Upselling

Warm-up: has a server ever offered you a premium spirit, a dessert or an after-dinner drink? Did you say yes? Why?

Upselling means encouraging guests to choose a more expensive product or to add something to their order. It increases the bill, and the server's tip, but done well, it also gives the guests a richer dining experience. The key is to do it subtly: you don't want to seem pushy, and if a guest declines, let it go.

In this video, Jane, a server at Lorenzo's, shows six upselling opportunities: presenting the specialty drink of the night, offering premium gin brands, starting an appetizer while guests decide, recommending a wine by the glass (without always pushing the most expensive one), suggesting the signature soup with a reason to order it, describing a seasonal dessert and after-dinner drinks, and offering a half portion to a hesitant guest. Her golden rule: know your menu backwards and forwards.

Step 1 – Read

• Some advice on upselling (Google document)

Step 2 – Watch and fill in the gaps

• Watch the video and fill in the gaps, with the word list

• Do it again without the word list
• The video comes from the YouTube channel of Viet-Anh Do Quoc.

Step 3 – Vocabulary

• Match the words with their translations (24 words)

• Flashcards (Quizlet)

Step 4 – Go further

• Suggestive selling: another video on the same topic

• Video from the YouTube channel of iwan setiady.
• See also: Tableside Manners, with the same server at the same restaurant