Quick hint
Sometimes we as waiters will pre-print a ticket right around dessert time in order to have the check ready to present to the guest in case they don’t get dessert. This is a way to be efficient, but we have to be careful about getting rid of the ticket should they get dessert or coffee. Otherwise, you could be on the hook for those items ordered after you printed the check. This seems like basic common sense, but it’s easy to forget to reprint the check and get rid of the earlier check, especially if you get busy or are juggling several tables with pre-printed checks. It’s also easy to print the new check but not get rid of the old one and accidentally present the wrong check to the guest.
So, get in the habit of reprinting the check each time that you order something and get rid of the previous check. I’ve had to reprint a check as many as three times and each time, I’ll make sure that I throw away the previous check.
Also, get in the habit of checking the check to make sure that you’ve rung in all coffees, espressos or anything that you don’t get from a chit from the kitchen or the bar, i.e. anything that you or your server assistant prepares yourself.
