Giving a great interview is the first step in beginning a new journey. If the candidate makes sure to answer all questions well, only he can get the position. This is because so many candidates are striving for the same post. So, there has to be a way of answering interview questions so that the chances of securing the job become very high. Here we will help you with 25 questions to be asked from a person seeking the position of a banquet server and all the possible answers to them.
1. Why Are You Interested In This Role?
I have been a part of a famous restaurant that serves various cuisines. That restaurant gave me the experience of a lifetime, but unfortunately, I had to move from the city where the restaurant was. Now I want to utilize all the skills and expertise I learned from there in building your business and providing the best customer service to people who visit.
2. What Are The Roles Of A Banquet Server?
The responsibilities of a Banquet Server are to provide great customer service throughout the entire event to ensure the best standard of satisfaction for the customer. Below are some of the duties to be performed by the banquet server.
- Help with the setup of the banquet area.
- Get food and beverage orders ready.
- Maintain the best level of cleanliness and be aware of sanitary practices.
- Try to figure out guests’ needs and be above the customer service expectations to impress them.
- Maintain high composure in a quick-paced environment.
- Pass on significant information regarding orders, food allergies, and requests to the appropriate person.
- Respond to the queries urgently and appropriately
3. What Are The Qualities That A Banquet Server Needs To Be Successful?
A banquet server needs the following traits to be successful;
- Be kind, patient, and respectful towards guests as they come to the event and be able to explain to them about the designated table or seat.
- Making guests’ comfort his priority by ensuring that guests are satisfied. This can be done by answering their questions, taking the orders, catering special requests and all the orders should be passed to the kitchen as well as the bar, and then serving the food and the beverages
- He should move around a lot to ensure that everyone’s getting what they want and carry trays of appetizers and beverages that are easily accessible to guests.
- Knowledgeable of all the areas in which the event is taking place. For example, he needs to know where the washroom is or any kid’s play area nearby.
- Providing Support to other staff members who might need help to provide guest satisfaction.
- Be well versed with the safety measures taken in case of an emergency.
- Should have great communication skills.
4. What Major Challenges Did You Face During Your Last Role As A Banquet Server? How Did You Manage Them?
The global pandemic has changed the way things are done these days. Distancing, sanitizing, temperature checks and masks are the new norm. Wearing masks for a long period is quite tough. Making sure everything is clean and hygienic took time. Also, the rules had constantly been changing. There had been an absolute ban on fine dining for some months when the pandemic was at its peak, so those days had been quite stressful.
5. Describe Your Daily Routine As A Banquet Server?
My day starts at 10 am as a banquet server. I reach the workplace and make sure everything is in its place. I supervise the decor for the particular celebration that day and arrange the seats according to that. I arrange the pops and help the kitchen team too. I make sure the table and the bar are set according to the theme. I keep the plates and glasses in their place. As the guests start arriving, I welcome them and greet them respectfully. I show them a way to sit. Then serve them appetizers. Ask them about their particular needs. Serve the food when it is time. I also set the cake and other bakery items when it’s time to celebrate. I keep visiting every table to make sure everything is in its place. After the guests are done, we wrap up things by placing the plates in the kitchen and cleaning the tables and chairs.
6. Describe Briefly About Your Experience?
My experience has been great. It has allowed me to interact with several people and gain experience as a server. I got to know about cuisines from all over the world—what a fulfilling experience it has been. My previous job was as a “banquet server” for a small business. I was primarily responsible for setting up assigned tables for our banquet functions. The servers were happy to serve the guests, providing alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and food.
7. What Is The Kind Of Strategies And Mindset Required For A Banquet Server’s Role?
It’s a job concerned with satisfying the client and meeting their expectations. Your business will flourish if you meet their expectations and work accordingly. If the guests become happy, then the purpose is fulfilled. Also, the skill of communication plays a role. If you deal with the client nicely, you have a chance of the client visiting you again and again. Also, the customer will spread good words about you.
8. What Is The Biggest Challenge You Foresee In This Banquet Server Job?
One of the biggest challenges is the customers who criticize a lot even if you give your best. With such customers dealing is not easy. It becomes too tough. You can’t meet their expectations even if you give your hundred percent. They will point out some new faults. The best thing is to stay positive, take criticism lightly, and keep doing good work.
9. How Do You Stay Motivated At Work?
The day-to-day tasks I perform at work keep me motivated. I listen to podcasts and music too during work. I look forward to working each day. There is a list of tasks to be performed, and that list keeps me motivated and energized. I feel elated. Nothing makes me happier than my client praising my hard work for them. Most importantly, if the client is happy and provides the best feedback, I feel very proud, making me more motivated and enthusiastic.
10. Describe A Time You Failed In The Role Of A Banquet Server And The Lesson You Learned?
I once remember an event where I was super excited to be a banquet server. I went to the workplace all happy and cheerful. I wanted to be present for everything. Suddenly, I experienced a throbbing headache, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. So, I had to be taken to hospital and couldn’t be there for the event, which made me so unhappy. I felt like a failure. My manager assured me that the event was taken care of very well. But deep down, I felt quite low. I remained sad and upset for a few weeks but recovered soon. I will never forget that part of my life as it was the darkest one.
11. Why Do You Feel You Are Qualified For The Role Of Banquet Server?
I have served as a banquet server before, too, so I have the necessary knowledge that can help me give good customer service to clients. I can utilize all the skills required for this job. Similarly, working in different places gives a lot more exposure and experience. I have the skills you need, and I have enough confidence in myself for this position.
12. Share With Us Your Greatest Achievement
My greatest achievement has been at an event where I served the guests and helped the older adults at the party. Many older people needed help. So I took them to the restroom, served them well, and took extra care of them. They were super impressed and awarded me with a tip. But the most important thing for me was the amount of love they showered on me. It was beautiful. My manager also appointed me as the best server in the restaurant. It was a proud moment indeed.
13. When A Customer Complains About Their Meal Or Seating Arrangements, How Would You Handle The Situation?
I will apologize and own the mistake. I will try to repeat their issue in my apology to show them that I perfectly understand and try to work hard for the solution. I will say to them something like, “I clearly understand your issues, Sir/Mam, but I assure you to make meal replacement for free or arrange your seating as per your requirements.”
14. Do You Recall Any Time You Had To Prepare A Dish For A Banquet Guest? How Did It Go?
I have experience preparing simple dishes for guests and have a great working knowledge of operating kitchen equipment. Last year, a few dishes I prepared for the banquet included some cheeseburgers and milkshakes. As a banquet server, I have completely learned how to operate a professional blender and a flat top grill.
15. Should The Forks Be Placed To The Left Or To The Right Of The Main Plate When Putting A Formal Place Setting?
I believe that forks should be placed on the left of the plate, and knives and spoons on the right, based on my experience and formal placement settings. Forks positioned forward are the only ones found on oysters. This is a common practice but may vary according to the customer; a few need to modify the settings.
16. What Is A Time When You Erred While Serving? What Preventative Measures Can You Take To Avoid It Happening Again?
I felt a bit shy about speaking fluent English in my previous role. This was because my foreign language skills were relatively limited. Due to this, I faced many issues initially, like I couldn’t understand guests or their issues, and sometimes, they wouldn’t understand me either. Over time, I learned many new things as I attempted to improve my communication skills. This significantly boosted my confidence, and now, I can do my job at my best.
17. Do You Have Experience Serving Banquets And Memorizing Menus?
Yes. I have experience in taking orders from guests for food or beverages. Moreover, I can also clean tables or counters after they have finished dining and can perfectly write guests’ food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.
18. When Under Pressure, How Do You Handle It?
Under pressure, I am never stressed. I always remain calm, focused on what needs to be achieved, stay positive, take my regular work breaks, and perfectly carry on with my responsibilities. Moreover, I am straightforward and dedicated to the job for the best outputs.
19. As A Banquet Server, What Is Your Experience With Confrontations With Supervisors? Have You Dealt With Them Successfully?
I had difficulty meeting one manager’s expectations when I began working for him in my first job; he gave me less feedback than I deserved. Our disagreements were caused by misunderstandings of what each of us wanted. I met with him and asked for more specific, honest feedback. For two years, we worked together successfully once we were on the same page. Later, when I worked as a banquet server for another organization, I discussed our styles and expectations beforehand.
20. Whenever You Worked As A Banquet Server, What Did You Dislike The Least?
I worked for many companies, but I had a very bad experience in the last one. I often received instructions from more than one supervisor and senior team member. This made things tough for me because if I agreed with one, the other would be angry and vice versa. I managed it somehow, and no doubt, I learned a lot from them.
21. What Are Your Biggest Strengths/Weaknesses As A Banquet Server?
My biggest strengths include my sharp communication skills, in-depth attention to detail, understanding of my responsibilities, honesty, dedication to work, and teamwork. As far as my weaknesses are concerned, sometimes I get too friendly with guests. Additionally, I possess average computer and management skills.
22. If Hired, How Can You Benefit The Company?
I am an ideal candidate for the banquet server position due to my skills and expertise. If hired, I’d bring my expertise in this area, my experience in customer service, and my effective communication and collaboration skills that will surely convince your customers to come back. I will make sure that customers never get disappointed and engage with them in all the possible ways to make things work.
23. Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job?
A new challenge awaits me in my career. It was fun working with the people I worked with, and I enjoyed the projects I was involved in, but at some point, I realized I wasn’t being challenged like I used to. I chose to pursue a position that would allow me to continue to grow rather than get too comfortable.
24. How Would You Describe Your Ideal Work Environment?
I liked the environment in my previous position. My manager was a helpful resource, and he was always willing to help out when I ran into an issue. However, they trusted me to get my work done, so I had a lot of freedom in scheduling and prioritizing. This was very relevant to me. Everyone had their cubicle, so it was often pretty quiet to get our work done, but we all got lunch together. Our team had a lot of check-in meetings and communications, which provided us with many opportunities to learn and bounce ideas off each other. So, I would prefer to work both individually and collaboratively.
25. Would You Like To Ask Us A Question?
Yes, please. I want to ask a bit about the company and the role you are offering.
- How would you describe your short- and long-term goals for a new hire in this role?
- How well do you feel I will fit into the organization and role?
- This opportunity has been very interesting to me. How do we move forward with the hiring process?
- Could I tell you anything else about myself to help you decide?
- Could you tell me when I should start if I get the job?
- Can you tell me what a typical workday or week looks like for me?
- What are your realistic expectations from me as a banquet server?
- How many co-workers can I expect to have in my circle?
- What benefits apart from the salary can I expect?
- How many paid leaves can I expect?
Conclusion
Banquet serving is a job that requires the presence of mind and quick service. A banquet server needs to be calm and polite while doing his duty. This is the kind of job that requires punctuality. If you want to secure this job, be ready to practice great skills, including patience and hard work. No doubt, a good interview is too important to get the job. There should be clarity in the answers so that the other person can get convinced to give the post to you only. Banquet servers need to be exceptionally well-organized to be successful. Their job must be completely customer-oriented. Physical strength is essential for servers because they are on their feet for long periods.
