Tag Archives: manager

Skills Focus: Spotting The Complaint

Posted on August 7, 2011 by David Hayden| 1 Comment

complaint

Let’s be honest for a moment.  I am about to make a statement that is often acknowledged as truth, but seldom spoke aloud.  No one in the industry will really doubt this statement.  It is too controversial for most people to acknowledge on the record.  Today, I am going to go into uncharted territory by introducing it for discussion.  Are you ready to hear the two words that so many people are afraid to say?  Here it is.  Guests lie.

Now I am not willing to go so far as to say that all guests lie or to say that guests are liars.  I will say that most all guests have lied at some point.  I am willing to admit that I have lied when I was a guest.  If you are honest, you will too.  The most common question a server can ask to cause a guest to lie?  “How does everything taste tonight?”

Spotting the Complaint

This week the skills focus is about spotting the complaint.  Your guests will sometimes have complaint about the food or service that they will not volunteer to you.  They will respond to your inquiries about their meal with “fine” or “okay.”  They will not mention that it is only fine because the potatoes are cold or the steak is overcooked.  This does not however mean that they are “fine.”  In reality they are disappointed, but many fear that you will not care enough to fix the problem.   Others will suffer through the meal out of fear of being an imposition.  The end result is the same: dissatisfied guests who will not be returning to your restaurant.

It is vital that you demonstrate to your guests that you are concerned about their meal.  You must show that you truly want them to enjoy their meal.  The upside of these lies is that when you do show a guest that you are genuinely concerned about their meal, they will appreciate it.  Guests who do not want to be an imposition or assume that you do not care can be blown away by taking the time to genuinely demonstrate concern.  This can often lead to an unhappy guest becoming a satisfied regular.

Guests sometimes lie.  This does not dismiss you from being concerned about their meal.  Demonstrating this concern and looking for a way to spot the complaint will help you prevent the guest from spreading their negative opinion to others.  In a world of social networking and review sites, it is more important than ever that you prevent guests from leaving unhappy.  Taking the time to spot the complaint will win you raving fans and future guests.

Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips is the new book from the author of The Hospitality Formula Network. It contains the 52 essential skills of the exceptional server. This book teaches the philosophy to turn average service into an exceptional guest experience that will rapidly increase your tips. This book shows how you can provide better customer service and dramatically improve your tips. Enter the coupon code “squared” to receive 20% off your copy today.

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And This Is How It Ends

Posted on March 18, 2011 by David Hayden| 1 Comment

It always ends the same way

Four years ago, I took a big step up in restaurants to start my current job.  A co-worker’s girlfriend recommended me to her boss.  I interviewed and was hired on the spot.  I still remember the way it felt walking into the restaurant for that interview.  How impressive the building was.  How professional the staff all looked.  I didn’t see a server who looked younger than me.  It seemed like everything I had been working towards in my serving career.

I remember spending my first six months constantly fearing that I wouldn’t make it.  Worrying that I wasn’t up to par with all of the incredible servers I worked with.  I studied my training manual that whole time trying to know enough to slide by on being really knowledgeable about the food we served.  I did all the little extra things I could to try and be helpful.  My goal was simply not to be the first one fired from my training class.  Of the six people I started with, three still remain.  No training class before or after can boast such longevity.

For those not in the restaurant business, I should explain that four years in a restaurant is the equivalent of a couple decades in corporate America.  After five years, they give you a gold watch and force you to retire.  I have seen over 100 servers come and go.  Only one manager still remains from when I started.  The General Manager when I started is now the Regional Manager.  The Regional Manager when I started is now a VP.  Even the guys the chain is named after are gone.

I survived uniform changes, major sidework changes, menu changes, and countless policy changes.  I watched co-workers leave after all of these changes.  I’ve survived firing sprees that took the jobs of some incredible servers.  I’ve grit my teeth when new managers came in and said, “great servers are a dime a dozen.”  I swallowed my pride when I was told prior to my first interview with the local paper about this blog that I shouldn’t mention the company name because, “I might write something to embarrass them.”  I didn’t take it too personally when I was passed up for numerous promotions over the years.  I grit my teeth every time I had a conversation with my regional manager while he sat in front of a plaque bearing my name that said “Best Server” from the local paper even though he never even congratulated me.

Years ago a regional training manager at another company came up to me quite excited.  She had a new phrase she thought of and wanted to know what I thought of it.  I braced myself for this nugget of wisdom and she said, “you should appreciate what appreciates.”  I was a bit underwhelmed.   She explained that in accounting, all of the equipment in your restaurant depreciates every year.  The only thing that becomes more valuable with the passing of time is your staff.  I understood her logic, but wasn’t sure the catch phrase was quite perfected.  Looking back, I think there was a great deal of wisdom in those five words.

I don’t really want to get into the straw that broke the camel’s back.  I am still incredibly grateful for the opportunity that was extended to me four years ago.  It has given me the opportunity to work with some incredible people and make some amazing friends.  Who knows how my life would have been different if I hadn’t taken the job.  Likewise, if I was better utilized this blog might not exist.  Maybe these thoughts would have been memos and pre-shift meetings rather than posts and chapters. 

What I do know for certain is that I am incredibly optimistic about the job I begin next week.  I only took two interviews on this job hunt.  I turned down three others and only sent out five resumes.  I took the one where I interviewed with the owner.  Where he expressed a desire to have someone with my experience and knowledge join his team.  He openly admitted that he was interested in hearing new ideas on how to make the restaurant better.  I don’t think it was just lip service.  It was strange to hear someone who runs a restaurant actively seeking input from others.  I had forgotten what that felt like.

I suppose part of the reason for writing this post is therapeutic.  There is a greater moral to this story for others though.  Managers, appreciate what appreciates.  Loyalty only extends so far.  If you are not appreciating your staff, someone else will.  Servers, remember that your loyalty also only extends so far.  Make decisions based on what is right for you, because a corporation will always make decisions based on what is right for them.

Part of me is sad to leave.  At the same time, I am incredibly optimistic about starting a new chapter in my life.  I’ve never held a serving job as long as this one.  I spent twice as long at this restaurant than any other I have been at.  I have spent more waking hours in that building than all but a handful of places I have been in my life.  I trained over 75 servers, built an impressive core of regulars, and countless times, “took one for the team.”  Still it ends without fanfare or gratitude.  Such is the nature of the restaurant business.

Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips is the new book from the author of The Hospitality Formula Network.  It contains the 52 essential skills of the exceptional server.  This book teaches the philosophy to turn average service into an exceptional guest experience that will rapidly increase your tips.  This book shows how you can provide better customer service and dramatically improve your tips.  Enter the coupon code “squared” to receive 20% off your copy today.

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Is Running Hot Food Always The Priority?

Posted on March 10, 2011 by David Hayden| Leave a comment
running hot food

The food looks perfect, now if they could only eat it.

I have worked for a number of companies and managers over the years that repeated a similar mantra.  “Running hot food from the window is the top priority.”  This is often heard from the mouths of managers, kitchen staff, and expediters.  It has been emphasized so often that it is often accepted as factual.  While it is a very important factor of the guest experience, I would contend that running hot food is not always the first priority in providing the ideal guest experience.

Serving your guests food that was perfectly prepared by the kitchen is very important.  The food should be sent out of the kitchen at optimal quality.  Letting the food cook or dry out under heat lamps will not improve the quality of the food.  Heat lamps do not improve the taste of food.  They are only meant to preserve the temperature of the food as it awaits delivery to the table.  Heating lamps will buy you a very limited amount of time to maintain the temperature, but are not a subsititute for running hot food.

You should want your guests to have an incredible meal.  One of the most important factors in this is to have them eat their meal when it is at peak quality.  This does not however mean that running hot food to the guest immediately after it comes out of the kitchen is always ideal.  This may seem like a contradiction.  It is in fact accounting for a very important factor that is often left out of the equation.  While food does not hold up well under heat lamps, it fares far worse sitting in front of guests who are prevented from eating it.

I am going to contend that your top priority should be to have your table prepared to eat the food as soon as it is delivered from the kitchen.  An entrée that arrives when the guest is still enjoying their salads will get cold and undesirable as your guests push it aside to finish their salads.  Guests will quickly lose patience as they stare at a meal in front of them while lacking the condiments or silverware they need to begin eating.  Guests will feel rushed and become annoyed if their food arrives minutes after the appetizer was delivered.  I will not say that food sitting under a heat lamp falls into the “out of sight, out of mind” category.  Rather, food sitting in front of them will make them far more agitated about waiting for a fork to arrive than a brief delay in runnign hot food.

There is a reason for optimism in this reshuffling of priorities.  Most all of the things that can prevent a guest from enjoying a meal are under your control.  While you cannot control the rate at which the kitchen completes the order, you can however anticipate most of the needs that will prevent your tables from being able to instantly enjoy their meals.  Learning to spot these potential barriers will keep your guests happy while allowing them to enjoy the meal as it was intended to be served.  This is a vital skill for a great server.

Here are some strategies for preventing your guests from receiving food they cannot immediately enjoy.

Time Your Courses: I know that not all restaurants advocate ringing in multiple courses individually.  As a server, it is often up to you to do this on your own.  By ringing all of your courses at once, you leave the timing of your guest’s meal to a line cook who cannot even see the table.  Monitoring your tables and staggering the time at which you order each course will allow you to give your guests adequate time to complete each course before delivering the next.

Count Silverware: Asking a guest to “hold onto” a piece of silverware is tacky and rude.  If you expect an exceptional tip from your guest, they should be able to expect clean silverware for each course.  As you remove a fork from a table, replace it on the very next trip. 

Anticipate Needs: A guest who orders a steak will need a steak knife.  A hamburger or french fries will almost always necessitate ketchup.  Food that is intended to be eaten without silverware, will require extra napkins. 

Ask In Advance:  Inquire of your guests about any sauces they will want their meal when it is served.  Steak sauce, mustard, extra dressing, and a number of other items will maintain their quality at the table far longer than hot food will.  Having these things waiting on the table before the hot food arrives will prevent the hot food from waiting on the sauces arrival.

Running hot food should always be a priority.  Delivering the items necessary to enjoy the hot food should be a greater priority.  A guest will show greater patience with a steak knife in front of them while waiting for their steak than they will of those items are delivered in reverse order.  Anticipate the needs of your guests in advance and deliver them prior to the foods arrival.  This sets you up to keep your guests happy while serving their meals at the highest quality possible.

Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips is the new book from the author of The Hospitality Formula Network.  It contains the 52 essential skills of the exceptional server.  This book teaches the philosophy to turn average service into an exceptional guest experience that will rapidly increase your tips.  This book shows how you can provide better customer service and dramatically improve your tips.  Enter the coupon code “squared” to receive 20% off your copy today.

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Avoiding The Write-Up

Posted on March 8, 2011 by David Hayden| Leave a comment

 

write-up

He must have had a late greet

Today, I want to share a feat that I quite frankly feel is remarkable.  I don’t want to sound as if I am bragging, but this is something that might be worth it.  I work for a corporately owned restaurant and have for nearly four years.  This means that I have an employee file in the manager’s office.  In that employee file you will find a great number of signed policy changes and reviews.  What you will not find is a single write-up.

Let me take a moment to go knock on every piece of wood in my house before continuing.

It is pretty easy to avoid the write-ups for breaking the rules.  I show up on time and pay attention to my schedule.  If I am running late, I call and let them know.  I try to follow the procedures and policies.  When I disagree with them, I try to pick my battles.  I have been the unemployed martyr before and have no desire to repeat that fate.  I wouldn’t consider myself the ideal employee, but I do make an effort to follow the rules.

Most of you who work for corporate restaurants know that this is not always enough to avoid the write-up.  Inevitably there will be a table that refuses to be happy.  Whether they arrived in a bad mood or simply dislike the cut of your jib, the complaint seems unavoidable.  It happens even at the finest of restaurants.  It can happen when you are following company rules to the letter.  Sometimes that can even be the cause of it.  Unfortunately, that may not even be enough to avoid the write-up.

Guests have learned (especially those with a predisposition to complain) that a letter to the corporate office will produce greater results than complaining to the manager on duty.  I’ve never worked in a corporate office, but I envision the reaction to these letters something akin to the reaction in Havana during the Bay of Pigs.  I’ve seen the emails where they cc: the VP of operations, the area director, the regional manager, the general manager, your childhood priest, and your future in-laws.  Each of these people wants an explanation of why this terrible thing occurred and what will be done to the server to punish them.  This far too often leads to a logical explanation from the server and a manager completing the write-up just to document the event.  While this write-up might be presented as just a formality, it is the first step in a very short dance that can end in your termination.

While you cannot stop every complaint letter from being sent in, you can take some actions to prevent it from turning into a write-up.  I have received a few of these complaint letters.  They are rare because I am very good at spotting the complaint, responding to it, and diffusing angry guests.  Even this is not enough to prevent every complaint.  For those times when these skills don’t work, there is one very important step that can prevent a complaint from turning into a write-up: getting your manager involved.

Getting your manager involved does two very important things.  The first is it allows the table to get some sense of satisfaction out of complaining to your boss.  This might just allow them to let off enough steam to prevent them from writing the letter.  It also allows your manager to use a much larger arsenal of weapons that are available to them to combat the complaint.  The second benefit is that it puts the manager on your team if the letter does get written.  You now have a person who has much more credibility with the entire list of people who received the email, stating that they could not resolve the complaint either.  This is incredibly beneficial because it takes a pretty big hypocrite to not defend you for failing to fix a problem they could not fix either.  They will often verify your recollection of the events and justify skipping the write-up.

I said earlier that I was not the ideal employee.  One of the primary reasons for this is because I let the managers know if I have a table with any sort of issue.  They know this and do not tend to overreact.  They have all visited tables that I said this about, only to have the table tell them they were happy and the service was great.  Once I let them know of a potential problem, I update them if it gets any worse.  Keeping them in the loop allows them to give me a second opinion on the situation.  All of the complaint letters I have received (and I could count them on one hand) have been from tables that I had been updating the managers on.  Each of them was dismissed after consulting the manager who I had gotten involved.

You can’t stop every complaint.  For whatever reason, some individuals seem to take joy in being dissatisfied.  What you can do is enlist the help of you managers early to prevent these complaints from turning into a write-up.  It is far easier to defend yourself from these complaints when a manager can confirm that you both did everything possible to please the guest.  This will keep your job far more secure and allow you to focus on providing your guests the service they deserve.

Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips is the new book from the author of The Hospitality Formula Network.  It contains the 52 essential skills of the exceptional server.  This book teaches the philosophy to turn average service into an exceptional guest experience that will rapidly increase your tips.  This book shows how you can provide better customer service and dramatically improve your tips.  Enter the coupon code “squared” to receive 20% off your copy today.

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Building and Maintaining Rapport

Posted on December 14, 2010 by David Hayden| 2 Comments
rapport

Did Somebody Say My Name?

This morning I woke up a little more groggy than normal.  As I was making my morning spin around the internets, I ran across a post from our friend the only slightly cranky waitress about rapport.  It seems her company has taken this up as a replacement for “hospitality” as their new Beetlejuice word.  I refer to these terms as Beetlejuice words because somewhere in a corporate office someone is convinced that if they say the word enough it will magically appear.  I have personally tried this approach with “gold”, “diamonds”, and “Alyssa Milano.”   All of these efforts were to no avail.  I would go so far to say that I am infinitely more likely to have Alyssa Milano appear by repeating her name than rapport to magically appear at their restaurants.

I fully agree that rapport is the most important factor in hospitality.  The first note I got from all three first round editors on my book was, “you have to come up with another way to say rapport.”  I felt it is so important that I apparently repeated it ad nauseum.  It plays a vital part of the actual hospitality formula (oh yes, there is one) and I do not think its value can be overstated.  What can be overstated is the word alone without a clear understanding of what you must do to build and maintain it.

Rapport is the feeling that comes when you reach an “I’m okay, you’re okay” moment.  It is human nature to categorize people as “like you” or “not like you.”  Rapport is established by creating a common ground with your guests that enables them to put you in the “like me” category.  Thus in the battle of “us” versus “them” you are one of the good guys (or gals).  This puts them at ease knowing that you are on their side and working towards providing them with the dining experience they seek.

All of this is purely definition.  It does not move you closer to actually establishing rapport.  To develop rapport you must first take an inventory of yourself.  When some guests see you the first thing they will notice is the differences between you.  It could be your age, demeanor, attire, attractiveness, or anything else that makes them feel you are not like them.  These guests intentionally put up barriers that prevent you from building rapport.  You must determine the root of their hostility and subtly address it to remove the barrier.

Here are some examples of how to address common situations:

Barrier: The guest feels underdressed or out of place in a fancy restaurant.

Solution: Compliment some part of their outfit and state that you are lucky that someone tells you what to wear at work because you can’t pick out an outfit that stylish to save your life.

Barrier: The guest feels intimidated by the menu.

Solution: Explain that you spotted words from four different languages on the menu the first time you read it, but you have tried everything on it and would be happy to give them an honest opinion.

Barrier: The guest seems to doubt your competence.

Solution: Let them know that the same people who wait on you when you go out must have waited on too.  Assure them that you hold yourself to a higher standard and want to give them the dining experience they want.

Barrier: The guest is simply in a bad mood.

Solution: Tell them that a good meal and a nice drink will help most every problem except for being overweight, which is something they obviously do not have to worry about.

Yes, I have done everyone of these things.  You cannot build rapport by being generic.  Remember the third rule of serving: generic servers receive generic tips.  If you want to build rapport you must be willing to stick your neck out.  You cannot retreat from customers who are putting up barriers.  You must address these barriers to move onto building rapport.

The good news is that most guests go out to dinner in a good mood and do not throw up barriers for you.  Most of them want to have a great experience and are willing to let you be a part of this.  Look for opportunities to find common ground.  Once you know where to look for them, they are pretty easy to spot.  If a guest is wearing clothing with a logo on it, they are broadcasting that they are a fan of whatever the logo represents.  This is an open invitation to build common ground.  Guests who are on their way home from a kids sporting event, love to talk about it.  Parents love to brag about their children.  Women love to have their jewelry complimented, especially in front of their friends or the person who bought it for them.  The invitations are there for you to build rapport; you must simply take advantage of them.

Building rapport is not about being fake or insincere.  That is the opposite of rapport.  Rapport is about treating the guests at your table as you would if they came to your office.  Of course the most important part of the experience is the meal, but a bit of small talk makes the meal more enjoyable.  Doctors call it bedside manner.  Tableside manner sounds a bit awkward so we call it rapport.  Building it with your guests will turn around the experience unhappy diners and lead to a little more on the tip line.

Tips2: Tips For Improving Your Tips is the new book from the author of The Hospitality Formula Network.  It contains the 52 essential skills of the exceptional server.  This book teaches the philosophy to turn average service into an exceptional guest experience that will rapidly increase your tips.  This book shows how you can provide better customer service and dramatically improve your tips.  Enter the coupon code “squared” to receive 20% off your copy today.

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