Service Timing Checklist

Per-table service flow for a full-service restaurant — from greet to reset — with timing targets at each stage so the section paces correctly and quality issues surface before the check drops.

5 sections 23 steps Collects data
1

Greeting and Seating

  1. Greet guests within 30 seconds of arrival
  2. Seat the party at the assigned table
  3. Present menus and the wine list

    • Drop menus, the BTG list, and the wine list as soon as the party is seated. If the host has flagged a regular or birthday in the BNB notes, lead with that recognition before the menu pass.

  4. Brief the table on 86s and specials

    • Pull tonight's 86 list and feature card from the pre-shift lineup. Call out anything sold out before guests pick a favorite that's already gone — this is the most common avoidable comp on a Friday service.

2

Order Taking

  1. Take drink orders within 2 minutes of seating
  2. Take entrée orders with all modifiers

    • Capture every modifier on the ticket — temp on the steak, dressing on the side, sub fries for greens. Free-text "no onion" notes that the line can't read are the top source of remakes.

  3. Read the ticket back for accuracy
  4. Flag allergies and dietary restrictions

    • Ask the table directly — gluten, shellfish, tree nut, dairy, vegetarian, vegan. Do not rely on the guest to volunteer it. State law in MA, IL, MI, NY, and RI requires an allergen-aware manager on shift; the ticket flag is what triggers the dedicated-tools protocol on the line.

    Collects list
  5. Alert expo to the allergen ticket

    • Verbally announce the allergen at the pass and tag the ticket per house protocol (highlighter, ALG marker, or POS allergen flag). Line switches to dedicated cutting board, fresh gloves, and clean fryer if applicable. No bare-hand contact with the plate.

3

Food and Beverage Service

  1. Drop drinks within 5 minutes of fire

    • Bar pour, garnish, and run. Cocktails over 5 minutes lose carbonation and dilute; if the bar is buried, communicate the delay to the table rather than letting it stretch silently.

  2. Run appetizers within 10 minutes of fire
  3. Coordinate the entrée fire with expo

    • Read the table — finishing apps, mid-conversation, or pushing plates back. Call the fire to expo so entrées hit 3-5 minutes after the apps clear, not stacked on top of them or 20 minutes later.

  4. Serve entrées within 15 minutes of apps cleared
4

Ongoing Table Maintenance

  1. Run a two-bite check on each course

    • Approach the table after the second bite, not the first. "How is everything?" is too generic — ask about the specific dish ("how's the steak temp?"). Capture any quality flag here so the manager can recover the table before the check drops.

    Collects list
  2. Refill water glasses on each pass
  3. Crumb the table between courses
  4. Clear plates within 5 minutes of last bite

    • Watch for everyone to put down their utensils — clearing while one guest is still eating is the single most common service complaint on Yelp. If one guest is lagging, ask before clearing the rest.

  5. Loop in the manager for table recovery

    • Manager visits the table directly, acknowledges the issue, and decides on recovery — remake, comp the item, comp dessert, or comp the round. Document the comp in the POS with reason code so it shows in the nightly comp percentage review.

5

Closing the Table

  1. Offer dessert, coffee, and digestifs

    • Present the dessert menu in hand — verbal-only offers convert at roughly half the rate. Mention the cordial and digestif list; this is the highest-margin pour of the night and routinely missed when the section is buried.

  2. Drop the check at the table
  3. Process payment within 5 minutes of drop

    • Run the card at the table or pick up promptly — open tabs at close are a top cause of POS lockout problems and tip-out reconciliation errors. Confirm the receipt prints before stepping away.

  4. Capture guest satisfaction at farewell
    Collects list Collects paragraph
  5. Reset the table for the next seating

    • Strip linens, wipe the top, reset silver and glassware, replace the candle, and signal the host the table is open in Resy or OpenTable. Target turn time is set in the pre-shift; a slow reset cascades into the waitlist.

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Sections 5
Steps 23
Category Restaurant
Price Free to start
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