly and to present the food on the plate
well.
 Carrying plates
Clean plates can be carried in a stack using both hands or using a tray.
When carrying clean plates that are to be placed on the customer’s
table, a single hand is used to hold the plates (usually the left hand) and
the right hand is used to place the plates at each cover on the
customer’s table. If the plates are hot then the plates are held with a
service cloth placed on the palm of the left hand. A separate service
cloth is then used in the right hand to hold the hot plates when placing
them in front of the customer.
When carrying plates of pre-plated foods
and when clearing plates from a
customer’s table, a single hand is used to
hold the plates (usually the left hand) and
the right hand is used to place and
remove plates from the customer’s table.
Using a service salver (round tray)

A service salver is a round, often silver or stainless steel tray (but now also can be wood or
plastic). A napkin (folded flat) is placed on the tray to help prevent items slipping on the
tray as they are being carried. There are also special non-slip mats that can be used instead
of napkins. Some trays are made with non-slip surfaces. The service salver may be used to:
carry clean glasses to, and remove dirty glasses from, a customer’s table
carry clean cutlery to and from a customer’s table
place clean cutlery on the table l place clean cups and saucers on the table
provide an underflat when silver serving vegetables.
 Carrying clean cutlery

When placing on or removing clean cutlery from a table, the items can be carried on a service
salver. This is more efficient, hygienic and safer and generally more professional than carrying
these items in bunches in the hands. The blades of the knives should be placed under the arch in
the middle of the forks and if carrying sweet spoons and forks, the prongs of the fork should go
under the arch in the middle of the spoon. The reason for this is to help hold the items steady on
the service salver. Bearing in mind that the handles of the cutlery are generally the heaviest
parts, this method prevents them sliding about too much. Clean cutlery is placed onto the
service salver after the final polish and carried to the table on the tray. The cutlery is then placed
from the service tray to the table by holding the piece of cutlery between the thumb and
forefinger at the side, in order to reduce the possibility of finger marks.
 Carrying glasses

There are two basic

methods of carrying glasses
in the food and beverage
service areas: by hand or on
a service salver.
 Carrying glasses on a service
salver
The first dirty wine goblet cleared should be
placed on the service salver nearest to the
server. As the dirty glasses are cleared, they
should be placed on the service salver to
ensure a better and more even distribution of
weight, to lessen the likelihood of accidents
occurring. Again, dirty glassware is always
handled by the stem and for non-stemmed
glassware by the base. This is more hygienic
as it avoids touching where the customer has
been drinking from the glass.
 Carrying glasses using glass
racks
Glass racks are usually made of plastic and
are often used to carry glasses during the
setting up of the restaurant and for functions.
These racks enable the transportation of
glasses in bulk once they have been washed
and polished at a central point. Glass racks
are also used for dirty glasses and many can
be put through a glass wash machine.
 Carrying and using large trays
Trays are used for:
carrying food from the kitchen to the restaurant
service in rooms and lounges
clearing from sideboards/workstations
clearing from tables (when the customer is not seated at the table)
carrying equipment.
The correct method of holding and carrying an oblong tray is to position
the tray lengthways onto the forearm and to support it by holding the tray
with the other hand.
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

In a food and beverage operation there is interaction between customers

(often referred to as ‘external customers’) and the food and beverage service
staff. Interaction also takes place with people outside the service areas, such
as kitchen staff, bill office staff, dispense bar staff and stillroom staff. These
are known as ‘internal customers’. It is important that the customer can see
that the provision of food and beverages and service within an establishment
is a joint effort between all departments, with each department understanding
the needs of the others in order to meet the customers’ demands.
Dealing with customers
Interpersonal skills in food and beverage service centre on the
interactions between the customer and food and beverage
service staff. All other interactions are secondary to, and the
result of, the prime interaction of customers and staff. This has
implications for the way customers are treated. Conversations
between customers and staff override conversations between
staff.
When in conversation with customers, staff should not:

 talk to other members of staff without first excusing themselves

from the customer
 interrupt interactions between customers and staff, but should wait
until there is a suitable moment to catch the attention of the other
member of staff so that they may excuse themselves from the
customer first
 serve customers while carrying on a conversation between
themselves
 talk across a room, either to each other or to customers.
Dealing with customers during
service

Greetings such as ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good

evening’ should be used upon receiving customers or
when the member of staff first comes into contact
with the customer, for example when lounge service
staff attend people already seated in the lounge.
Showing customers to their table
Seating customers
Handling coats/wraps
Opening and placing a napkin
Talking to customers
Offering water or rolls
Explaining food and beverage items
Being culturally aware
Serving and clearing
Offering accompaniments
Handling complaints
Should a problem arise and a customer makes a complaint the
following steps should be taken.

HEAR – Listen to the customer attentively

Empathize- Empathize with their feelings and point of view. 
Apologize- Apologize to the customer. Whether they are right
or wrong.
Respond/React- Tell the guest/customer the action needed to be
done.
Take Action- Do what you said you would do.
 Dealing with incidents during
service
When an unforeseen incident arises it must be dealt with promptly and
efficiently without causing more disturbance than is necessary to any of
the other customers. Quick action will very often soothe the irate customer
and ensure a return visit to your establishment. It is worth remembering at
this stage that complaints, of whatever nature, should be referred
immediately to the supervisor. Delay will only cause confusion and very
often the situation may be wrongly interpreted if it is not dealt with
straight away. In the case of accidents, a report of the incident must be kept
and signed by those involved.
Cleaning programs
 It takes months to
find a customer…
seconds to lose one.

- VINCE LOMBARDI
THANK YOU!
- END OF CHAPTER 2