Published on April 28, 2013 on Medium
TL;DR Use every opportunity to get better, to improve the effectiveness of your position, to up-sell with care, and have fun.
My family owns a Chinese restaurant called the Golden Dragon. It just hit its 30th year in existence, older than me by a few months. I spent a majority of my childhood running through the aisles, playing with my cousins and sister in the kitchen, and eating a ton of Chinese food.
When I was of working age, 10 years old, I was put on dish duty. It really didn’t feel like work, I was actually happy to help out. I would spend my days washing the dishes and then stacking them back onto the shelves. My cousin Steven and I turned it into a game to see who could finish stacking a freshly cleaned rack the fastest. That game quickly ended as the number of broken dishes hit an all time high. Days turned into years and as I got better, I was given other responsibilites like peeling shrimp, preparing snow pea pods, string beans, etc. Around this time, I also started to get paid for my efforts, $20 a day, look out, Richie Rich!
It wasn’t until I hit high school that I got to work the “front of the house” manning the cash register and answering the phones. My family said I was ready, but as I think about it now, it was probably because I finally reached the legal working age and could be outside with the customers.
At first, I would answer the phone, take orders, collect money and say “thank you”...pretty standard stuff.
As I got to know the menu better, improved my “phone voice”, and had a relative idea on our profit margin, I decided to step up my game. One day, I started with a simple goal that I would try to get an egg roll added to every order. I didn’t really have any qualms about it, since our egg rolls are freaking delicious (shameless plug). We made them from scratch and once a person had a taste, they would keep coming back for them. Eventually, an extra egg roll turned into adding on wonton soup, to adding on entrees — our General Tso’s Chicken is the best (shameless plug). I was able to upsell the menu and increased the average order size on pretty much every call.
When they came and picked up the order, I made it a point to know the entirety of what they had ordered and accepted their money with a smile. With credit cards, I read their name on the card as I swiped it and thanked them using their first name. It’s a nice little touch that goes a long way. Needless to say, order size increased and tips were good so I rarely was put back on the dishwasher station.
By the way, if you ever are in Conshohocken, PA, stop by the Golden Dragon, and be sure to try an egg roll.
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