Serving Wine: Temperatures and Procedure

Serving Wine

• White and Rosé wines should be served in chilled glasses at 8°C - 9°C.
• Red wines should be served at 14°C - 16°C or at room temperature.
• Champagne and sparkling wines should be served at 6°C - 9°C.
• If serving more than one wine, serve in the following order: light before full-bodied, dry before sweet, young before old, and dry white before red wine.

Wine Service Procedure

• Present the bottle with the label facing the host so they can confirm their selection.
• When presenting, mention the wine's name, bottle size, vineyard, and vintage (e.g., "A Tenth of Pinot Noir by Robert Mondavi, 1977").
• Hold the wine in one hand and remove the foil/wax from the bottle top.
• Carefully cut the metal or capsule below the bottle's lip by rotating the bottle.
• Wipe the bottle top and cork with a cloth napkin.
• Insert the corkscrew tip slightly off-center and turn clockwise until it penetrates 2/3 of the cork.
• Place leverage on the bottle rim with the corkscrew arm, holding the metal grip with your index finger.
• Hold the bottle firmly and hook the corkscrew lever in one motion until the cork is fully extracted.
• Present the cork to the host for evaluation.
• Wipe the bottle's mouth to remove any cork or mold.
• If the bottle has a screw cap, do not place the cap on the table.
• Pour about one ounce of wine into the host's glass for tasting and evaluation, then wait for their approval.
• Serve wine starting with the ladies, then the gentlemen, and lastly the host, filling the glass at approximately mid-level.
• Do not pour the wine too far above the glass, but bring the bottle's neck close, being careful not to rest it on the glass.
• Finish pouring with an upward twisting motion to avoid dripping.
• Place the bottle with its remaining contents to the host's right side, label facing them.

Bussing and Clearing the Table

• Immediately remove soiled dishes to maintain cleanliness.
• Once everyone has finished a dish, remove all soiled china wares, flat wares, and glasses.
• Bus soiled glasses on the right side; make an excuse and ask permission from the guest.
• Remove the largest plates first, followed by smaller ones to stack them easily.
• Brush tables with a clean, moist side towel when needed, being careful not to spill crumbs; use a small plate to catch crumbs.
• Never reach across a guest; stay on their right side unless unavoidable, then excuse yourself.
• Do not stack dishes too high to prevent accidents and noise.
• Use appropriate trays: a bar tray for bar items and a rectangular or oval tray for china ware.
• Bus bottles and glasses separately from china wares.
• Avoid overloading trays and bus pans.
• Never scrape leftovers in front of or near the guest, do it away from the guest.
• The standard bussing procedure is to scrape, stack, and segregate.

Settlement of the Guest Bill

• If a manual order slip is used, endorse one copy to the cashier.
• If a computerized point of sales is used, the terminal at the cashier's station already has the orders posted.
• With a manual method, the cashier checks the order slip for completeness and signs it to verify it.
• If there are no more orders, advise the cashier to close the order, then pull out the slip and prepare the bill after checking for any last-minute orders.
• If using two checks, clip both pages together and ensure the check number is on the second check.
• Upon picking up the bill, review the figures before presenting it to the customer, checking:
• The guest's name (if charged to a room), server, table number, date, number of guests, items ordered, and quantity of orders.
• Whether all served items are properly charged.
• Whether one check or individual checks are needed for groups.
• That sales tax and service charge (if applied) are added.
• That only served items are on the bill.
• That the correct check is used (food or beverage check).
• To avoid errors and complaints, all bills must be thoroughly checked and authorized/signed by a supervisor before being presented.
• If cash is received, count the money in front of the host and mention the amount received out loud. Settle any shortage immediately.
• Upon receiving cash, the cashier should: count the money in view of the waiter, indicate the amount received on the tape receipt, encircle and sign near the amount to signify receipt, and give any change to the waiter to place in a change tray.
• The waiter should give the change to the guest.
• If the guest is paying by credit card, the waiter should endorse the card to the cashier for verification.

Bidding Goodbye

• Once the bill is settled, give back any change in a change tray and say "Your change, Sir/Madam."
• Never wait for or suggest a tip, or touch/count any tip until the guest has left the table.
• When guests depart, bid them goodbye, thank them for their patronage, and invite them to return ("Thank you, Sir/Madam, for dining with us. We look forward to your next visit.")

Room Service

• Room service is part of hotel operations providing food conveniently to guest rooms through the room service department.
• It is a 24-hour service which includes checking minibars, collecting breakfast menus, sending food, beverages, and amenities.
• Guests prefer room service for various reasons, including:
  • Privacy and time savings for business travelers.
  • Eating together for group travelers.
  • Creating a romantic atmosphere for honeymoon couples.
  • Avoiding the public eye for celebrities.
  • Casual dining and comfort.
  • Having bed tea.
  • Privacy and comfort for women traveling alone.
  • Private discussions.
• Some guests do not prefer room service because:
  • It is more expensive.
  • Delivery may be slow during rush hour.
  • Maintaining proper food temperature is a challenge.
  • 24-hour service may not be available in the hotel.
  • Menus is more limited.

Qualities of Proper Room Service

• Prompt telephone response, proper greeting, and polite behavior.
• Appropriate suggestions from order takers.
• Correct order taking.
• Delivery of order in proper room at the appropriate time.
• Proper temperature of food and beverage items.
• Courtesy from service delivery person.
• Quick removal of used trays and trolleys after food.
• No unnecessary attempt to push selling.

Types of Room Service

• Centralized Room Service: Items are delivered from the main kitchen by a general waiter in place of specialized room server.
• Decentralized Room Service: A smaller number of food and beverage items are served quickly.

Layout of Room Service Department

• Order Takers Cabin: Where the person responsible for taking orders sits, with a glass window to see the service area and kitchen. The cabin should be comfortable, soundproof, and equipped with communication and tracking tools.
• Room for Room Service Manager: Used for administrative purposes like interviews and scheduling.
• Waiting Room: For servers to relax between orders, but stay ready; equipped with basic furniture.
• Storage Area: For linen, fuel, essential equipment, and possibly a refrigerator for butter or flowers.
• Dispense Bar: Used to provide beverage items to guests and is only staffed by bartenders.

Preparation for Room Service

• Stay well-informed about menu items and daily specials.
• Know your guest (VIP or group booking).
• Be aware of any unavailable menu items.
• Know the ingredients and cooking procedures for various menu items.
• Preset service trays (clean tablecloth, napkins, tableware).

Sequence of Order-Taking in Room Service

• Step 1: Receive the call for room service and smile while talking to sound relaxed and pleasant.
• Step 2: Get the order and enter it into the order taker book or form.
• Step 3: Make suggestions to the guest.
• Step 4: Thank the guest for their order and give an approximate preparation time.
• Step 5: Give the order slip to the room service staff allotted to the floor.
• Step 6: Prepare the guest bills per house rules and hand them over to the concerned room service staff.

Processing Room Service Order

• If there is any hot item, fire up a heating plate or oven.
• Retrieve food from the kitchen, ensuring all ordered items are available; prioritize cold items before hot items.
• Check all orders closely one last time to avoid inconvenience.
• Use service elevators to reach the guest room.
• Avoid collisions by always pulling your tray, never pushing.

Receiving and Handling Customer Concerns

• A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction related to a hotel's products, services or handling process where a response or resolution is expected.
• Customers complain when:
  • Their expectations are unmet.
  • Promises are broken.
  • Customer service is poor.
  • They are transferred between CSRs.
  • Staff is rude.
  • Staff does not listen.
  • Information or costs are hidden.
  • Product or service quality is low.

Handling Guest Complaints

• Listen carefully and express enthusiasm to help while maintaining eye contact.
• Understand the matter; do not argue or interrupt while the guest is still speaking.
• Analyze the matter wisely.
• Apologize with good reason and handle the request with priority if able, even if the complaint is outside of your section.
• Take action until the matter is completed.
• Pass any information to the executive floor manager immediately if it is outside of your capabilities.
• Make the guest feel very comfortable while waiting and allow time to cool down.
• When you see the guest later, greet and ask if everything is fine.
• Log in a follow-up book for your colleagues to be aware of the situation.

Customer Relations

• Customer relations are concerned with the conditions staff work under which may assist or prevent good standards of interpersonal skills being maintained.

Customer Satisfaction

• Welcome, decor, and ambiance of the establishment.
• The level of efficiency shown, for example, has the booking been taken properly, using the customer's name.
• Location of the table
• Presentation and cleanliness of the menu and drinks list
• Order being taken – recognition of the host
• Availability of dishes/ items

Monitoring Customer Satisfaction

• Informal Approaches: Subjective and intuitive approaches, which include asking customers directly for feedback and monitoring the service periods for signs of issues with the service, can be very effective.
• Monitoring Financial Data: Includes both financial performance and sales mix data which can indicate changes in customer trends for the business
• Customer Satisfaction Questionnaires: The forms usually ask for some rating of the experience with details ranging from factors such as warmth of greeting to value for money and also the likelihood of the customer recommending the operation to someone else.
• Complaint Monitoring: Monitoring complaints (and compliments) can be helpful in measuring levels of customer satisfaction. However, it is also possible that complaints might be unjustified or the result of some other dissatisfaction which is not in the control of the operation
• Monitoring Media: This includes printed media such as magazines, television, social media and customer rating websites such as trip advisor and open table.
• Staff Focus Group Sessions: Staff focus groups can provide a valuable review process, especially when independent people lead the sessions. These sessions provide an opportunity to review the customer service specification against the experience of those members of staff who work within it
• Mystery Shopper: This means using an unidentified customer who tests the services of the organization and then provides a report to the organization. The individual will check that standards are maintained and will usually work to a brief and checklist. Mystery shoppers are not professionals; they need by necessity to remain customers, although the companies that employ them are professional.
• Process Reviewer: The process reviewer differs from a mystery shopper in that the process review is undertaken to identify problems in how the operation works and also opportunities for improvement.