309953 Mon Jul 17 17:09:21 -0700 2006 10 33 Food Media and News 0 1749183 Are there any? I'm a waiter, and I have a lot to learn Mon Jul 17 17:09:21 -0700 2006 13347 Danimal 1 1749366 ask your trainer? i've run across a couple of small booklets put out by the nra on service. Mon Jul 17 18:18:46 -0700 2006 1749183 16027 dano 1 1749543 I'd google it...there must be books on it! Mon Jul 17 19:23:09 -0700 2006 1749183 11408 melly 1 1749696 "Remarkable Service: A Complete Guide to Winning and Keeping Customers for Servers, Managers and Restaurant Owners," by the Culinary Institute of America is the best service guide I have found. I'm a restaurant manager with a small library on the topic, and this book is the most comprehensive and straightforward. You can find it used on amazon used for about $10. Mon Jul 17 20:07:32 -0700 2006 1749183 15785 monday 2 1753197 I'd like that book but my basic search here did'nt turn up a thing. Wed Jul 19 05:43:29 -0700 2006 1749696 12037 Ida Red 3 1753297 I'm not sure why a search on this site would turn up that particular book. I haven't been using chowhoud for long, but it seems much more for foodies than restaurant folks. I'm just someone who is both. I found the book on amazon pretty easily. I think I searched on "restaurant service." In my experience, nothing I've read has a good breakdown of how things really go in today's U.S. fine-dining restaurants. However, "Remarkable Service" has the best, most universal information about service techniques and standards. Wed Jul 19 08:37:24 -0700 2006 1753197 15785 monday 4 1753603 Yes, my misleading "here" meant I seached on the internet... I will try Amazon again. Wed Jul 19 14:43:08 -0700 2006 1753297 12037 Ida Red 1 1753929 For general and specific, Lessons in Service from Charlie Trotter by Edmund Lawler. It's written from the point of view of an owner, but has a lot of info for servers as well. Wed Jul 19 16:53:01 -0700 2006 1749183 10480 Siobhan 2 1753938 "Lessons in Service from Charlie Trotter" is written by Ed Lawler, not Trotter himself (though I believe Trotter was actively involved in the process). Wed Jul 19 16:58:30 -0700 2006 1753929 11296 Darren72 2 1754004 "Lessons in Service" is great for anyone in customer service not just restaurants. Thanks for mentioning. I didn't find it useful as a technical guide, but I'd love it if everyone in the buisiness would read it. Wed Jul 19 17:23:57 -0700 2006 1753929 15785 monday 1 1754888 Here is a link to a great article about the importance of service in restaurants, featuring Laura Cunningham: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/20/FDG6U99KI01.DTL Not really a guide, but enlightening. Wed Jul 19 22:03:30 -0700 2006 1749183 16301 Non Cognomina