After getting orders from a table, I don't rush to go put that order into the system.
Here's the flow
Collect orders, see if there are others, then start gathering items to pre-bus, run those to dish, THEN put orders into the system. Then I'll grab food or drink to run out front, drop on tables, then start getting orders again and repeat. All night.
TAKE ORDERS -> PRE-BUS -> DISH -> PUT IN ORDERS -> RUN FOOD/ DRINK -> DROP ->
TAKE ORDERS -> PRE-BUS -> DISH -> PUT IN ORDERS -> RUN FOOD/ DRINK -> DROP -> AD INFINITUM
*Getting hot food takes precedence over everything in most restaurants. I typically try to put orders in first, but if I'm in the back and expo is yelling at me to run food, that's what I'll do and that's what you'll do too.
I'm rarely reacting to what happens – there's a general system I follow and stick to. If I'm darting to action with every thing that comes up, I'll be burning quite a bit of energy and time unnecessarily.
FULL HANDS IN, FULL HANDS OUT
Your manager will always appreciate this, but it's not really for them or even for the restaurant. As with most all of our training, it's designed to improve YOUR workflow. Management, your coworkers, the restaurant, and guests are natural beneficiaries of you doing things better – even if their benefit is not the primary driver of your actions.
So back to full hands in, full hands out: This is to help you from running back to the kitchen to grab a fork, then to the floor to get an order, then to the computer to put in an order, then to the back to grab a drink, then here, there, everywhere.
It's exhausting.
Work with mindfulness. While on the floor, try and take care of everything that needs taking care of on the floor. While in the back, try and take care of everything that needs taking care of in the back.
This will save you trips, simplify your workflow, and ultimately allow your to provide better, more efficient service.
Better money is a natural by-product of better performance. This won't necessarily hold true for EVERY table, but on a more macro level, this is absolutely the case.
Thank you for your service.