HOSPITALITY
Great customer service begins with great hospitality. Great hospitality entails taking care of your guests and anticipating their needs. To accomplish this, we all need to embrace the desire to serve our guests. We need to treat our guests the same way we would like other people to treat us.
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The desire to serve our guests and delivering great customer service is the tipping point between a good experience and great experience. Each time a guest entrusts us to deliver a dining experience, we need to greet and serve them as if we are welcoming them into our home. We need to show them our gratitude and appreciation for their decision to visit us. In short, we need to make their experience memorable.
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When we decided on a career in hospitality, we committed to the task of serving people. That is the essence of what we do, we serve.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
A recent survey that showed that if we are not meeting and surpassing customer expectations constantly,
we will not have a prosperous future.
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92% of customers will stop patronizing a business after three or less bad experiences
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26% of customers would stop patronizing a business after just one bad experience.
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Let’s discuss what customers that are having, or have had, a bad experience, want in response. They want to tell their story once and they want to get a personalized response. These are two points we should always keep in mind when dealing with an unhappy guest in a dining room, online, or on the phone. If they have dealt with more than one person, a consistent response is equally important.
SELLING A TABLE
Our policy is that a restaurant should have zero tolerance for this practice.
The idea that someone needs to pay a maître d’ or host to get into a restaurant can destroy the best restaurant in the world.
The following are examples of situations that arise:
1. A potential customer arrives or calls a restaurant and is told that there are no tables available.
2. A potential customer arrives or calls a restaurant and is told there will be a wait, and then is immediately seated.
3. A customer arrives at the host stand and asks if there are any tables available.
The host or maître d’ tells the customer that he/she will have to check with someone.
No matter what conversation follows any of the above situations, a tip should never be taken from these customers.
We have no problem with our maître d’ and host accepting tips, but earn your tips. Do things for the customers that will enhance their overall dining experience and they will tip you. When people are waiting for tables, check on them, make sure they are comfortable. When the front of the restaurant slows down, check on tables to make sure that everything is going well.
When people have questions about shows and hotel attractions, make phone calls for them and get the information they need. When you seat a table, pull the chairs. When you seat a banquette, pull the table. When people have coats, hang them up. When people need a car, arrange one for them. When people are brought into the dining room from the bar, carry their drinks.
I could list a hundred other things you can do for your customers to earn tips, so never sell a table!
WOW FACTOR
Here is the definition of a WOW Factor:
A WOW factor refers to an impressive and impactful element of an experience which can be used to facilitate memory formation and retention afterward. Each one of us could create a WOW Factor for our guests. If you put your mind to it, there are a million ways we can accomplish that extra step for our guests, that make us stand out in the hospitality industry.
We ask each of you, for every single table and party you serve, to think of one extra step, or thing to do for our guests, that they do not expect, nor do they experience when dining elsewhere. WOW Factors are the number one way we can consistently fill our dining rooms.
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Good service does not cost more. This concept is very true, and we need to keep this in mind throughout our workday. Delivering great service will not lengthen the amount of time you work or cost the company any more money.
Customers reward the companies they enjoy doing business with by coming back and paying more.
The following results from delivering great service:
Thirty-three percent would pay 1-9% more.
Twenty-seven percent would pay 10-20% more.
Eight percent would be willing to pay over 20% more, if the service was great.
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Customers Talk About You
The power of a good experience extends beyond the current customer. Eighty percent of customers will recommend a company to friends and family after a great experience. Forty percent of those happy customers will share their story on social media. There are consequences to pay if the experience is less than stellar. Sixty-seven percent said they would “actively dissuade” others from using a company that provided poor service, and 42% would share that negative story on social media.
EYES WIDE OPEN
It is the responsibility of every team member to monitor the guest experience while they are in our establishment. Whether you are a server, busser, chef, sous chef, manager, bartender, host, captain, cook, dishwasher, runner or porter, when you are walking through a dining room, lounge or bar, you need to have your eyes wide open, so you can identify any negative situations with any guest’s experience.
Here is a short list of things to look for:
1. Unhappy or annoyed facial expressions
2. A guest looking around the room for assistance
3. A table of two or more people sitting silently
4. A table that is seated and has no food or beverages on it
5. Uncomfortable body language at the table
If you identify one of these telltale signs, service staff should approach the guest to see if there is something they need. If you are not a part of the management team, or the front of the house service team, you should find the server or a manager and ask them to check on the table.
Dealing with an irate guest is a delicate situation. We offer the following advice:
1. Let the guest fully explain the issue that has made them unhappy.
2. Express empathy. People need to know that they have been heard.
3. Ask the guest the following question, “What can I do for you right now to make this a great experience?”
This question usually disarms a guest that is in attack mode. Once the guest has expressed what would make them happy, (if we are able to do what they ask), we need to perform quickly and at a very high level of excellence, from that point forward. It's always a nice touch to have the Executive Chef touch the table as well. It shows that he/she is personally invested in the culinary experience.
Once a guest has expressed a complaint, we need to follow the following steps:
1. Listen to the guest.
2. Express empathy.
3. Correct the situation immediately.
4. Make sure a manager is aware of the situation and that they monitor this guest’s experience until the end.
5. At the end of the experience, the manager should try and walk the guest out to ensure we have delivered the experience the guest was entitled to. Graciously thank them and say good night.
SELLING
Responding to customer’s requests for suggestions on what to order, as well as upselling.
To me, these are two different things. Here are some examples:
Customer’s request for suggestions:
Glass of wine
Customer: I would like a wine by the glass, what do you recommend?
Wrong Response: We have a great Napa Cabernet Reserve for Robert Mondavi.
Correct Response: What type of wines do you normally like to drink? The customer’s answer will give you a few key factors that can help you make a proper suggestionsuch as what type of grape varietals do they prefer? Do they lean toward sweet, acidity, high or low alcohol content? Do they enjoy high tannins? This will give you an idea of what price range they are comfortable with. You can now make thoughtful suggestions.
Entree
Customer: What do recommend for entrée tonight?
Wrong Response: We have an amazing Dover Sole that is pan-seared and then finished tableside.
Correct Response: Are you looking for something lighter? Are you thinking in terms of seafood, poultry or meats?
Again, this information can lead you to a thoughtful suggestion that will have a better chance of pleasing your guest.
UPSELLING
The big difference between suggestive selling and upselling an item is price. You have to be very careful not to oversell a customer by price.
Here are some examples:
Wine
Ask customers what they normally drink. This will tell you their comfort level in their spending habits when it comes to the price of a bottle of wine. Make two suggestions, one in their normal buying rage and one 20-30% higher that you highly recommend. If you sell a person that normally drinks a $100 bottle of wine a $300-dollar bottle of wine, they will most likely be uncomfortable when the check comes. Their odds of becoming a repeat guest drop drastically. Even though they made the conscious decision to purchase the expensive bottle after you suggested it, they will probably regret it when their credit card statement comes.
Food
The same effect happens with food items. If you are suggesting an item that has market price on the menu, make sure your guest is aware of the price. When selling items like caviar or Kobe beef to guests that have never experienced these types of high price items before, suggest an order for the table so your guests have a first time experience at a reasonable cost and can decide if they would like to order these items in the future without regretting it.
I think these topics are easy to understand if you put yourself in the guest's shoes. Treat your guests like you would like to be treated when you are out enjoying yourself. Do not take advantage of guests with the goal of a onetime large check. Take care of your guests with the hopes of building a long-term relationship with them.
THE TELEPHONE
Introduction: What you are about to read is our company policy for the handling of telephone calls at all restaurants. Before we begin, I would like to take a moment to explain the importance of our telephones as they relate to your restaurant.
The first impression of a restaurant that most customers experience is the making of a reservation. This is the first part of a dining experience and usually take place on the telephone. When a telephone rings and you answer it, you are representing everyone employed by this organization. We are a high profile restaurant company and you are now our public relations representative of the moment. This is a large responsibility and you must take it seriously.
Who calls your restaurant?
Requests for reservations make up about 75-90% of incoming calls at a restaurant. The next most popular type of call is from people seeking information. These people are potential customers, writers, food critics, tourism companies etc. These calls are where most restaurants make the critical error of letting just anyone answer their phones. Anyone who answers the phone in your restaurant should be fully trained and know all important information pertaining to the restaurant. Each team member is a reflection of your restaurant. If you represent our group professionally, people will associate us with professionalism. The opposite is also true. The remaining amount of calls vary from a vendor wanting to speak to the chef, to a charitable organization calling to ask for a donation. No matter why a person is calling a restaurant, they're a potential customer and can lead to other potential customers. Everyone must be treated with a professional attitude when calling our restaurants. Even someone who is calling to inquire about finding a job is a potential customer.
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Never make up information.
Another critical error that people make on the telephone is making up an answer when they are not sure of the correct answer. If you cannot answer a question on the telephone, apologize, take the guests telephone number and let them know that you will find out the proper information and call them right back with an answer. The customer will appreciate your effort.
How does a commercial telephone system work?
Even though all of our restaurants have different phone systems, they all work on the same principals. Each restaurant has one main telephone number. Attached to your main numbers are other telephone lines called rollover lines. The purpose of the rollover lines is to give you the ability to handle more than customers call at a time. These multiple call can be set up in a cue so that more than one customer can contact our restaurant at one time. Your restaurant also has secondary telephone numbers for different areas and personnel. Normally, you will have the ability to transfer telephone calls on the main line to secondary lines. It is imperative that people answering our phones understand how to use these functions.
Voicemail: Secondary phone lines usually have voicemail capabilities. Any employee of our company that has voicemail is responsible to monitor their messages. People who leave you voicemail should get a return call the same day. If you are at you desk or in your work area, your voicemail should e turned off. You always need to minimize the amount of times people call you and get a machine. Whenever you leave your desk or work area, you need to activate your voicemail. Transferring someone to a number that rings forever is a serious problem.
It is the responsibility of each general manager to learn his or her restaurant’s telephone system. It is the responsibility of each employee to ask their general manager questions if they do not fully understand their system.
Policies
1. Only managers and employees that have been trained to answer your telephones should pick up a telephone.
2. No employee should receive personal calls at work.
3. No employee, especially hosts and hostesses, should make personal calls at work. If you tie up a main telephone line or a rollover telephone line and one of our customers cannot get through, you will cost your restaurant a substantial amount of money.
4. Each restaurant should have a schedule of times that telephone reservations are accepted. Normally, 9:00am until 10:30pm are appropriate times to accept telephone reservations.
5. When a reservationist take a break, they need to have a manager or trained co-worker cover the phones. This rule applies even if you need a two-minute break to use the restroom.
6. If you discover any malfunction in your phone system, please report it to your general manager immediately.
7. If your phone lines get so busy at certain times of day that you feel overwhelmed, please discuss this problem with your general manager. If this problem is not addressed lease call our administrative offices to discuss your problem.
8. Each chef should train key personnel on how to answer the telephones in our kitchen.
9. All general managers need to monitor the handling of their telephones.
10. All hosts stands should have a company wide telephone list in it.
11. All telephone calls should be answered within three rings.
12. Always make sure you have enough staff to answer your phone. Rushing people through phone calls is rude and does not leave enough time to sell various reservation times.
13. Only English speaking employees should answer the telephones. Bilingual employee should be identified so they can assist our non-English speaking customers. A list should be kept in your reservation book. Use these people as important human resources.
14. When known guest they should always be addressed by name. This is a AAA requirement.
Script
The following three lines are the only acceptable ways of answering our phones:
The first time you pick up a telephone call:
Hello, name of the restaurant, this is your name, how may I help you?
The first time you pick up a telephone call, but you need to put the person on hold:
Hello, name of the restaurant, this is your name. Can you please hold for a moment, (pause and wait for the customers reply), Thank You.
When you take the customer off hold:
Hello, I apologize for your delay, how may I help you?
Before you hang up:
Thank you so much for calling, goodbye.