Retain Staf and Earn More

By Pamela Wood

Do your servers understand how to sell and talk about wine? Learning how to talk about wine, selling, and serving means that everyone is making more money. A server can double the guest check total and increase their tip by merely making the right wine suggestions to customers.

How do you make the time to educate them? What if you could outsource that to a proven program that takes less than 3 hours and will change the lives of the people that work for you? Here is the answer, Culinary Wine Institute. CWI focuses on making it simple for employers by providing an online tutorial that will inform, educate and prepare your staff for increased wine sales.

Hear what a couple of CWI students have to say:

Janica is a server at the Union Grill, your average casual cuisine restaurant with a decent wine list. She has 15 years of experience, knows her customers and her menu quite well. But there is one thing missing, Janica does not drink. She has never had wine and this has always been her ‘achilles heel’ at her job. Janica tells us when customers would ask for a wine with their menu selection she would graciously go get another server, whom she assumed knew about wine to assist her table. Awkward situation for both the server and the customer. This was all about to change when Union Grill decided to put their servers through CWI’s basic course, Janica included. A couple weeks after taking the class, we caught up with Janica to see how it was going on the foor. Here’s what she says Meet Natalia. Natalia was hired for a seasonal server position at Deer Valley Resort, a premier ski resort in Utah, known for exquisite cuisine at highly rated restaurants. Natalia is studying hospitality and came to the US from Argentina on the J1 exchange program to further her experience in the industry. Natalia works at more than one of the resort’s restaurants, she is not at the same restaurant each shift. The resort has fve restaurants ranging from American grill to fne dining. Needless to say, the learning curve can be a bit overwhelming and each restaurant has its own unique wine list.

The food and beverage operations manager chose to put their staff through CWI’s course so that every server could be on the same page and learn how to serve the guests no matter which restaurant they were scheduled to work at. Over the course of two weeks all the servers went through the course and, in seeing Natalia again, we asked if she felt the course helped her education in wine.

Her reply: “The CWI course has given me the basic knowledge of wine pairing, without being overcomplicated. I feel confident in suggesting wine for my guests’ specific tastes, and helping them select the perfect match for their dining experience.” - Natalia, J1 exchange server

“I was very skeptical at first. Since whenever guests used to ask me for wine suggestions, I would find another server to help them. But after passing your course, the other night I had three people at one of my tables. They asked me what wine they should order. I looked at their meal choices and I was able to make a suggestion. They liked it so much, they ordered a second bottle. My tip was $25, instead of the normal $10-$12, and that’s a tank of gas in my car. This course has helped at every table that asks about our wines. Who knew that someone like me could be able to feel comfortable suggesting wine to customers, thank you.” - Janica, Union Grill

CWI circled around to the F&B operations manager to fnd out if he felt the course was a beneft to his staff and the resort: “Setting aside the increased revenue, saving our servers and the resort embarrassment in front of our guests is alone worth the investment.” - Clint, Resort Restaurant Operations Manager

Wine sales can boost your bottom line in a big way but servers need to be taught how to confdently talk about wine as well as provide proper table service. Culinary Wine Institute, (CWI), trains your servers with simple-to-use knowledge-based tips and tools that help boost wine sales. Their program is effective, engaging, proven, time-saving, affordable and guaranteed*.

You can get more information and schedule a call by visiting Culinarywineinstitute.com to view their *guarantee promise. Get started today by emailing info@culinarywineinstitute.com with questions on pricing plans, ease of use and the importance of the certifcation.

Culinary Wine Institute, 2100 Park Ave. #682594, Park City, UT 84098 Pamela Wood, CEO and Director of Education is a Certifed Sommelier, a Certifed American Wine Expert and one of only 447 Certifed Wine Educators worldwide.