Process at a Restaurant

On an average night at the small restaurant, dozens of families and couples treat themselves to an unusual dinner out, but the routine for the employees, such as myself, is nothing special. The guests are hospitably welcomed with a cordial greeting upon entering, and pleasantries are exchanged. Our particular restaurant features a cash register, where a cashier will record the guests’ selections, repeat them back to guarantee correctness, and announce the total for the dinner. After the payment is received, the customers’ order is taken and sent to the kitchen. Following its arrival through the stove-side printer, the meal will be reviewed by the cook, who will then proceed to prepare it. To start his practice, he will reach into the fridge and pull out all the required condiments, choosing the food with the soonest expiration date. Then, he begins to prepare the meal, often juggling as many as ten orders at a time, all while the servers continue to holler commands at him. When the meal is finally finished, the cook places it on the heated partition. The waiter will continue examine the food, checking for accuracy by comparing the dish with the ticket’s message. As soon as the inspection is complete, he or she matches the food with the correct table location and briskly carries out the dinner.

Upon arriving at the table, the server repeats the name and basic contents of the dish back to the guests in order to place the meal in front of its correct recipient. Afterwards, he or she waits patiently to ensure that the food is correctly prepared to the customers’ liking and goes to fetch any other items they desire. Once this is complete, the waiter heads back to the server station, checking on the customers every so often, and repeating the process multiple times that night.