How do you increase your check averages without making guests feel pressured?

What the interviewer is looking for

• This question tests menu knowledge and suggestive selling. Can describe dishes with enthusiasm, makes specific recommendations, and suggests appetizers, drinks or desserts naturally.
• Strong answers: Specific recommendations instead of yes or no questions, timing, reading the table, and genuine knowledge of the food.
• Likely follow-up: Which item do you find easiest to sell and why?

Another way it may be asked: Your manager wants more appetizers and desserts sold. How do you do that in a way guests enjoy?

A structure to follow: Answer, explain, example, limits

1. Step 1

   Answer

   Give your direct answer in the first sentence so the interviewer knows where you are going.

2. Step 2

   Explain

   Say how it works or why you would do it that way, in plain words before jargon.

3. Step 3

   Example

   Anchor it in something you have actually done or seen, with the detail that shows hands-on experience.

4. Step 4

   Limits

   Say when your approach would not be the right one. It shows judgement.

This is guidance on shape, not a script. Use your own real experience and facts; never invent details to fill a gap. See the STAR guide and answer frameworks.

Common slips

• Reciting a definition without showing you have applied it.
• Using terms you cannot explain if asked a level deeper.
• Claiming experience beyond what you can discuss in detail.

How to practise it

Say the answer in 90 seconds, then answer the follow-up as if it were a new question.

Related questions

• A guest asks what you recommend and seems unsure. How would you help them decide?
• You just got sat with a new table of four. Walk me through the first few minutes.
• A guest tells you they have a serious nut allergy. What do you do from that moment until their food arrives?
• How do you make sure an order with a lot of changes gets entered correctly?
• You have five tables and they all need something at the same moment. How do you decide what to do first?

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