Elements

Selling vs. Order-taking

“It is intangible yet ever present. It thrives

on
discretion yet is instantly noticed. It
demands perfection yet relies on the
human touch. There lie the contradictions
and the nuances of
SERVICE among F&B establishments.”

We, as the Elements Food & Beverage

Team work very well together and I see
great potential for us to up-sell when we
use proper up-selling techniques!

The plan is to increase Sales

by making guests come back,
buy premium items and rave about us to
others!

Whether at a 5 star hotel, a fine dining

restaurant or a casual dining chain,

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service plays an essential part in pleasing
the guest and ensuring repeat business.

In general

A few facts about what guests want:

• As a server, if you get to your table promptly and take a drinks order,
you will have a 90% chance of selling a second beverage. Most guests
drink their first one quickly and nurse their second one.

• Even if some guests may drink less today, they may possibly buy the
premium brand when suggested. If you don’t recommend a product,
the guest won’t know about it!

• Most wine drinkers will have two glasses, so bear this in mind before
clearing the first glass.

• If guests are hesitant to order an appetizer or dessert, they are more

likely to do so if you use the words “share”, “2 forks” or “take the rest
home for later”. Guest are more likely to buy a dessert/ appetizer if
you say the words “share” “two forks” or “take home for later”.

• When guests visit restaurants, they expect knowledgeable staff. Staff

who are knowledgeable of what they sell give out an aura of
confidence and this in turn builds trust.

• It is important to be able to read your guests in order to act

accordingly.

• Try and get the guest to step out of his/her “comfort zone” using
power-words and recommending specialties.

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Reasons why people dine out:

For convenience
For a change
For ego satisfaction
For socializing

Up-selling:

When you up-sell body language is very important:

- Tone of voice
- Eye contact
- Gestures
- Attitude

Your attitude will always affect your delivery of the message.

Communication is 93% non- verbal. Attitudes can be picked up by the
listener as you speak. Believe in what you say. If there are items on the menu
that you are unsure of go in the kitchen and inform yourself about them.

Up selling opportunities

- When offering an Aperitif

• There are great opportunities when selling a Long drink or a

Martini. Offer the guest a premium Gin/Vodka rather than
simply taking the order which is automatically with our house
Gin/Vodka.

Gin premium brands: Tanqueray-Tanqueray 10-Bombay Sapphire

Vodka premium brands: Chopin-Belvedere-Kettle One-Grey Goose-
Level

To make things easier decide upon one of the Gin and one of the Vodka
premium brands and try to up-sell these.

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• When selling a Cocktail, try to sell our ‘Signature’ drink or our
‘Feature’ drink

• During morning or breakfast time try to up-sell Smoothies or even

Fruit Combos or Fruit Punches

- When taking the order

When taking the order you have a great opportunity for up-selling.
Choose one premium item or a low selling item (to be announced at the
pre-shift briefing) and try to up-sell these. It is important that you know
what you are up selling and that you are confident with the dish.

E.g.: “Madame for tonight I can recommend our Dry Aged Alberta Beef
Selection, you should try our mouth-watering Tenderloin, it is one of our
best sellers.”

Very simply, you can use some power-words, but don’t over do it and you
should not choose the most expensive item on the menu because then the
guest might think you are trying to rip him/ her off. Use your service and
sales skills.

Examples of power-words: Bestselling, Cool and refreshing, Fantastic,

Fresh, Light, Mouth-watering, Pleasant, Tasty, Tempting
Important note: Ask your guest if they have any preferences such as
meat or fish before you make your recommendations.

- When serving an Appetizer

When serving the Appetizer, this is the perfect opportunity to up-sell a

glass or a bottle of white or even red wine but remember this – if a guest
takes your recommendation and places an order, be sure to serve the
drink promptly.
See below, which grapes go with which Appetizer:

King Scallops -Chenin Blanc/ Sauvignon Blanc/ Semillion

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Roasted Organic Beet Salad - Lighter Whites/ Pinot Grigio/
Riesling/ Sauvignon
Smoked Paprika Cured Tenderloin - Lighter Reds/ Pinot
Noir
Romaine Salad -Lighter White
Barlatti Bean Veloute - Chardonnay/ Chenin Blanc
Crab & Gulf Prawn Mille Feuille - Chenin Blanc/ Sauv Blanc/
Semillion
Marinated Buffalo Mozzarella - Sauvignon Blanc
Osso Buco Ravioli - Chianti/ Pinot Noir/ Cotes du Rhône

- When serving main course

When serving the Entrée, this is the perfect opportunity to up-sell a glass
or a bottle of red or even white wine but remember this – if a guest takes
your recommendation and places an order, be sure to serve the drink
promptly.
See below, which grapes go with which Entrée:

Duck Breast - Pinot Noir

Guinea Fowl - Pinot Noir/ Chardonnay
John Dory - Italian White
Atlantic Salmon - Pinot Noir/ Chardonnay
Lamb Rack - Ontario Cabernet-Merlot/ Bordeaux/ California –
Aus. Red
Pork Chop - Medium Red/ Bordeaux
Beef Selection - Full Red/ Shiraz/ Cabernet/ Bordeaux/
Brunello etc.
Linguini & Roasted Québec Chicken - Lighter Red/ Barbera/
Chianti
Gorgonzola Polenta - Sweeter Red/ Amarone

Now remember, always try to sell a bottle of wine first, before selling
wine by the glass. However, if a bottle of wine is too much for the guest
or if one wants red and the other wants white you can offer our ‘wine by
the glass’ list. You can suggest to the guest that our Sommelier will be
glad to assist in making a suitable choice.

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It is important that you have a good understanding of wine since the
Sommelier may be busy and you will be the one to recommend and serve
the wine. Should you have any questions about wines and in particular,
those listed above, see Markus.

- When offering dessert

Once the guest has finished with his/ her main course you can offer to bring
the dessert menu. Once you have brought them the menu you can suggest
one of the desserts that you think they will enjoy the most or you might
recommend the ‘sweet-thesis’. If the guest does not want to see the dessert
menu you could say something like this:

“Are you sure because we also have some very light desserts on our menu?”
“Maybe you would like to share one?”

“We do also have a variety of refreshing sorbets”

Now comes the time to up-sell a dessert wine, Ice wine or a Port wine that
can be enjoyed together with the dessert.
Again you might say:

“Would you like me to call our Sommelier so that he can recommend the
best suitable sweet wine that would perfectly compliment your dessert?”

This is the time when you have to bring in the list of all the dessert, Port and
Ice wines as Elements has such an impressive and extensive selection
seldom seen elsewhere. We have two dessert wines available by the glass
and three different aged Port wines by the glass.

- When offering coffee

When offering coffee to the guest you should always try to up-sell a
Cappuccino, since it is priced higher. Other than the normal Cappuccino, we
also have a variety of ‘Specialty’ coffees which should be fairly easy to up-
sell because one of them even carries the restaurant name. you could say
something like this:

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“Sir/Madame would you like to try our fantastic Elements Coffee or the
Café Peleikis named after our long-standing bar tender?”

We have such a nice selection so it is really sad if we don’t make use of it!!

- When offering digestifs

Now comes your last chance to up-sell. You offer digestifs to the guests and
bring the Spirits and digestif list to the table.

This is how I do it:

“Madame/ Sir, is there anything else I can bring you, maybe you would like
to have a digestif to aid digestion. We have a wonderful selection of
cognacs, grand mariners or Grappa, would you like to see the list?

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