Importance Of Service PDF

IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE FFSO LESSON 4  Service for the Present and Future The beginning of the twenty-first century has brought with it a lifestyle change that has affected western society and has had an impact on the restaurant business. This change is most apparent in the fact that...

IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE FFSO LESSON 4  Service for the Present and Future The beginning of the twenty-first century has brought with it a lifestyle change that has affected western society and has had an impact on the restaurant business. This change is most apparent in the fact that eating in a restaurant is no longer a special occasion; it is a way of life In many homes, two individuals are working full-time and overtime. If they have children, they are taking them to after-school or evening events. An increasing market for restaurants is working single parents, who value the time they can spend with their children The advent of television’s Food Network has created a more sophisticated public who take a serious interest in cooking. They are becoming experts on raw food products, recipe, preparation, and unique food products. The professional chef and fabulous food were the stars of the 1980s and 1990s. the turn of the century has added a new star for the restaurant owner and manager: providing excellent, friendly service to guest “There’s a trend toward restaurants where the food is really fantastic, but the atmosphere is casual, and you are made to feel welcome. In the past, you felt that dining in a top restaurant was a rare privilege, and you’d better behave. Now, there’s a warmth and an interaction that wasn’t there before.” The formal white tablecloth restaurants that were almost exclusive in the 1960s are being joined by expensive steak restaurants. The white tablecloth restaurant will never become obsolete. It will always be the place where a guest will bring a date, celebrate a relative’s birthday or anniversary, or entertain business clients. Guest in the twenty-first century will be no different from guests throughout the ages. All guests want to be and appreciate being pampered. When leaving their homes for an evening out to spend their hard-earned money, they want an enjoyable, entertaining evening.  Reasons to Provide Good GuestsService enjoy talking about their experiences at a restaurant. They like to talk to their friends about good service, and they love to tell their friends about poor service. If this pattern of repeat business continues, the revenue will continue to multiply. The restaurant and restaurant manager that provide excellent, friendly service, along with a great food, will continue to see their business prosper.  This fact, called positive word of mouth, is extremely effective in generating business There is a rule called the 80/20 rule. This means that 80 percent of your business will come from 20 percent of your guests. He stated that managers should “think customers, not dollars!” “Guest service and guest retention is vital. Operators who focus on end-user satisfaction are acutely aware of data that indicate that for every guest who complains, there are 26 others who remain silent. The average displeased guest will tell 8-16 people, and 91% of unhappy guests will never return. It costs about five times as much to get a new guest as it costs to keep a current one. I As positive as word of mouth is both the best and worst type of promotion for a business. It has more effect on business at a restaurant or banquet house than any other factor. Why? Because people like to ask other people where to find a great place for dining or holding banquets. They trust recommendations from a friend rather than advertising.  What Guests Think of Service Conversely, they stated that friendly service is the number one reason why families will eat away from home. Parents stated that the key criteria for choosing a restaurant are service, value, and family atmosphere. The restaurant industry was and is based upon excellent food and service. The dictionary definition for service is “the act or manner of serving food and drink”. WHAT THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY THINKS ABOUT SERVICE Jim Sullivan, writing in Nation’s Restaurant News, said, “Customers will forgive mistakes in the kitchen more than mistakes in bad service”.  “enhance the service experience. Anticipate my mood and what I want from the service. Fundamentally, there is already so much focus on food that restaurant need to bring the service and environment up to par with the energy placed on the food.”. Dennis Lombardi, “More customer recognition, like GM’s taking the time to come by your table and then greeting you by name when you come back.” Fred Thimm, “Being able to take care of people is a noble thing,” says Charlie Trotter “customer service has become the number one issue in the food service industry today, and finding first-rate employees to fill this need is the number one challenge.” In today’s society, which continues to move toward more computers and impersonal service, the customer want smiles and human interaction in place of cold, non-thinking, unemotional computers. It becomes essential that the restaurant and banquet managers of the twenty-first century know how to train their employees to provide excellent service to their guest. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GREAT SERVICE? It is up to the manager to set the tone of the business. If the manager cares about his guest, then the message will be loud and clear to the service staff. And service obviously goes past the waiter, the waitress, or the bartender. It starts at the telephone and ends when the guest walks out of the restaurants with the valet…Service takes place in the kitchen with special request and adding or deleting an item. It’s not limited to carrying food out the table and smiling. Service is the way you do everything.” “why should someone pay ten times more in a restaurant for a Chicken Kiev than buying it already prepared at a gourmet section in supermarket and eating it at their kitchen table?” One of the author’s most valuable points is that successful managers “pay an obsessive attention to detail.” In the highly demanding restaurant business, the restaurants that succeed and prosper are the ones whose owners take the time to pay attention to details and make their guest feel welcome in their establishment.  MBWA One of their techniques is called MBWA or “management by wandering around.” They claim that an effective manager should be walking around and talking to the guest. In a banquet, the manager should make a certain that the guests are happy. SERVICE DEFINED Competence and Friendliness. Competence can be defined as serving food and drinks in the correct manner to the guest: The service person does everything correctly without the guest knowing it. and the service person and host thank the guest for patronizing the restaurant. It bears repeating: Excellent service is friendliness combined with competency. 93 percent of restaurant failures stem from poor management. People who manage restaurant very often have no concept of how to please their guests. THE Many managers prefer operational tasks to the actual running of a restaurant. REASO N FOR POOR SERVIC E develop a great front of the house so that people will feel good while they are eating in the restaurant. In a sense. The core is honesty in hosting, while providing really great, high-quality, interesting food and wine in a nonthreatening atmosphere. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SERVICE This hierarchy deals with human needs. Maslow cites five basic need that an average person possesses. These are physiological need and the needs of safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. The first four are referred to as dependent needs because they are obtained from other people. Self-actualization come within. The physiological need means that if we do not have enough money to provide food for ourselves or our family, we will spend the greatest portion of our time trying to earn enough money or to obtain food to satisfy this need. Restaurant guests generally have satisfied the safety need, because they probably live in a community that makes them feel comfortable and unafraid Once the safety need has been satisfied, the guests now move to the love and belonging need. This need refers to being accepted by other people and groups.  For the most part, guests received in restaurants and banquet facilities have significantly satisfied the first there needs; physiological, safety and love and belonging. The need that all restaurant managers, banquet managers, and service staff can satisfy is the fourth need- the esteem need. This need centers on self-respect and is generally thought of as ego need. It means that someone- namely, you, the manager, or service person – gives the people respect and makes them feel important. The fifth need is the self-actualization, which comes from within the person. This is when the person develops his or her maximum potential. Restaurant managers indirectly contribute to the development of this need because they have helped to satisfy the esteem need that preceded it. What Factors Determine Why Guests Go Out and Eat The Cater-to-me are defined as guests who patronize the restaurant because they are not in the mood to cook. They feel that they work hard and they deserve a break The socializers want to spend time with their family and friends, they either are the host for the meal or will pay the check, or they are invited to have a meal by someone else The next group are called celebrators. These are guests who are on vacation or are celebrating a birthday, wedding anniversary, graduation, or some other special occasion Guests who fall into the category called impulsive are those who crave a menu item or are not in the mood to plan a meal. If you have ever wanted a special meal that only one restaurant prepares, you have fallen into the impulsive category The final group are the busy bees. These guests are the time-crunched people. They work long hours and are busy with their stressful jobs. Their children also may be driving them crazy  Being Ubiquitous Ubiquitous means being everywhere at the same time The main hob of the banquet manager is not serve or cook food, but to take responsibility of the party off the host’s shoulders and put it on his or her own shoulders. The banquet manager is ubiquitous and ensures that the party runs smoothly. The job of a banquet or catering manager is one of the most exciting and rewarding but stressful positions in the hospitality industry. Successful Management He or she must know the different types of service, when to use them, and how to serve properly. There are two main types if banquet service: Russian and American. A la carte service is American, French, Russian, or a combination of all three. The manager must know the proper methods of beverage service as well as how to organize, plan, and implement beverage service for banquets and a la carte dining. Included are open and cash bars and proper wine service. The manager must have a knowledge of wines and the proper pairing of food with wine The manager must be personable and have a genuine fondness for people. Managers must realize the importance of talking to guests and making them feel important. Knowledge of Maslow’s Hierarchy must be used in recognizing guests. There is nothing as powerful as addressing a guests by his or her name. Both the dining room manager and the banquet manager must be visible in the dining room so they can talk to the guests Organization is a key skill for a successful dining room or banquet manager. The manager must possess the ability to stay calm under pressure. This is especially necessary for catering and banquet managers. One factor can be guaranteed at a banquet: No matter how rich or poor, how influential, or how educated the hosts of the party may be, they are always under a tremendous strain. They want the party to be a success. The banquet manager is the person who must keep them calm. The manager must be in good physical condition to withstand the long. Unusual hours and stressful conditions, the job involves much physical labor, because the manager often helps move tables, transport food to catering events, and lift heavy items that are needed either in the restaurant or at the banquet. The manager must be able to resist temptation. Because there is so much food and liquor available, managers may find it easy to drink and eat too much, The manager must be able to deal effectively with both employees and guests. Any person considering the restaurant business as a career is advised to take as many psychology courses as possible so that he can manage all the idiosyncrasies of his guests and employees. The manager must know how to train employees, in this industry, most of the training is done on the job. The successful manager will have a training plan, implement it, and have a follow through system QUALIFICATION FOR SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT Knowledge of food service Knowledge of beverage service Friendly, outgoing personality Organizational skills Ability to stay calm under pressure Good physical condition Ability to resist temptation Diplomacy Knowledge of training employees Ability to handle complaints