Ten Secrets to Being the Very Best Order Taker You Can Be
I’ve had a front-row seat to some of the very best order takers in the business, and it’s time I shared these secrets with you, too. With a little hard work and some night classes in deference adaptation, there’s no reason you can’t excel at this. So here we go:
- Be ready to attend a meeting whenever your client needs something. If that means an evening call or a quick chat when you’re on vacation, just grit your teeth and be accommodating.
- Ask a lot of insightful questions about how many they want and when they need it by.
- When someone asks for your favorite off the menu, defer and mumble something about how it depends on your taste. Or you haven’t found any weak spots among the choices, yet–they’re all good.
- If the choices don’t fit their budget, offer to talk to the chef or the proprietor to see if something can be done.
- Don’t bother them directly. Always work through their executive assistant.
- If they aren’t being respectful to another team member, suck it up. You’re in the service business and the customer is always right.
- Takes notes in all the meetings. Call them meeting notes, too, or debriefs. Don’t call them decisions or strategy discussions because that’ll seem like you think pretty highly of yourself.
- If they miss a deadline on something they were supposed to get to you, rearrange your schedule so that you can still deliver against the original deadline.
- Don’t ask “why” questions about what they want. That’s not your job, and you can rest assured that repeating last year’s plan–with just a few changes–is the best way to be innovative and really move the needle.
- Finally, always pay attention to how well the client likes you. They need more friends, probably, and you can fulfill an important role in their life by just listening, nodding, and then making it happen. After all, clients are really excited about paying a price premium for good listeners!
I hope this has been helpful to you. If there’s anything else I can do for you–even if it’s free and takes a lot of my time–PLEASE let me know.
