+27 (0)79 505 8841
WB Consulting - Crafting Successful Brands
  • Home
  • About us
    • Resumes >
      • Wilna Beukes
      • Natalie Sokolich
  • Services
    • Website Design
    • Email Marketing and Newsletter Management
  • Clients
  • Contact
    • Newsletter subscribe
  • Blog

Talk to your staff!

7/1/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
This article really highlights the point that we have to use every 'touch point' with guests to build our brand and create an exceptional experience... Wilna






An Informed Staff Enhances the Guest Experience.
By John Hendrie

We certainly expect more that “Hi guys, my name is Stormee (with two E’s), and I will be your server tonight”.  Or, “check-out is at noon.  No exceptions”.  And, “Not my job”.  We all know the drill and the disappointment when we are not engaged and could be by the staff at our chosen Hospitality business.  A chance is missed to be memorable, even gracious and accommodating.  We see this all too frequently.  The opportunity is there to build a relationship, and then it becomes fleeting, illusory.

Our usual time to brief our staff is before the business opening or shift change.  That session is always short and the communication succinct.  “Sell the Lamb Kabobs”, “Guest in room 223 has been complaining every fifteen minutes”, watch for the overflow from Parlor A into the Landlubber Bar”, etc.  We also may cover, again quickly, company announcements, a change in schedule or policy, even words of warning, like “The ABC has been checking for underage drinkers”, or “Turn in those Time Sheets”.  Some companies just write in a log book or use Post-Its.  We seldom use this time with everyone present to help our employees learn an edge to Guest Service, which typically results in an enhanced relationship with that Guest, an improved gratuity, certainly service, and return recommendations.

The Boston Globe on June 27, 2012 had a fascinating article on a restaurant which uses that pre-shift time and other allotted training time periods to achieve the objective where, “Urbanity is the Business Goal”.  Entitled, “For Restaurant Staff, Culture is on the Menu”, The Eastern Standard Restaurant in Kenmore Square , Boston (one of my favorites,  as full disclosure) does things differently.  Of course at these staff meetings, they cover menu items, preparation, specialties, etc., as any other restaurant does, but they also emphasize the community, special interests, history, maybe throw in a little chemistry, guest speakers, culture and politics.  For the servers and bartenders this expands their repertoire, where they can converse and share on a similar level to the guests they interact with.  They know how to carry a conversation with comfort and expertise, serving a very sophisticated clientele.  This becomes a differentiator.  As Christopher Muller, Dean of the Boston University School of Hospitality Administration,  noted about Eastern Standard’s owner, Garrett Harker,  his “…teaching and motivating techniques are unusual enough that the atmosphere in Eastern Standard is different than most venues in its category.  There’s nothing worse than a server who can’t talk to you, because they simply don’t know anything, they don’t have enough knowledge, literally, to speak well about anything not on the menu.  It is the artful component of the restaurant business.  And it isn’t easy, or else everyone would be doing it”.

Talk about distinction in the marketplace, really caught by Mr. Harker’s dedication to the “artful component” of his business.  This goes beyond comfortable ambiance, superb entrees, impeccable service — someone I might have an intelligent conversation with, whether it be at a restaurant, hotel front desk, a retail store or the like.  “Artful component” — I like it and seek it!

Credited to LRA Worldwide Inc.
About LRA Worldwide, Inc:LRA Worldwide is a leading research and consulting company in the emerging discipline of Customer Experience Management (CEM). We work with our clients to help them design and deliver consistently exceptional customer experiences in order to drive customer satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy, and company growth and profitability.

In LRA's 25-year history, we have grown from a provider of customized quality assurance evaluation programs for the hospitality industry, to a leading CEM consulting company offering a variety of client solutions. The evolution has been driven by our clients asking us one question - "How do we get better?" In response, we have built a range of performance measurement, research, training and consulting solutions to help them do so. Today, we are a growing company operating in more than 120 countries throughout the world, helping clients deliver exceptional customer experiences. Every touch. Every time. For more information, visit us at www.LRAworldwide.com.


The author believes that Remarkable Service is the portal to the Memorable Customer Experience.  Seek solutions at: www.hospitalityperformance.com.
Authors contactJohn R. Hendrie
Phone: 978-346-4367
Email: jhendrie@hospitalityperformance.com
Hospitality Performance, Inc.http://www.hospitalityperformance.com
40 East Main Street
USA - Merrimac, MA 01860
Phone: 978-346-4367
Email: jhendrie@hospitalityperformance.com


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Wilna's Blog

    Staying relevant, delighting guests & crafting successful brands excites me.

    Here is a collection of articles that have interested me - definitely not all written by me, but all personally read and found by me!

    I hope you find them informative too!

    Categories

    All
    Advertising
    Brand
    Humour
    Leadership
    Marketing
    Motivational
    Namibian Insights
    Online Bookings
    Online Trends
    Self Improvement
    Service
    Social Networks
    Time Management
    Travel Agents
    Travel Trends

    Picture
    Thought Salad! 
     our monthly newsletter. 
    Subscribe HERE

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Archives

    March 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011


Home
Services

About us
Contact 

Resumes
Clients
Web Design
Blog

Photos used under Creative Commons from Martin Cathrae, Andrew Stawarz, laura padgett, Dave Dugdale