Chapter 10 Serving Your Guests

Definition of Service and Hospitality Service is what restaurant and foodservice employees provide. It is measured by how well everyone in the operation is doing their jobs. Hospitality is the feeling that guests take with them from their experience with the operation. Customer service often makes the difference between positive dining experiences and negative or ordinary ones. When the offerings of competitors are similar, the competitive advantage often comes from the nature and quality of customer service. Working in a service industry means serving people directly. This is the single most important aspect of the job. 10.1 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

First Impressions First impressions are often the strongest impression we have of a person, place, or event. A positive first impression goes a long way in setting the tone of a guest’s experience. A strong first impression is one of the least expensive and most effective forms of advertising. The initial customer interaction is one of the best ways in which to make a strong first impression. The facility’s cleanliness and appearance are also very important to first impressions. The appearance of all restaurant and foodservice employees also affects a guest’s first impression. 10.1 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Identifying Customers’ Needs It is up to all employees to ensure prompt, friendly, and professional service. They should start by identifying the customer’s needs. Older customers may need additional help. Families with young children also may have special needs. Customers may have special dietary needs, so knowledge of the menu is critical. First-time guests might be unfamiliar with the menu or any special touches of an operation. Special occasions usually mean that the customer has specific needs. Foreign-language differences present challenges to efficient and responsive service. Employees need to accommodate people with disabilities in every way possible. People dining alone may have work to do or may simply be trying to get away from it all. 10.1 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Section 10.1 Summary Service is what restaurant and foodservice employees provide. It is measured by how well everyone in the operation is doing their jobs. Hospitality is the feeling that guests take with them from the experience they had in the operation. Together, service and hospitality make up customer service. A positive first impression goes a long way in setting the tone and influencing a guest’s experience. All employees should try to anticipate customers’ needs and accommodate them before being asked. 10.1 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Reservations and Requests It is very important to have an accurate system to record reservations and special requests and implement them at the right time. Reservations and requests should be saved in one place and include standard information, including when and who recorded the information. Confirming all reservations and special requests is good customer service. With proper procedures, establishments can avoid making mistakes when taking reservations and completing special requests to avoid disappointing guests. 10.2 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Greeting and Taking Orders The greeter provides the first impression in appearance, friendliness, and attentiveness. The greeter evaluates and determines the customer’s specific needs for the current visit. As each guest at the table selects their meal, the server notes guest orders on pre-printed guest checks or small note pads. Some guests may ask the server whether certain ingredients can be removed from dishes due to food allergies or other special needs. Servers need to note correctly any special requirements and ensure that the chef understands the request. 10.2 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Suggestive Selling Suggestive selling involves recommending additional or different items to a guest. Suggestive selling maximizes guest satisfaction and increases the average check, resulting in more profits. By increasing the guest’s check, suggestive selling also increases the server’s tip. Talking about daily specials is a part of suggestive selling. After guests place an order, let them know they’ve made a good decision by complimenting their choices. Servers can also recommend menu items that they personally like. Suggestive selling should be part of an ongoing training effort. 10.2 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Alcohol Service Alcohol service is often an integral part of a dining experience. Every state’s liquor board or liquor authority develops and enforces its own regulations for alcohol service. The amount of alcohol absorbed into a person’s bloodstream is called blood alcohol content (BAC). A BAC of 0.10 means that there is about one drop of alcohol present for every thousand drops of blood. It is against the law to drive with a BAC of 0.08 or higher in all 50 states. You must be 21 years old to purchase alcohol in all 50 states. In general, a server must be 21 years old to serve alcohol. If you sell or serve alcohol, you are responsible for ensuring that customers are of legal age by checking their IDs. When an alcohol-related incident occurs on an operation’s premises, the manager often needs to file a report. 10.2 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Processing Payment Most establishments accept cash or credit. Processing payment is as vital a function as greeting the customers or serving the food. Most establishments accept cash or credit. The procedure for processing payment as part of table service is very similar to processing at a register: Present the check at the table. Collect payment from the customers. Process payment. Return the change or credit card receipt and credit card. For credit card payments, bring the credit card and receipt to the table together. Always remember to thank customers for their patronage. 10.2 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Getting Feedback on Customer Satisfaction To determine how well the restaurant or foodservice operation meets guests’ expectations, it is useful to measure their satisfaction. Routinely ask whether the food, drink, service, and accommodations are satisfactory during a guest’s visit. Comment cards are quick surveys that customers complete noting their satisfaction with the food and service. Surveys are similar to comment cards but sometimes include more open-ended questions. Focus groups consist of customers that meet as a group to talk with managers about possible improvements in service or other areas. Mystery shoppers are hired by an operation to visit and report on their experiences and impressions of an operation. 10.2 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Resolving Customer Complaints An unhappy customer is bad for business, so every operation needs an organized system for handling and resolving all guest complaints. Management must train every staff member on how to handle customer complaints. It is important to recognize when a guest is upset so that the problem can quickly be resolved. Actively look to see if the guest is showing signs of being unhappy with the service or meal, and then encourage the guest to explain the problem. Never ignore or avoid a dissatisfied guest. Proactively addressing such concerns with customers can turn a dissatisfied customer into a repeat guest. 10.2 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Section 10.2 Summary Reservations should include the customer’s name, contact information, date and time of arrival, number of people in the customer’s party, and any special needs or requests the customer may have. Servers should be attentive and friendly with guests. Suggestive selling involves recommending additional or different items to a customer. Managers and staff must understand the effects of alcohol and be familiar with any and all laws that apply to their establishments. Customer payment is usually processed with cash or credit. Customer feedback is important in keeping an operation running efficiently and profitably. Resolving a customer complaint effectively can be the difference between gaining a repeat customer and gaining a bad reputation. 10.2 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Contemporary and Traditional Service Quick service is an easy and fast way to dine and typically involves no servers. Guests help themselves to food set up in food bars or order at a counter. Traditional service style reflects four main influences: American, French, English, and Russian. Each service style varies depending on the menu, theme, and décor: American service: Food is arranged on plates in the kitchen by cooks and brought directly to the guests’ table by the server. The meal is complete on one plate. French service: This style is typically considered the most elegant, but it is very expensive. Servers present the food to guests from a tableside cart, called a guéridon. 10.3 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Contemporary and Traditional Service (cont.) English service: Also known as family-style dining, English service is the simplest and least expensive. In English service, bowls and platters of food are placed on the table, and a seated host or hostess places the food onto plates. The host of the table then serves the meal on the plates for the other diners, or diners pass the dishes around the table so they can serve themselves. Russian service: This style is the most formal service style. All food preparation is done in the kitchen. The bowls and platters of food are then brought on a cart to guests at the table. Servers hold the bowls and platters as they serve the food to each guest. 10.3 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Traditional Service Set-ups Understanding the many types of silverware that an operation uses is very important. The basic knives used most often when dining include the following: Dinner knife: Used for all entrées and main courses. Butter knife: Smaller than a dinner knife and used to butter bread or cut breakfast foods, fruit, and other softer foods. Fish knife: Used only to filet and cut fish. Steak knife: Used to cut beef. 10.3 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Traditional Service Set-ups (cont.) Forks Spoons Drinking Glasses Single-Purpose China 10.3 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Traditional Service Staff Responsibilities Large, traditional, full-service restaurants have a formal service organization. The maître d’hotel is responsible for the overall management of service. The headwaiter is responsible for service in a particular area. The captain is responsible for a server area, and is assisted by the front waiter or an apprentice. The front waiter has only 1 to 2 years of experience. An apprentice is a server in training. 10.3 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Traditional Service Staff Responsibilities (cont.) In less formal service structures, a floor manager might run the dining room. The floor manager is in charge of the operation during a particular shift and supervises a team of servers. Each individual server is responsible for a specific section of the dining room. Food runners are sometimes employed to assist with bringing food from the kitchen to the tables. Busers assist with the cleaning up and resetting of tables. 10.3 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Service Tools and Stations In full-service restaurants, servers usually carry many different service tools with them. Service tools may include a hand towel, a lighter, a corkscrew, change, a pen, an order pad, and sometimes a crumber, which is used to neatly gather and clear crumbs and debris from a table cloth. The service station is the area in which an operation keeps additional items such as napkins, silverware, cups and saucers, condiments, menus, and water glasses. Servers use different serving utensils when they serve food to guests. 10.3 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests

Section 10.3 Summary Contemporary service, also known as quick service, is an easy and fast way to dine and typically involves no servers. Traditional service style consists of four main influences: American, French, English, and Russian. Specific utensils are used for certain foods, and each table must be set accordingly. Many traditional, large, full-service restaurants have a formal service organization, or group of servers, to perform service-related tasks. For less formal services, the staff consists of the floor manager, servers, food runners, and busers. Service tools can include a hand towel, a lighter, a corkscrew, change, a pen, an order pad, and a crumber. The service station is the area in the operation where additional service items are kept. 10.3 Chapter 10 | Serving Your Guests