The restaurant / bar game (and it is a game.) is a complex warren of young hormones merging with university degree pressure, throw in some high school drop-outs, a hot and heavy kitchen crew, depression and addiction with shelves full of alcohol, know it all rockstar managers and guests that don't trust us yet. The good restaurant's dance (sometimes trudge... like military soldiers to an end known yet less than ideal) on accepting this fate and still go on to offering guests an experience Jimi Hendrix (R.I.P.) may crack a smile at. It does (as one could imagine) come with some set-backs. Set-backs are fine. These are a part of it. Another opportunity to prove that you and your team are kick-ass and worth coming back for. Do we apologise for these set-backs? This is where only you can answer the question - now we are all always learning - and so be careful not to retrospectively correct yourself - where I am going here is that IF you are doing the best (or close to) you can then never apologise. Instead - be grateful. Gratitude includes. Gratitude is positive. Gratitude acknowledges issues quickly and invites others forward in putting set-backs behind us. A simple example is time delay. You notice a four-top that has waited too long (this is oh so individual - some tables are happy to be alive and'll wait an hour+ while others are ... well, are stuck in a moment) - NEVER approach the guests and chime in with; "Sorry about the wait." - This is admitting a crime you did not commit and putting a negative spin on clearly a jiving room, AND putting yourself down, AND planting the seed in your guests mind that you are not a rockstar, AND giving them permission to complain about you. And so on. And so on. And actually so on.
So don't do that.
Instead ALWAYS be grateful... like this: "Thank you for your patience, I have organised a round of (insert an entry level fizz that you pour - only fill the flute a third and watch the tension crack) which the bartender shall bring promptly and personally. Now, have you lovely people dined here before? Would you like to hear what all the fuss has been about tonight?" etc.
Learn to confidently 'yadda' - YOU turn the table around - it isn't simple. But always be positive. It's a likeable quality that doesn't always win, but can never be complained about.
Be great again. You deserve it.
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