🔥 Holiday Gear-Up Series, Part 7: Train Your Staff for Holiday Service Standards (Before the Season Breaks Them)
- Ben Maher
- Nov 30
- 3 min read
You can have the perfect holiday roster…A profitable, simplified menu…A strong food safety system…And a beautiful supply plan…
But if your staff aren’t trained properly for December and January?
👉 Your whole venue can fall over in a week.
Holiday trading hits hard:
New casuals
Tired full-timers
Big bookings
Tourists
Heatwaves
Grumpy customers
Long wait times
Holiday stress
Zero patience
The ONLY way through is team alignment.
Here’s exactly how to get your staff ready for the busiest weeks of the year.
🎯 Why Staff Training Matters More in December
In peak season:
Mistakes multiply
Emotions run high
Service expectations rise
Fatigue sets in
Customers become unpredictable
New staff panic
BOH & FOH communication cracks
Small issues become explosions
Standards slip FAST
The venues that win December are NOT the ones with the most staff.
They’re the ones with the most prepared staff.
💥 The 7 Must-Train Areas for a Successful Holiday Season
1. Clear Expectations for the Holidays
Your team should know:
✔ What “good service” looks like in December
✔ Expected pace
✔ Non-negotiables
✔ How to prioritise tasks
✔ What NOT to say to customers
✔ Your standards for plates, drinks, clearing, and timing
If you don’t set expectations → staff make up their own.
2. The New Staff Survival Briefing
Every new staff member must be trained in:
Menu structure
Top sellers
Daily setup
Closing duties
Coffee workflow (if relevant)
POS shortcuts
Allergens
Table numbers
House rules
Who to go to for help
Don’t assume anything.Train from zero.
3. Holiday Customer Service Training
December customers are:
⚠️ Hot
⚠️ Hungry
⚠️ Rushed
⚠️ Impatient
⚠️ Emotional
⚠️ Whether they mean to be or not
Train your team to handle:
✔ Long wait-time conversations
✔ Delays
✔ Complaints
✔ “We’re busy” moments
✔ Large tables
✔ Families
✔ Frustrated guests
✔ Tourists with special requests
Scripts help.Confidence helps even more.
4. FOH & BOH Communication Rules
This is HUGE.
Train your team to:
✔ Repeat back orders
✔ Communicate ticket times
✔ Warn the pass about big tables
✔ Tell FOH when a station is drowning
✔ Provide accurate wait times
✔ Handle 86’d items professionally
✔ Work as a single unit
The magic is in the communication.
5. Speed Training — The December Edition
Your team must practice:
Quick table resets
Fast drink delivery
Efficient clearing
Pre-bussing
FOH flow patterns
BOH plating consistency
Coffee speed drills
Service speed is NOT about rushing —it's about organisation.
6. Heat, Fatigue & Dealing With Stress
Prepare for:
Heat exhaustion
Short tempers
Mental fatigue
Overwhelm
Staff conflicts
Train your team in:
✔ Hydration rules
✔ “Tap out” moments
✔ How to ask for help
✔ How to stay calm during peak
✔ Handling emotional customers
✔ Protecting each other
Your staff cannot serve well if they are breaking down.
7. Holiday Briefings — Daily, Not Monthly
Every day before service, run a 2–3 minute briefing:
Today’s bookings
Big tables
Menu changes
Specials
Stock shortages
Safety reminders
Expected rush times
Roles & zones
This keeps the team aligned every single day.
💡 Need Help Training Your Team? I Run Holiday-Ready Staff Sessions.
This is one of the most impactful services I offer.
With Staff Training & Holiday Service Coaching, your team gets:
✔ A full December readiness session
✔ Customer service training
✔ Communication & teamwork coaching
✔ Food safety refreshers
✔ December scripts & scenarios
✔ Heatwave & fatigue training
✔ Service flow systems
✔ Role clarity for FOH + BOH
✔ Confidence heading into peak season
We train fast.We train smart.And your team walks away READY.
🟦 Explore staff training options here: https://www.bambamculinaryconsultants.com/book-online
🎉 BLACK FRIDAY BONUS — Ends 30/11/25
Book a FREE 15-minute discovery call before 30/11 and you’ll get:
🔥 20% OFF any Staff Training or Holiday Readiness Package
This one pays for itself VERY quickly — especially in December.
👉 Book your call:
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