Restaurant Reservations: My Experience

             Have you heard of the restaurant, The Mandarin? It is a very popular Chinese/Canadian buffet in Ontario and I used to work there for almost 3 years!

             When I worked at the Mandarin, I was a hostess but I had many other duties and responsibilities such as being a cashier, bar tending, placing take-out orders over the phone, helping people to their tables, and taking reservations over the phone! The Mandarin is a very big and BUSY restaurant so it is very important to make reservations because at any moment, we could expect parties of 20+ people! Also, it is important to make a reservation for holidays or special occasions such as Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and so on. On Valentine's Day, we would usually get a lot of tables for two because Canadian couples love to go out for romantic dinners. If you make a reservation over the phone, it helps the employees to plan where to seat you and to make sure no one else takes your table! 

               When I would speak to customers over the phone, I would follow a dialogue but after I followed it a few times, I was able to memorize it. It helped me form better conversations over the phone and later I developed better conversational skills! 

                When I would take reservations over the phone, I would follow certain rules to make sure I wrote down every detail the customer said to me. It is important to repeat the information to make sure you heard the customer correctly and it is ALSO important for THE CUSTOMER to be CLEAR and as detailed as possible when they make a reservation (because sometimes it can be hard to understand or hear someone over the phone!)

Down below is a real example of how I would take reservations: 

Making a Dinner Reservation Over The Phone:

Good Customer Service

A: Good Evening, thank you for calling The Mandarin , my name is _____, how   

can I help you? 

B: Hi, I would like to make a dinner reservation please.

A: And what day and time would you like to reserve for?

B: I would like to reserve for Valentine’s Day at around 7:00pm.

A: And for how many people?

B: Two people

A: Ok great, and what name would you like to place your reservation under?

B: My last name, Jovanich.

A: How do you spell that?

B: J-O-V-A-N-I-C-H

A: Great! Do you have any other requests?

B: Yes, is it possible to get us a table by a window?

A: Let me check…you’re in luck! It looks like I have an open table by a

window on that day!

B: Wonderful.

A: Ok to confirm, I have placed your reservation at 7:00pm for Valentine’s Day, which is on Feb. 14, for a party of two by a window, is that correct?

B: Yes, that is correct.

A: Great, is there anything else I can help you with today?

B: No, that will be all.

A: Ok we will see you soon, thank you for calling!

B: Thanks very much for your help and have a good evening!

I hope that helped! 

If you give good customer service, a customer might remember to write about you on the back of the restaurant's comment card :)
(This was my first comment card EVER)