Is “Hi. We’re Out Of…” Really A Good Restaurant Greeting?

At the beach for vacation, I was surprised how many times we were greeted in restaurants with, “Hi. Tonight we’re out of…”

While I appreciate the early update of what items are not available from the menu, I’m just settling in. How about …

• a nice welcome,
• an introduction of who you are,
• can I take a drink order,
• here are our specials, and THEN
• “unfortunately we’re out of, but may I recommend…”

One restaurant handled “we’re out of” in the right way by telling us after the list of specials.

But taking a step further, a server could say, “We’re out of the lobster pasta special, but the shrimp linguine is just as delicious.”

It’s amazing how this first few minutes of the waiter’s time with a customer truly sets the tone for the meal.

With just a little coaching, you can turn a piece of bad news and possible bad experience for a customer into a nice greeting and something that isn’t a big deal at all!