Restaurant Talking Points

The Question
How many words does it take to wait on a guest at a full-service restaurant? Based on my experience recently, I know the answer.

I try not to write about bad service experiences very often because, well, it’s too easy :) Plus I think it comes across sounding like I’m whining. That said, this was one experience I had to write about.

The Story
It was a little after 1 in the afternoon when my business partner, Stuart, and I pulled into the parking lot of an independent restaurant in Dallas. (Restaurant name withheld to protect the innocent)

The hostess gave a warm greeting and sat us at a table near the front. She took our drink order and told us our waiter would be along shortly. The drinks arrived and a few seconds later our waiter, “Bill”, approached the table.

The greeting is a key moment in a service interaction. First impressions, creating hospitality etc… It’s at this point where the pros sizzle and the duds (or untrained) fizzle.

Bill’s all important greeting; “Ready to order?”.

I hate that!! That opening is wrong on so many levels. All I’m looking for is a nice warm greeting which I don’t think is too much for you to ask from your staff.

I knew this wasn’t going to go well so I ordered a burger. Hey, if the wait staff is this poorly trained I’m not taking any chances with the kitchen help. It’s hard to mess up a burger and fries order.

Stuart tried to give Bill a shot at redemption so he asked “What’s the one thing you do great here that would make me want to come back”? “Ribs” was his single word reply. Apparently no further explanation was needed.

Bill rushes off with the burger and ribs order and a bit later the food is brought out. I should mention, the timing of the meal was fantastic, what with no words to slow him down and all.

I was pretty sure we wouldn’t get the two minutes or two bites check back and I was not disappointed. Near the end of the meal Bill did notice an empty glass and he asked “what are you drinking?”.

Home Run!! Without much effort Bill had doubled his word count. Way to go Bill!!!

He finished off nicely with a “thanks” as we left the table. I found myself wondering if he set a personal best for fewest words during a service cycle.

The Answer
So now we know the answer to my original question. How many words does it take to wait on a table? 9!
 
The Solution
I can’t make this kind of service experience up. The whole time we’re both thinking, where is the manager? Bill obviously isn’t cut out for this line of work but someone hired him and put him on the floor. Does he always exhibit this type of behavior or was he having a bad day?

The real question you have to ask is how much business is Bill losing the restaurant?

Here are some steps you can take to make sure this doesn’t happen at your restaurant

1. Have a structured wait staff training program. Set the service expectations up front. Call us for help with this. 
2. Have a way for the guest to communicate their experience. Comment cards or a web site to enter comments work great.
3. Conduct Service Audits. We offer service audit worksheets for our clients to use.
4. MBWA - Management by wandering around. I doubt if anyone reading Service Talk would have allowed this behavior to exist.  

Hit the floor to see what kind of service experience your guests are having. Don’t let poor service stand in the way of your success.

It was a sad day in the Hookham household. My oldest daughter, Paris, started Kindergarten. My wife cried because her daughter is getting older and growing up. I cried because I’m getting older

This is the time of the year when kids go back to school. Which means it’s also the busiest time of the year for our clients in terms of hiring and training. We have clients that are experiencing a 50% turnover rate this fall. And that, my friends, will bring tears to any management team!

Hiring is an important part of a manager’s job function. By hiring the right people, and I’m talking about people that are service oriented, your training will be that much more effective.

I once had a manager tell me that he only hires people that have been trained by a national chain restaurant. He figured that since the employee had already received some training he wouldn’t have to do much. He wasn’t a client so I just bit my lip and kept quiet, but if he was a client (or even a just a friend) what I would have said was….

“So let me see if I get this right. You only hire the people that your competitors down the street either fire or won’t give any hours to, is that right? And you don’t see a problem with this strategy?”

I’m not saying you shouldn’t hire someone with experience; just make sure you find the real reason that experience is coming in your door looking for a job. Maybe they moved into the area to attend a local college, or their best friend works for you. During the interview ask the question “Why do you want to work here?” and check references.

And while hiring someone with experience is great, the most important component you should look for in an applicant is that they have people skills. Seems obvious but let me explain.

There are two sides to the Remarkable Service coin. On one side is the technical performance. This includes things like timing issues, how to deliver the food, clearing the table etc. In general these are the systems and procedures of the job that our training products teach in order to provide Remarkable Service.

On the flip side we have what I call the hospitality factor; the ability to display warmth and friendliness to your guests. This side of the coin is harder to train your staff on then the systems and procedures side. Our training products teach ways to provide hospitality, but it’s always more effective if you hire people that are friendly, courteous and enthusiastic. Take these people and then train them in the systems and procedures of being a server.

Things to look for during an interview include eye contact, good verbal skills, enthusiasm and attentiveness. Asking open ended questions during an interview will help to uncover if your applicant has these things. A great question to ask is “Tell me about a great service experience you’ve had at a restaurant?”.

The last tool I want to talk about in helping you hire the right people are assessment tools. Currently we are testing an online assessment tool that can be used for both FOH staff and managers. These tools measure things like work ethic, integrity, teamwork and reliability. I know of several establishments that are having great success using these types of tools as a part of there hiring process.

Hiring for service can be a difficult task, but looking for the hospitality factor in your applicants will increase your chances for successful hires. Now if I could just find a tool to keep me from aging!

I get alot of comments and questions about our company name, 4 Remarkable Service. People want to know how and why we came up with that name.

What 4 Remarkable Service means for us is that the businesses we work with and use our products desire to offer their guests Remarkable Service. Not basic service, average service or even good service; Remarkable Service.

I know what you’re thinking, “Sounds great, that is exactly what I want my team to do……so what is Remarkable Service?”

Remarkable means worthy of notice or extraordinary.

Service is defined as the way a guest is treated, or perceived to be treated (their opinion is the only one that matters). Every guest is going to receive service; it’s just a matter of where on a scale of 1 to 5 that star service rating is going to fall.

Remarkable Service is combining Competency, Friendliness and Knowledge into your guest interaction to create a Remarkable experience that inspires your guests to return more often and to tell their friends about their experience.

Well that sounds easy! It’s the implementation that most restaurants get hung up on

To provide Remarkable Service your staff needs training in the 3 key areas mentioned above: Competency, Friendliness and Knowledge.

Competence:
Competence means your staff understands how everything should be done. From taking the order correctly to serving the right food to the right guest in the correct manner, to understanding the service cycle and timing. Competency comes from the training you provide.

Competent service goes unnoticed much of the time but the guests know they are having a pleasant experience, they just may not understand why.

Friendliness:
Probably the most important attribute a server can have is friendliness. Being friendly can cover up many shortcomings a server may have. Luckily it’s also the easiest to teach your staff. Simply teach the 4 steps to creating hospitality:

1. Look at me
2. Smile at me
3. Talk to me
4. Thank me

Anybody at any time can do those four things and with practice they can do them well. Of course you’ll always have those few that stand up during a training session and say ”so you want me to be fake?”. Exactly!

There will be days when you just don’t feel friendly or hospitable. Maybe your car broke down, you’re having relationship problems or you got your tax bill, whatever… when a server hits the floor they need to project warmth and create hospitality for the guests regardless of how they personally feel. That is a skill that is taught.

Knowledge:
Knowledge, in this case, means having a very good grasp on what you are selling. Being able to explain with colorful words the daily specials or being able to answer questions about a particular menu item. A knowledgeable server will speak with confidence when he or she is asked about an item on the menu.

Just today I had a great example of how knowledge helps provide remarkable service. For lunch I ordered grilled meatloaf (sounded interesting) and my server asked me if I liked caramelized onions and mushrooms because that is what they top the meatloaf with. Yuk! My meal was much more enjoyable because of her knowledge and my meatloafs lack of mushrooms. She provided remarkable service and earned herself a nice tip.

Basic service may meet guest expectations but Remarkable Service creates a remarkable experience. And remember, Remarkable Service is not a destination, it’s a journey. It takes class-room training, one-on-one coaching, pre-shifts that focus on providing remarkable service and constant attention to walking the talk…and a little help from 4 Remarkable Service!