How to carry plates - restaurant server training
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- Опубліковано 4 січ 2025
- Full programs here: www.realserver...
This is how to carry plates for restaurant waiters.
#forserversbyservers
Take the time to learn to carry plates right. It'll save you time in the long run, and you won't ever need to be anxious about dropping plates at work.
So I first go over grabbing my third plate first. This has to do with when I drop the plates in the next video.
For now, just focus on holding one plate correctly. Thumb and pinky are spread wide and hook over the edges. Then my middle three fingers are spread out and my palm and three fingers hold the weight. If I pinch the edge of the plate, my wrist will be carrying all the weight. It'll get heavy real quick. Restaurant plates are typically much heavier than what you got at home.
Then my second plate rests on my thumb, pinky and forearm. Without my little pinky sitting on top of the plate, the bottom of the second plate will rest on the top of the first. This is health code violation. But of greater concern (to me at least) is that it's not a stable carry. The plate can slide off too easily. Dropping a big plate of food is kind of an ordeal. In the grand scheme of things, it does not matter. But it will then.
Another thing to pay attention to: I hold plates the way I do so my palm carries the weight. BUT another factor to consider is that when you pinch the edge of the plate, you thumb will be kinda sticking into people's food. People notice.
Last point (this isn't soooo important but take note) is that I want to remember my seat numbers for the food BEFORE I look at the table number. If I look at table number first, I always forget after committing the seat numbers to memory.
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Hello I'm new here
Im 19 and I started my first job as a server in a restaurant just to make some money and pay stuff since I live with my mom. Been there for two months and never dropped a plate and I serve dozens if not hundreds of plates everyday, but it was still very helpful, thx.
hell yeah man
I’m a server and waitress and been there about a month. I’ve only dropped one plate but it’s bc it fell off the gu counter.
Will it come naturally? I'll be doing my interview tomorrow for a server position but i have no experience
@@sepsaptell us how was it any updates?
Pick me vibes 😂
I dont work at a restaurant and still found this video useful now watch how i bring the plates out next thanks giving 🔥🔥
Bruh
Today’s your day to shine dawg. Happy Thanksgiving!
@@RealServerTraining wow
And no tip? 😂we got a winner here.
@@ezequielalvarez8263 you get tips?
Wow! Just starting a new server job. Got the job today actually. I’ve done serving before however it’s been quite a while I haven’t done it so I just binged all your videos and praying I will remember and put it to action! Thanks so much!
Thanks! Good luck!
Nice
The editor is FANTASTIC. Good, clear, and concise instruction too!
Fr lol managed to make waiting look epic haha
Can you please show how to carry it WITH all the food on every plate? It’s definitely a lot harder when there’s hot food on each plate
cannot stress how much this helped me I'm about to start a new food running job but I have shaky hands but this technique works even for me the key is that 3 point! Thank you been practicing haha
good! :)
I owe this mann a lottt .
I was being interviewed with a really big and important company for lounge services, and the last question in the interview was to show them how I hold plates,I did perfectly as shown in this tutorial and the recruiter was impressed! And guess whattt!!!! I was accepted into this amazing company after 3 interviews, all because of this AMAZINGGG man ,Thank you sooo much !!!!
haha that's awesome! good for you
Perfect! My first Waiting shift in 2 years tonight I literally forgot how to 3 plate carry somehow haha
Good! So pleased you find this useful!
For 7 months, I am a server at a senior assisted living home and things are pretty chill. I totally understand the stress of getting the orders up on the window and out to the tables on time. This video is so helpful! I am going to try to carry the 3 plates. Usually I would only put two plates on a tray with 2 drinks on my right hand and with the left hand I carry the 3rd plate. My worst fear is accidentally spilling 3 plates! haha.
glad you found these then! yeah dropping plates... isn't the end of the world, but in that moment it kind of is. :)
Im about to start working at a senior assisted living home as a server myself. I’ve never been a server before, and also don’t really have any experience at these homes either. Do you have any tips for me, or just some things I should expect from the work? I would appreciate the help a ton.
@@paranoid5073 Hey friend! I am so excited to hear that you re starting to work at a senior assisted living home was a server! Congrats! Listen, I can relate to how you are feeling now. When I started last year I had that same thought of not having server experience before. I had done work in food service industry through volunteering and working at an ice cream shop. And I did well in costumer service when serving costumers at the ice cream shop. You'll find that most people who become servers, it's their first time as servers with no experience. The company that you work for will give you training and will help you to know everything you need to know. I never worked in a senior home until last year when I became a server.You will expect training from the company they will show you how to take room service orders and how to take orders from the residents in the dining room. You will learn the tips and tricks to serving. And you will learn how to stack plates well when cleaning tables. Stacking dirty plates is an art and if you do it right, you won't smash any lol. It's okay to be nervous. I was at first terrified on my first day but as the day progressed I got to know my lovely coworkers and over time I got to know the facility. And remember, don't expect to be perfect. You will make mistakes and don't feel bad, it's part of life working at a new job. Please feel free to reach out if you have any more questions. Again, I am so happy for you!
@@paranoid5073 Whats it like? I'm considering that too.
This is so helpful, when I see people carrying plates like this I thought that I couldn’t do it, but I am so happy that just by watching this video I can do it
Thank you
Good glad you found this video!
THIS IS SO MUCH SMARTER AND EASIER WAY THAN WHAT MY COLLEAGUE SHOWED ME WTF 😭 now i can actually carry 3 plates without feeling like one is gonna slide off my hand any second, thanks for this!!!
Your colleagues don't want you to do better than them
thank you :) i've been working as a waitress for a few months now but we normally use trays to bring our plates out, but just incase the trays are occupied i needed to learn this. thanks! ^^ i just hope the plates arent too hot when i go pick them up haha
Awesome ! Second shift as a food runner and I tried to double carry and smashed cake all over myself and I knew I needed to flatten out things some how!
Will be practicing this from now on!!
haha good luck!
never in my life worked in a restaurant but your vides are extremely entertaining
I LOVE HOW YOU ARE EXPLAINING THINGS, SIR.
I'm glad this works for you then. Check the playlist.
Me too... 😊
Thank you for this. The thumb pinky and forearm POC tip was INCREDIBLY helpful to me. Thank you very much, was getting so frustrated at the plates sliding on me
you're very welcome. glad this helped.
I work in Assisted senior living as a lead server Dinning room manager I find this extremely helpful by watching your channel my skills as server my residents has definitely stepped up thanks 😊
awesome! glad this has helped! More here if you want more complete training: www.realservertraining.com/
That intro was freaking sick!!! Thanks for the tips!
Thanks for watching Arty
@@RealServerTraining thanks and greetings from the Philippines
@@happychad1548 thanks for watching!
@@RealServerTraining I love you my friend and be good body
Going for a waiter role and this helped so much thank you
19 and going for server training at a local restaurant on Monday(1st job) so this was really helpful coz I’ll try getting comfortable with this at home first. Thank you.
good luck! go through playlist here if you want to get up to speed fast: ua-cam.com/play/PLEOBIdqevo1yBfwc2HYk19PQUAUc_aILa.html
i’m about to start working at Texas Roadhouse and these videos are reallyyyy helpful! thank you so much definitely about to watch all of the videos!
you're very welcome. glad this helped.
No idea how much this helped me! Thank you 🙏🏽
Thank you for this video. I am a doctor who will be performing surgery tomorrow for the first time and I found this video incredibly helpful!
Good! Good luck in your surgery!
tl;dr, I had no clue how to properly hold plates and dropped a steak knife in front of an old lady.
I had a stage at a restaurant (an unpaid trial shift) and was asked to clear a 4-person table. I tried to be a hero and get the entire table cleared in one go to impress management and exhibit the necessary skills to be an asset to the team. Yada yada yada.
Anyways, so there I am, picking up these plates one by one. Mind you I have no technique or understanding of balancing plates whatsoever, and figure if I will my way through it and go for it, I'll be fine.
I ended up with like 6 plates in my hands and a bunch of utensils stacked on top of the plate pile. Out of all the innocent utensils that could have possibly dropped (a spoon, butter knife, fork), one of the monstrous STEAK KNIVES fell right in front of this old ladies face and onto the table.
The rest of her party, consisting of 3 other wealthy, elderly women loudly gasp in unison. The lady whom I dropped the knife in front of angrily mutters "Well don't stab me now!"
I stand there, mortified by her comment and the awkwardness of the situation. The Manager and supervisor happened to witness it as well, and rushed over to help me with the plates.
They sent me home early, said that I was "really green", and emailed me the next day to let me know they "don't have the bandwidth" to train me and thus I was not offered the position.
I felt as if I was doing well on the shift, and was feeling really confident and comfortable at the restaurant. But, I was ultimately judged by that horrific blunder, as it totally outshined any other positives I may have been having throughout the rest of the shift.
The moral of the story is to not be hero and attempt to clear an entire table by yourself when it is beyond your ability. Ask another server for help if needed. Aside from elbowing someone in the face or dropping hot food on them, I'd say nearly being stabbed by a flying steak knife is pretty much up there with one of the worst possible things that can happen. Having someone help you out or clearing the table in two goes is an infinitely better solution.
haha thanks for your story. hopefully you can now just laugh at it now. mistakes happen.
This was funny. Can only imagine
how is an unpaid trial shift even legal? you're supposed to get paid for training
Thank you.Very simple and now I know what to do on my first day of being a banquet server. I start next Sunday 😊🥰‼️
thanks best of luck to you!
@@RealServerTraining you’re welcome. Thank you 🙏🏼. I’ve been more of your content I’m going to practice 😊.
love the attitude, bro.
thanks man!
Wassup boss, what happened to the other videos? This is the best channel I found about this, keep it up!
hey man -- so we pulled the series from UA-cam a while back and will be re-uploading soon. Just changing up our goal with this content.
im doing a similiar way at my job with 2 plates each hand, how ever the plates being a uniform size and not particularely large to begin with. the method you show is awesome and feels much safer holding, defnetly a very helpfull video on my book.
Good! Glad this works for you
I love your content it is very helpful as I am a new server. I hope you make more videos!
thank you! I will!
The pinky is life changing omg
I will be starting at a new restaurant today, hopefully it goes well
Thank you so much since I have watched this video my job has become so much more easier
My man the intro! This guy made doing chores look epic!
hahaha love this thanks
I liked! Your next show should be about how to open and serve wine.
stop omg ive been needing to see this. i’ve been working in this restaurant for nearly 4 months now and i still can’t carry more than three plates at a time 😥 it’s just so hot at the bottom
Moving from kitchen to expo- no experience running food and balancing plates 😅 thank you so much for the information here!
glad you found the channel!
this guy makes this job look cool
yo that intro is clean af 👏🏽👏🏽
thanks man
Thanks for sharing... very much helpful in serving 😊
Done learning. Thank you so much sir
You’re welcome!
as a student that's studying hotel stuff, my hands are always shaking whenever i try to carry full plates:( i don't know what to do, when i do it on clear plates it's much easier - thank you for your video!!:)
I love the way you talk
It's the plate resting on thumb n pinky is hot, then it's a problem
I liked this guy !! Thanks, from Brazil !!
thank you! glad you found the channel
I've been waiting for 2 years but the pinky trick dosent work at my restaurant because we pre-heat our plates in a convection oven to keep rice and beans hot we use mittens and pan handle sleeves I take out 4 plates max I've dose 5 before but it's really unstable same with drinks serving drinks 5 max but I've done 4 on one hand before not recommended
Ain't nobody gonna talk about how badass that intro was??
Guy is buffed.
Such a simple but powerful tip! Thank you 🤙
you're welcome!
That was SO helpful ,thanks so much :D
This so helpful, glad you made the video sir! Thankyou so much
awesome! glad you find them helpful!
@@RealServerTraining thankyou sir!! I'll learn much with your amazing video
I never wanted to be a server but was always curious about this
yeah it comes in handy in real life too
I wish I was taught this when I worked one day at a restaurant as a busboy would’ve made it a lot easier cause it was an upscale restaurant that didn’t use the gray bins. They wanted me to work there but I was kind of intimidated by this
I need a 1 hand follow to the pass!!!!
Yo that was the hardest intro I’ve ever seen 💪
lol thanks!
I really appreciate this technique and employed it as a food runner. However, I am still struggling. The plates are huge with lots of food on it making it to heavy to hold with just my thumb and pinky. The bottom one was still slipping from my pinky and the plates were very hot, causing me to stop and put them on the nearest counter. Any advice on how to correct this? Also my restaurant really wants us to carry FOUR plates at time!
Trays. You'll need a tray.
four plates lmao, tell them they cant eat yo ass or give you slenderman arms if they want 4 plates taken out without a tray
Whoa😃😃
This is great technique and you made a great video, but I would like to make a point that was not touched on. Rather than pick up the dishes by seat number, you should know the table number so you can carry the way you set down. For example you don’t always serve food seat number 1-3 if seat 3 is occupied by the only woman at the table or if there is booth seating you want to serve the people on the inside first so that you don’t reach across fresh food to serve the inside. Your tips are great, but I’m just offering advice to elevate it a bit further. Cheers!
Absolutely agree and thank you for adding this!
I'll be flying to Europe by next month to work as server/waiter.. I'm very nervous and excited because this will be my first time going abroad and without my family. Only with my dreams.
That's great! I moved to Europe when I was 16 without family and am glad I did. Good luck!
y'all went IN on this intro sequence 😂 i love it
thank you!
Ya boy he doing 4 , 3 in one hand - 2 on the index and middle 2 under woth ur pinky and ring finger , 3rd plate goes on top like he does
Thank you Bro for share with us these videos frankly it's very helpful ..thanks again From Morocco
Great to hear! Share with your friends if you think it can help them or anyone else!
Nice to see you addressed the thumb shoved far into the plate issue, 9/10 servers have zero consciousness of that. Good vid!
thanks!
Put your thumb on the rim of the plate, your finger on the lip of the bottom of the plate, now you have 3 fingers free to hold the 2nd plate, the 3rd plate goes on the rim of the 2nd plate, and your forearm, your other hand holds the 4th. Same with when clearing a table
well ive never worked in a restaurant but this looks very helpful 👌
Honestly knowing how to carry three plates and three glasses comes in handy in real life :)
Great and very informative video bro ! Help me a lot for starting my new job next month. Thanks ! Just subscribed
ขอบคุณมาก! โชคดี
@@RealServerTraining wow 🤩 how do you know Thai language ? So impressed!
@@pharkwunsheappitukthum8971 ha thanks! I live here. I'm a Muay Thai fighter and run a business in Thailand. I first moved here in 2014. I moved back to America and made these videos. Now back in Thailand.
The into was absolutely fire wow
Thanks!
Re: just practiced in my kitchen and 100% would not have smashed cake into my shirt if I knew this trick!!!
Very good explanation 👏 I'm a waitress this helps..thanks
This is awesome man, thanks a lot!!! This video is amazing bro.
thanks man! glad this is helpful
Very very thank you sir
“It’s a health code violation ight?” 😂💀
Unfortunately the restaurant I work at has these big wide plates that are so heavy. There’s no way to balance those without getting burned or spilling something.
Omg please give me tips on how you do it??? I am starting my first shift next week and I’m so nervous. How do you carry And balance such heavy plates ??? Also what if you simple can’t carry more than 2? Do you think they will eventually fire you
@@jen4162 They won’t fire you 😳. I recommend only carrying what you can. I start with two plates at a time since they’re really hot and I hold one over the other so I don’t get in the way of the customers with the plates. If you’re carrying more than two plates you can line them up on your arm but be careful because that’s harder. Also don’t hold the bottom if they’re too hot. You’ll burn yourself. And never out your thumbs on the plates or the bowls. Only on the edge or the bottom/side.
@@jen4162 but I think you’ll do great. Good luck!
@@Honestly.Alejandra but don’t the plates get soooo heavy with food on them? Especially if you have to hold 3, I don’t have strong arms :/ I just don’t wanna drop it
@@Honestly.Alejandra what about for carrying multiple drinks ?? Any tips for carrying a drink tray? How to balance it and avoid it from spilling or falling
I prefer square plates, I can carry four if I have two squares, up to five plates if the fifth is something small.
thank you for this video I learned a lot and its help for me as food and beverage....also thank you for tips! more videos plsss.!
you're welcome and thank you for watching! Uploading many more soon
What does first seat, second seat, or third seat mean unless its referring to tables what do those “seats” mean?
a lot of restaurants use seat numbers in addition to table numbers. this helps track orders and know which plate is going where. Typically you'll have an established pivot point (where you take orders from) and seat 1 is first to your left and continues in clockwise manner.
Really liked it.
Thank you very much, please continue
oh, wait this was a plate holding video? 🤩 lol
The Guy who taught me today told me to carry 3 plates with food in one hand ... It was so hard
Yeah the plates are flaming hot btw
Best vedio bro n it makes a lot of sense yo method of carrying
any tips on avoiding hands shaking because of the weight of the plates+dishes above? i suppose just practice maybe, getting stronger wrists, anything doable in short time?
hmmm don't have a fast solution for you. only what you mentioned -- although really shouldn't take long for your hands to steady
@@RealServerTraining what about doing an it with depth plates instead of flat ones? I've been told to do it as well and i think it's more difficult. Sorry for the abuse.
@@HaroldEsc almost like bowls? trickier for sure but same principles apply. you should be able to ask other servers to follow you as well.... getting hot food out successfully is #1
Great video
thank you!
Whoa I've tried balancing like 3 or 4 Plates taking it to a Table but wouldn't it be better with a Tray then lay it down on the Table when you taking away the Tray
It doesn't look good to set a tray on people's table while they're dining... and where are you going to even set the tray? Just take two plates at a time and find someone to follow with the other one or two. Or keep trying this until you feel more confident.
cool video, make some more pls
Thankyou I never had training for mine
glad this helps. most restaurants don't offer much instruction
Thank you for this is great I love my job as a wetron
thank you so much. have my trial on friday. wish me luck haha
good luck!
The few people who disliked the video don't know how to carry plates
I agree with you Razvan Man
I’m new to this and it’s very helpful
I love this thank you man
thanks glad you found the content!
Server
1 fundamentals
2 be the coolest
The whole time my anxiety was on top thinking that he will drop the plates 😂😭
haha no no no seasoned vet here
@@RealServerTraining ❤️
Very helpful man.
Thanks
thank u so much
The intro was Dope
Being emotionally aware for them can be tiring too but I've done alit of caring of my grandma just being aware...😝
Gert video sir❤
Thank you!
Now I know how to carry plates. So now I need to find a job😩
Are there not a lot of serving jobs available now?