Customer Service Excellence Checklist

Before seating, the host checks BNB notes for birthdays, anniversaries, allergies, VIPs, and regulars. Flag any allergy notes for the server and expediter before the table orders.

Walk at the guest's pace, seat per the floor plan and rotation, and present menus open. Call out today's 86s and the night's features so the server isn't repeating bad info.

Ask directly at greeting — peanut, tree nut, shellfish, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, sesame are the priority allergens. If yes, the allergen-aware manager on shift owns the ticket from order to pass.

Modifiers entered correctly in Toast or Square — no shorthand the kitchen can't read. Seat positions matched to the order so the runner doesn't auction plates.

Dedicated cutting board, fresh gloves, separate sauté pan, separate fryer where available. Allergen ticket is hand-delivered to expo and called out verbally — never just printed. The certified allergen-aware manager confirms the plate before it leaves the pass.

Server returns within 2 minutes or two bites of the entree drop. Open question, not yes/no — "How is the steak cooked for you?" Anything short of "great" gets the manager involved before the third bite.

Water glasses topped before they hit halfway. BTG wine and cocktails offered for a second round when the glass is at one-third. Bussers own water; servers own alcohol re-orders.

Expediter spot-checks plate temp at the pass with a calibrated thermometer on a sample of tickets. Anything below 140°F goes back to the line; the runner does not carry it. Log out-of-range incidents in the line-check log.

Garnish, sauce placement, side, and modifiers all match the build sheet. Common miss: the seasonal sub the kitchen made two weeks ago that FOH still describes the old way.

Manager observes 3-5 cocktails during peak service — jigger use, garnish, glassware. Free pours drive pour cost above target and are the most common variance source on the weekly P&L.

Manager loop: crumbs on banquettes, spilled drinks, candles burned out, tablecloth replacements, music level, HVAC. Bus and reset turnaround target is 4 minutes for a deuce, 6 for a four-top.

Soap, paper towels, toilet paper, trash, floors, mirror. Initial the restroom log on the back of the door. State health code requires soap and hot water available continuously — empty dispensers are a critical violation.

Lights down two clicks at sunset, music up one notch when covers exceed 60% of capacity. The host stand keeps the dimmer and volume cheat sheet for who-changes-what-and-when.

Manager goes tableside within 90 seconds of the server's flag. Listen, do not defend. Restate the issue back to the guest before proposing a fix. Most recoverable complaints are lost in the first 60 seconds when staff argue the facts.

Record table number, server, complaint type, comp or void amount, and the resolution. Comp percentage above 2% of sales for the week is a training signal, not just a cost. Voids over $25 require manager PIN in the POS.

Any suspected allergic reaction — even minor — gets a same-shift call to the GM and a written incident report. If EMS is called, preserve the plate, retain the ticket, and notify ownership before close. This is liability documentation, not optional.

Pre-bus the table before dropping. Itemized check verified against the POS — modifiers, splits, comps applied correctly. Guest waiting on a check is the most common driver of low service scores on Yelp and Google.

Host or manager at the door, by name where the reservation surfaced it. Specific invite to return — "See you for brunch Saturday" beats "Have a great night." Regulars get logged in SevenRooms or the BNB notes for next visit.

Manager records covers, average check, comp percent, and any service incidents. Review against the prior week's same-day numbers in Toast or R365. Variance over 10% on comps or voids gets walked through in the next pre-shift.