To treat guests well, avoid the eight deadly sins of service

Nation's Restaurant News,  Sept 17, 2007  by Pam Strianese,  Toby Strianese

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

The quality and diversity of food prepared in restaurants has continued to improve over the last 40 years. The teaching of culinary skills has exploded with educational programs in high schools and colleges, along with a television network devoted to food.

Unfortunately, service has not improved or even kept pace with the upgraded quality of food. Survey after survey report that poor service is the weak link in the restaurant industry, and guests want it improved.

As a result, we offer our Eight Deadly Sins of Service and suggestions on how to improve the dining experience.

1) An unacceptable greeting is offered when guests enter a restaurant. "Just yourself? One?" The host makes the guest feel like a loser.

Better: Make eye contact, smile and welcome the guest into your restaurant. Ben Franklin said, "The taste of the roast is determined by the handshake of the host."

2) Too many specials of the day are recited without prices given. One restaurant we patronized had more specials than printed items on the menu. Can a guest remember 10 specials with their various preparations? If you don't want to inform the guest of the prices of your specials, then why put prices on any of your menus?

Better: With today's computer technology, restaurants should print daily specials with prices.

3) One fork is provided for two courses. After the salad/appetizer course is served, the fork is taken away or, even worse, the server asks, "Do you wanna keep that fork?" It is especially annoying when the restaurant is charging extra for the salad course.

Better: Have enough clean utensils for each course. Don't ask the question; replace the used fork with a clean one.

4) A server arrives at the table with the food and asks, "Who gets what?"

Better: Devise a system and train the staff to identify which menu items each guest has ordered. The system should be developed to allow any staff member to serve any guest the proper items without having to ask who gets what item.

5) Condiments to accompany the meal are not provided. No ketchup, no lemon, no milk with coffee, etc.

Better: Train the waitstaff to pick up accompaniments when they pick up the item. Stress the five P's of organization: Proper planning prevents poor performance. Have the staff return to the table soon after they serve items and inquire whether the guest needs anything.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

6) Wine is opened, the glasses are filled up to the top and the bottle is left on table. Guests must pour their own wine, and the server expects to be tipped on the bottle price for poor service.

Better: White wine should be poured three-quarters of the way up the glass; red wine should filled halfway. A great waitperson will be able to observe or "read" the guests, and determine how they are consuming the wine and replenish the glasses accordingly.

7) The server removes dirty dishes from one guest while others at the table still are finishing their course. This makes the slower guests self-conscious.

Better: Wait until all guests are finished eating and then ask if it is okay to clear the dishes.

8) The guest check problem. Is there a long delay in bringing the check? Do servers have to ask guests whether they need change if paying with cash? Worst of all, are servers scamming the guest by adding an additional gratuity to the credit card receipt after the guest has departed?

Better: Deliver the guest check as soon as it is determined that no more food or beverages will be ordered. If the guest pays with cash, don't ask if he or she needs change. Take the money and return the change back to the guest. Management must monitor guest receipts for unusually high tips and/or be aware of altered credit card receipts in the gratuity section.

Of course, we realize that there are many more deadly sins of service. Management should train their staffs to eliminate these and other sins, and provide their guests with great service. They should continually observe their staff, and use mystery shoppers to evaluate the service that their staff provides.

George Goldhoff, vice president of food and beverage at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Biloxi, Miss., states in the foreword of our book, "Dining Room and Banquet Management": "Service is an experience, as opposed to a tangible product. It is fleeting and, therefore, difficult to describe, measure and, in some cases, standardize. Service must be anticipatory, professional, friendly and leavened with good humor. Every detail must be carefully considered and thought through."

It is our hope that management will spend the time, money and effort on providing quality service to their guests so the great food will be complemented by great service!

Pam and Toby Strianese are the authors of "Dining Room and Banquet Management" and "Math Principles for Food Service Occupations." Toby is the Department chairperson of the Hotel, Culinary Arts & Tourism Department at Schenectady County Community College, in Schenectady, N.Y.

COPYRIGHT 2007 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning