How to Get Along With the Kitchen as a New Server

The kitchen isn't your enemy. They're slammed, stuck in one spot, and fixing mistakes they didn't make. Make their night easier and they'll make yours easier.

Ring it in right

• Read the order back to the table and check the POS before you send it. A remake is the fastest way to make the line mad.
• Ring in one course at a time: drinks, apps, entrees, dessert. A course label on the POS doesn't hold the food. Everything you ring in together fires together unless you hold it.
• Know the menu. Blackened can't come out medium rare. Don't promise the table something the kitchen can't make.

Respect the math

There are usually fewer cooks than servers. Five servers feeding one line means tickets take time. That's math, not laziness. Set the table's expectations instead of pushing the kitchen.

Take care of them

• Say "heard" when they call something out.
• Bring the line a drink once in a while. They can't leave. You can.
• If they need something grabbed, grab it.

A kitchen that likes you will save your table when it counts.