Pizza Today - September 2018 - 32

make reservations, easily get sat during
non-peak hours, and how our wait system
worked," Shepherd says. "We always
handed these out to large groups to help
educate them for next time. These policies
and suggestions were on our Web site,
too."
You might instantly think to institute policies to control group efficiencies. Some of those include minimum
order size, single payment method and
automatic gratuity. Shepherd warns that
having too many policies for large parties
can be counter productive.
"People today want what they want
when they want it," he says. "They aren't
expecting to have to deal with a set of
guidelines like you would at a fine dining
establishment. If a group of 20 wants
the bill split 20 ways, no problem. No
minimum orders unless they are renting
an entire section or room."
One policy that Shepherd is adamant
about instituting is a service charge
to groups. "When it comes to service
charges or mandatory gratuity, I feel that
you should automatically add it on for
very large groups of 12 or more," he says.
"Often these groups require multiple
servers, are more 'needy', and everyone
else often is expecting the other to pickup
the bill or the tip. An automatic service
charge makes this easier for everyone. Just
make sure you follow the new rules on
properly classifying service charges as a
wage rather than a tip." More on services
charges, visit www.irs.gov/newsroom/
tips-versus-service-charges-how-toreport.
* STAFF TEAMWORK. Every employee
needs to be on top of their game to
handle groups.
Shepherd says hosts should be
empathetic and well spoken. Language
is important when trying to seat a group.
"Hosts never want to retreat to 'It's our
policy' but instead need to explain the
policy and reasons why without ever
uttering the words 'It's our policy'," Shepherd says. Hosts should also let managers and the kitchen know that a group
has arrived, relaying its size and their
estimated wait time.
Serving a group may require multiple
servers and a manager should be ready
to step in to help meet the needs of indi-

viduals within the group. Shepherd says
it's always a good idea to have guidelines
in place when a party needs two servers.
Kitchen efficiency and execution is
critical. "Party orders need to be treated
as an emergency," Shepherd says. "They
won't stand for half the group having
their food while the other half waits
another 20 minutes. All the food needs to
come out together."
* WAIT PROTOCOLS. Walk-in large
groups should not expect preferential
placement on the waitlist. "If your wait
list is full they get pushed to the end of
the line just like anyone else," Shepherd
advises. "Upsetting dozens of people on
the wait list isn't worth accommodating
one large group. Individual customers are
your bread and butter. I never advocate
holding seats empty more than a few
minutes during a rush to accommodate
a large group. Empty seats don't pay the
rent."
* HOW TO HANDLE LARGE PARTIES
DURING A RUSH. Accommodating large

parties can be a double-edged sword
during peak dining hours. Groups tend
to linger for hours, while you may be able
to turn those same tables two or three
times. Shepherd shares his experience: "I
can remember numerous Friday nights
at my pizzeria (with 120 seats) where
we accommodated two groups of about
20 to 30 guests. Each group stayed for
two to three hours and reduced my sales
by about $1,500 for the evening. These
groups stopped ordering food and drinks
after the first hour and occupied nearly
half of my seating. We had to turn away
guest after guest all evening
because they weren't willing to wait two
hours for a seat. We quickly changed our
policy to only accommodate large groups
of nine plus before or after peak hours of
5 p.m. to 8 p.m. afterwards. Otherwise
they could split up and be treated as a
normal customer."
If large parties frequently walk in,
Shepherd says "Then I would start
considering making a dedicated party
area." n
DENISE GREER

Today.

is associate editor at Pizza


http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/

Pizza Today - September 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pizza Today - September 2018

Pizza Today - September 2018
Commentary
Contents
Contributors
Expo Spotlight
Interact
Conversation
Man on the Street
Tony’s Trending Recipe
At Your Service
Destinations
Knead to Know
Group Friendly
Flour Blends
Eggplant Ideas
The Modern Chef
Culture at Hand
Road to Ppne ‘18
Operations Roundtable
Food Temperature
Off-Site Catering
On the Road: The Post, Louisville, Ky
Product Showcase
Pizza Today Yellow Pages
The Marketplace
Reader’s Resource
Mike’s Monthly Tip
Pizza Today - September 2018 - CT1
Pizza Today - September 2018 - CT2
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Pizza Today - September 2018
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Cover2
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Commentary
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 4
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 5
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Contents
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 7
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 8
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 9
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Contributors
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 11
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Expo Spotlight
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 13
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Interact
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 15
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Conversation
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 17
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Man on the Street
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 19
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Tony’s Trending Recipe
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 21
Pizza Today - September 2018 - At Your Service
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 23
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Destinations
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 25
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Knead to Know
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 27
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 28
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 29
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Group Friendly
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 31
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 32
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 33
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Flour Blends
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 35
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 36
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 37
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Eggplant Ideas
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 39
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 40
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 41
Pizza Today - September 2018 - The Modern Chef
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 43
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 44
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 45
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Culture at Hand
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 47
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 48
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 49
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Road to Ppne ‘18
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 51
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 52
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 53
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Operations Roundtable
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 55
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 56
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 57
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 58
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 59
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Food Temperature
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 61
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 62
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 63
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Off-Site Catering
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 65
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 66
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 67
Pizza Today - September 2018 - On the Road: The Post, Louisville, Ky
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 69
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 70
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 71
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 72
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 73
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 74
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 75
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Product Showcase
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 77
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 78
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Pizza Today Yellow Pages
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 80
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 81
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 82
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 83
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 84
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 85
Pizza Today - September 2018 - The Marketplace
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 87
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 88
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 89
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 90
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 91
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 92
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 93
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 94
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 95
Pizza Today - September 2018 - 96
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Reader’s Resource
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Mike’s Monthly Tip
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Cover3
Pizza Today - September 2018 - Cover4
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