Waiter Accessories

A pad, a pen, a wine opener and a cloth, carried on them, every shift. Shared items mean someone is always looking for the opener, and that lost minute happens at the worst possible time.

Everything else — trays, bill holders, condiment sets — can live at the station. Issue the personal items and replace them without argument.

Enough for every rostered person plus a spare set per shift, because things get lost and taken home. A team of ten running nine openers will lose one in the first fortnight and then share.

Keep the spares in a locked drawer so they stay spares. Buying in packs is almost always cheaper per unit.

Visibly, yes. Mismatched aprons and shirts read as a venue that is not paying attention, and it is the first thing a customer notices before the food arrives.

Standardise on one range and order the replacement stock with the original order. See waiter clothing for the uniform side.

Grip surface and weight, not size. A tray with a non-slip surface lets staff carry more safely than a larger tray that glasses slide on, and an unnecessarily heavy tray tires an arm over a shift.

Round trays for drinks, rectangular for plates and clearing. See commercial serving trays and bar mats.

At a fixed station, not in a pocket. A bill folder that lives in a drawer at the station is found; one that lives in an apron pocket goes home with whoever wore the apron.

Give the station one home for pads, folders and pens. See menu and bill holders and blackboards and signs.

Cloths and aprons on a laundry cycle, trays washed with the crockery, openers wiped and dried rather than put through a dishwasher. A corkscrew that has been through a hot wash will stiffen and rust at the hinge.

Trays go through a commercial dishwasher; openers do not. The tea towels and cloths range covers the linen side.

Pads, pens and openers, in that order, because they are the items that leave the building. Clothing follows on a slower cycle and trays last for years.

Treat the first three as consumables and order them on a schedule. See commercial check pads and waiters friend openers.

Considerably. A cafe needs trays and cloths more than it needs wine service tools; a restaurant needs openers, bill folders and proper service cloths for every person on the floor.

Buy for the service style you actually run. The cafe essentials range covers the cafe end.

Yes, and it is usually cheaper and more consistent than ordering by item. One order from one range also means the replacements match when you come back for them.

Send through headcount, shirt and pant sizes and your service style, and we will build the list with you.