As a guest in the pub, where a waiter earned 16,500 francs in June, that’s how it went

Since this summer season, the sales wage applies in all restaurants on the lake of Michel Péclard and Florian Weber’s Pumpstation Gastro GmbH. Means: The service employees work for their own account and receive a share of 7 to 9 percent as wages.

The logic is simple: the more waitresses sell, the higher their wages, but the more profit the company makes. Co-owner Florian Weber told Watson: “The system has been a great success, we have no problems finding employees, people are eager to come and work for us.”

Upselling is an integral part of the new payroll system. For example, if two people order a glass of wine each, the waiter will immediately ask if they want a bottle right away. The credo is to sell more and more expensively. This strategy and the sales wage system ensured that a waiter in the Mönchhof am See restaurant in Kilchberg ZH earned CHF 16,500 in June, which was good.

Is upselling really that active in the Péclard factories? Are the service personnel looking for maximum profit? Watson stopped at the Mönchhof am See.

11:44 am: We arrive at Mönchhof am See in Kilchberg ZH. The weather is nice, the sun is shining, it is pleasantly warm but not too hot. The location on the lake is beautiful, the restaurant is stylish and modern. There is plenty of room, we can choose, but in the course of lunch the tables become full.

11:45 am: The two Watson reporters sit at the table, excited like elementary school kids before the first day of school. Are we going to sell the whole menu in two hours? Shall we drink two bottles of wine instead of two glasses?

11:47 am: A very friendly waiter comes to our table. Unfortunately, it is not the one who brought in CHF 16,500 in June. never mind The menu lists the food and wines, the rest of the drinks are presented orally. Soft drinks, Prosecco, Hugo, the usual.

11:52 am: We decide to drink a glass of wine each. Our eyes meet, now upselling must be used for the first time. “Wouldn’t you like to have a bottle right away, with this beautiful weather?”, is how we imagine it. But nothing there.

Then the food order. We choose – crafty as we are – only one main course. Let’s see if anything happens. Once a garnished salad, once a meat skewer “with Püürli” and one of the numerous side dishes. But now, dear waiter, please sell us an appetizer. Nothing happens.

11:54 am: The still very sympathetic waiter steps away and we see our story fade. We wanted to experience being charmed and wrapped around our fingers. We saw ourselves stumbling back to the office with full bellies from all the red wine served. We would have liked to have slightly exceeded the budget approved by the editor-in-chief, as proof of how Péclard’s service army extracts the money from the guests’ pockets and thus improves their wages. But everything seems to be different.

11:55 am: We are interrupted in the middle of the crisis meeting. The friendly waiter serves the drinks and the service is absolutely top notch even without upselling. The sun is reflected in the water, the wine tastes good and the restaurant on the lake slowly fills up. The customers don’t look hungry, it seems to be the concept of this pub: hearty cuisine, chic presentation.

12:07 PM: Unlike climate activist Max Voegtli, the courts do not judge in our case, but are brought to the table. Beautifully draped in metal bowls, it forms a fall. The portions are okay for the price, but not too big. The quality – in contrast to the terrible spelling on the menu (“Leydy’s Kött”, “Pumpischpiess, se wan-änd-oundli”, “Chalbsflänkschteyk”, “Barbekiuusoosä”) – is excellent. We are completely satisfied.

12:36 PM: The dishes are cleared away and our stomachs feel like serious bosses at a drunken office party: not quite full yet. The starter we missed because we didn’t upsell is making itself felt.

12:38 PM: Here he comes, the last chance for the sympathetic waiter. Dessert! The ball is on the penalty spot, a goalkeeper is not in goal, he only needs to upsell once and he is world champion. But he misses. We are offered coffee and espresso, but no dessert. Do we look destitute? Would it be different at night? questions upon questions.

12:39 PM: Confused we sit at the table. We are not even halfway through the approved budget. Going back to the editors, it will probably be the last time we spend our lunch and expenses at Lake Zurich for a smooth story (“It’s going to be really funny, we absolutely have to do that!”). .

12:46 PM: It takes a while for the ordered coffee to arrive. We discuss how to proceed and come up with justifiable excuses. Is that it? We visit a restaurant where, thanks to wages and sales techniques, waiters can earn more than some managers and then nothing happens here?

12:49 PM: We decide to sell ourselves. Out of resistance. Because there is still a lot of budget. And plenty of room in our stomachs. We ask the friendly waiter about the dessert menu. It doesn’t exist, but he knows everything by heart.

12:53 PM: Dessert is coming, our coffee cups are almost empty. That the sympathetic waiter doesn’t try to foist us on a second is indifferent at best.

1:28 PM: We pay the bill, give the friendly waiter a generous tip despite everything and sneak away. What should have ended in an ‘upsell’ orgy turned into a very pleasant but ultimately normal restaurant visit.