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Method
Marketing Newsletter: Volume 2 Issue 32
September 3rd, 2002
Part
I
Intuitive
Service
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Synopsis:
The
hardest part of restaurant work is the human part. Providing
great service is a mystery to most restaurateurs. Standards
drop lower even as I speak. Where do you begin? Just make
contact with the guest.
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"I want my restaurant
to be known as the friendliest place in town."
Chris Schlesinger, Renowned Chef & Owner of East Coast Grill
Your
guests define 'value' by the totality of the experience:
the service, the décor, the food and its flavors
and aromas and the cost: all details that create a memory.
The most memorable experiences come from an organized,
well-rehearsed and communicated performance. Great 'word
of mouth' is built note by note, scene by scene, act by
act, so that by the end of the visit your guest walks
away 'wowed'. Or bored. Or, worse of all, disgusted. It's
your choice. |
A friend
of mine, a restaurateur of long standing and a regular patron
of casual dining establishments, sat with me recently over dinner
and critiqued the service. Now, this fellow, whom I will call
Curmudgeon Mike, does not suffer fools or bad service gladly.
And on this night he was in high dudgeon.
As a manager stopped by to say hello in a reasonable, vague
and friendly manner, Mike asked, "What the hell was that?
That guy paid no attention! He had that glazed-over smile that
makes me sick! I hate generalized service! Look at him gliding
through the dining room bobbing along like a buoy whose single
purpose is to stay afloat, while pretending to care about
what we think. We are witnessing the decline of Western Civilization!"
Now we weren't dining in some schlepper's watering hole, but
a very successful chain concept. If this behavior symbolized
our cultural disintegration, I wanted to know more. "Please
elaborate", I asked. Mike needed no further encouragement.
"See that young woman serving the table? She just picked
up the plate, without asking the patron if they were done. Now
they may have looked like they were done, but she didn't
ask. Why? Because, she wants the table to turn.
"See that couple over there? Those folks have been here
for about five minutes, and nobody has come around or even acknowledged
them. When I was a waiter, I never let that happen."
"Oh come on, Mike", I said, not sure if Mike was taking
his ornery side out for a walk.
"No, really. Whenever I entered or left my station, I would
scan my tables like a hawk and look for the signs that the guest
needed something. When I saw it, even if I had my hands full,
I got the guest's attention, made eye contact and nodded, so
they knew that I knew that they were in need, and I would
get to them in a minute.
"We don't connect anymore. We deflect. We glide. We ignore.
The person who doesn't, the person who makes contact, puts themselves
in my shoes, looks to intuit what I may need is going to be
rich, indeed. They'll have my business for life."
And the restaurant owner, as well, I thought.
Seems simple enough. Just make contact with each other. But,
then I remembered that real contact required the small human
detail of "being vulnerable".
I was reminded of my days in the theater, when, prior to a performance,
the actors engage in drills to prepare to go on stage. It varies,
but the central premise of the exercise is to sensitize the
actor, to make him more receptive to fellow artists and to the
audience. The drills prepare them to connect.
Hmm. Is there any correlation between theater performance and
the restaurant business? As Curmudgeon Mike might say, "There
is hope for you yet, grasshopper."
In
Intuitive Service Part II, "Kismet" intervenes. -->
GO
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Seminars:
Now, for a little shameless self promotion. Looking for a high-energy speaker,
capable of personalizing a presentation to meet your needs? Just email me at rkhendrie@linkincmethodmarketing.com.
I will get right back to you, so that we can discuss how I can be of service to
your organization.
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