How Do You Train Your Restaurant Staff ?

If you really want your business to be a success then you must change the focus of your business and become a training company first. This may sound strange if you are in the restaurant business. Why does Disney do what they do so well, the answer is TRAINING.

Devise for your Restaurant the perfect customer journey. How do you want your customer to be treated and what do you want them to be exposed to. An example of a successful visit should include the following:-

• Welcome
• Offering Choice
• Showmanship (Confidence)
• Presentation
• Product Knowledge
• Customer Awareness
• Follow-up
• Farewell

1. Welcome
The welcome is the first point of communication between the restaurant and the customer. The welcome must be warm and genuine with a smile. The customer must be made to feel as though he is genuinely welcome in a fashion unlike any other previous dining or drinking experience. He should feel as though his custom is important and appreciated.

2. Offering Choice
It is important that you understand that offering choice means how you convey information to the customer. It must be positive and effective, (If you have a problem with the principle of selling then the word "offering" may help you more in understanding the basic principle here). For example, most people will simply want the rum and coke which they have been drinking for the past ten years, you will have the product knowledge and skill to suggest that they try a Mojito. a quality restaurant likes to think of salesmanship as a part of service, offering a quality, alternative product at a fair price.

3. Showmanship (Confidence)
Showmanship means your whole performance - from the way you walk to the way you talk. Your staff have been hired for their personality - use it!
Showmanship is one of the most obvious ways in which your staff impresses the customer. Whether it's the subtle flick of a bottle or the flamboyant carrying of four plates - every move of management and staff contributes to the impression. The goal is to have customers talking about us in a positive light and wanting to return because they have experienced something unique.

4. Presentation
This covers the entire customer experience whilst in YOUR 'Smallworld'. The way your restaurant is presented; clean and clutter-free, the way you present products to a customer,your appearance, manner and of course implementing 'Your Way' to the best of your ability.

5. Product Knowledge
A complete knowledge of the products you sell is an absolute necessity. For example, if a car salesman didn't know the country of origin of the car he was selling, he probably wouldn't sell too many cars. Therefore, you are expected to have a sound knowledge of all our cocktails, wines, beers and spirits, and a thorough understanding of all your food.The more you understand about your product, the more likely it is you will be able to explain and recommend it to a customer confidently knowing they are satisfied rather than simply being served.

6. Customer Awareness
This means you know exactly what your customers are doing from the second they walk into your restaurant until the second they leave. From a quick acknowledgment to a warm farewell, this awareness enables you to give truly professional service. If a customer looks as though he wants something, ask him, and get it immediately. If a guest is sitting in the restaurant looking around be aware and ask if they need anything.
Awareness is a skill to be developed, a great frustration is a perception of being ignored, this may come across as rude to a guest, but more often than not is due to a lack of awareness. The balance to this is about knowing when to leave guests alone - knowing when to talk and when to walk, you would not want to be asked 3 times how a dish is nor would you want a conversation whilst your food is on the table.

7. Follow-Up
Quite simply this means you as a professional should care that the customer is enjoying their meal or beverage. The question should be personalized to the customer i.e: "How is your Steak?" rather than just "How is your meal?" This makes a world of difference to the customer, who feels as though you have an interest in them and there experience - which as a professional you should. If the dish is not satisfactory find out why and, if necessary get it changed.

8. Farewell
A warm, genuine farewell is essential. The last experience for the customer is often the only one they remember, so always say "good-bye", "thank you" and "see you again" in a warm, sincere manner.

Get your staff to understand and follow the above 8 points and what you have is the basic steps to customer service.

5 tips to success in interviews

Interviews can be a very daunting experience. We have all been through such situations. The question that most people ask themselves is 'How do I get through this?' Hospitality has historically always been the industry that has a lot of room for unskilled (and skilled) applicants. Many books have been written about interview situations but below are my Top 5 tips to get my 'Yes'.

An equal handshake

This is a tough one to call when greeting someone for the first time, but if you can mirror their grip it avoids any dominant/submissive vibes.

Relax into your chair

The way you sit conveys a lot of subtle information to the people on the other side of the desk. So don't take the seat like it's Old Sparky, instead use a moment to get comfortable. If you look relaxed, it'll encourage your interviewer/s to feel at ease in your company. Just be careful not to take it to extremes, and kick back like you're at home on the sofa. Flipping the chair round and straddling it is also perhaps just a little too cocksure.

Maintain eye contact

This is the most important one for me. Keep it true and steady, but remember to blink. To avoid that staring-like-a-serial-killer mistake, form a mental triangle on your interviewer's forehead and make sure that your gaze doesn't drop below eye level. Any further south and things start to get a bit intimate, an interest in their mouth may persuade them to think you're hitting on them.

Steer your body

Crossing your legs loosely is fine if it makes you feel happier, especially if you're wearing a skirt, but if you can 'point' at the interviewer with your knees or your feet it shows you're focused right in on them.

Use your hands

If you can be physically expressive as you speak it shows a certain confidence in the stuff you're saying. Use your hands to roll out your answers or give shape to your ideas, and at the very least your interviewer will think you know what you're talking about.

Good Luck!!!

Experience is the new profit

Have you ever heard over the term 'Emotion per sq ft is the new Sales per sq ft'? Have you ever thought about it? How often have you seen the feedback 'the food was good but nothing amazing?' More often than not will guests want to be wowed and not only by the food they are eating. WOW can come because of different things but will ALWAYS have the same EFFECT. People talk about you and will return.

Everybody reacts differently to experiences though which makes it necessary to know your customers, your market etc. Bring staff on board as they are most likely being the ones, 'living' those experiences. Be careful though what you consider being important, sometimes being innovative for the sake of it, will not work. Sometimes it is the basics that need to sit right before customers are open to new things. What is important to you? How much do you want to be wowed? How much importance do you put on senses, i.e. smell, vision, feel in a restaurant?

New Will & Kate Champagne Cocktail launched

So finally, we have also jumped on the Royal Wedding 'bandwagon'. This afternoon we have launched our Will & Kate Champagne Cocktail in the Bar. A stunning creating from our Bar manager, Luis.

Will & Kate Champagne Cocktail

A special Brit-inspired cocktail of Bombay Sapphire gin, Champagne and fresh English apple purée, plus a splash of elderflower cordial and grapefruit juice. With a nod to the Royal occasion, the cocktail is completed with edible gold sprinkles.

Handling Guest Complaint

Certainly, the best way to solve a problem is to do things right the first time so that it never happens, but when things do go awry it’s important that the staff is ready to respond accordingly.

The key relies in giving employees three things:

1. The responsibility of effectively handling customer complaints

2. Enough empowerment to make decisions they consider necessary to reach that goal (within certain boundaries)

3. A frame of action or procedure that guides them throughout the process so as to achieve complaint management consistency across the organization.

To transform a negative customer experience into a memorable one should be at the forefront of each team member that comes in contact with guest complaints

All companies fail every once in a while; that’s inevitable. The difference between service leaders and the rest is how they respond when they make a mistake that causes dissatisfaction in a customer. Legendary organizations such as Ritz-Carlton hotels, the Home Depot store chain or Cathay Pacific airline from Hong Kong understand very well the value of complaints and have clearly outlined the steps that need to be followed to efficiently address them.

A question of skills - the various roles within a Restaurant

A Restaurant can have all sorts of different structures. Usually the smaller establishments have more of a one-person-for-everything approach. The more upmarket a restaurant pitches itself, the more complex the hierarchy can become.
In our Restaurant, the structure is kept relatively traditional. The entry-level role with us is called a commis waiter. In my eyes the hardest jobs, lowest pay rate but physically hardest job. One up from here and you have a waiter. This role is more guest facing and is doing basic service tasks.

A station headwaiter (or Chef de Rang) runs a service station during a shift. He will be the one that welcomes guests in his station, offers menus, recommends drinks (not only wines), takes orders, completing payments etc.

A Supervisor runs shifts and ensures that the 'ensemble' hits the right notes. This person is important as it ensures that all the above mentioned roles are performing to their assigned tasks.

The Manager  is the face of the restaurant. His role involves a range of tasks, such as marketing, cost control, team management, HR and recruitment.

St Julian Scholar Meeting at Coworth Park Hotel

Hi all,

so I've just returned from a wonderful location called Coworth Park from a meeting of St. Julian Scholars.
St. Julian Scholars are an alumni of high potential Managers within the hospitality industry. Now in it's 10th year, it is generously sponsored by a number of industry bodies, such as Learn Purple or Portfolio.

Each year, around 20 hospitality professionals are chosen to attend a panel of judges for interviews. From those 20, around 15 are awarded a scholarship, taking them to such renowned learning institutes such as Cornell university. Well worth looking at the St. Julian Scholar website for more info.

8 Rules for good customer service

Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer promotions and slash prices to bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business won't be profitable for long.
Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. And about sending them away happy - happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers.
If you're a good salesperson, you can sell anything to anyone once. But it will be your approach to customer service that determines whether or not you’ll ever be able to sell that person anything else. The essence of good customer service is forming a relationship with customers – a relationship that that individual customer feels that he would like to pursue.
How do you go about forming such a relationship? By remembering the one true secret of good customer service and acting accordingly; "You will be judged by what you do, not what you say."
I know this verges on the kind of statement that's often seen on a sampler, but providing good customer service IS a simple thing. If you truly want to have good customer service, all you have to do is ensure that your business consistently does these things:
1) Answer your phone.
Get call forwarding. Or an answering service. Hire staff if you need to. But make sure that someone is picking up the phone when someone calls your business. (Notice I say "someone". People who call want to talk to a live person, not a fake "recorded robot".)
2) Don't make promises unless you will keep them.
Not plan to keep them. Will keep them. Reliability is one of the keys to any good relationship, and good customer service is no exception. If you say, “We will be able to serve you within 45 minutes”, make sure it is within 45 min. Otherwise, don't say it. The same rule applies to client appointments, deadlines, etc.. Think before you give any promise - because nothing annoys customers more than a broken one.
3) Listen to your customers.
Is there anything more exasperating than telling someone what you want or what your problem is and then discovering that that person hasn't been paying attention and needs to have it explained again? From a customer's point of view, I doubt it. Let your customer talk and show him that you are listening by making the appropriate responses, such as suggesting how to solve the problem.
4) Deal with complaints.
No one likes hearing complaints, and many of us have developed a reflex shrug, saying, "You can't please all the people all the time". Maybe not, but if you give the complaint your attention, you may be able to please this one person this one time - and position your business to reap the benefits of good customer service.
5) Be helpful - even if there's no immediate profit in it.
The other day I popped into a local watch shop because I had lost the small piece that clips the pieces of my watch band together. When I explained the problem, the proprietor said that he thought he might have one lying around. He found it, attached it to my watch band – and charged me nothing! Where do you think I'll go when I need a new watch band or even a new watch? And how many people do you think I've told this story to?
6) Train your staff  to be always helpful, courteous, and knowledgeable.
Do it yourself or hire someone to train them. Talk to them about good customer service and what it is (and isn't) regularly. Most importantly, give every member of your staff enough information and power to make those small customer-pleasing decisions, so he never has to say, "I don't know, but so-and-so will be back at..."
7) Take the extra step.
For instance, if someone walks into your restaurant and asks you to help them find something, don't just say, "It's on second floor". Lead the guest to it. Whatever the extra step may be, if you want to provide good customer service, take it. They may not say so to you, but people notice when people make an extra effort and will tell other people.
8) Throw in something extra.
Whether it's a coupon for a future discount, additional information on how to use the product, or a genuine smile, people love to get more than they thought they were getting. And don’t think that a gesture has to be large to be effective.
If you apply these eight simple rules consistently, your business will become known for its good customer service. And the best part? The irony of good customer service is that over time it will bring in more new customers than promotions and price slashing ever did!

How do you become a Restaurant Manager?

Ok, so everyone's career path might have been different, more or less direct, shorter or longer. There are however a few steps to be considered. Working in the restaurant industry may not be brain surgery, but it is something that is either in your blood or not. It takes patience and a commitment to always putting the guest first and everything else second. Once you have decided to pursue your talents with a restaurant concept, you can take some of the following steps towards success.

Start out in a small role, learn the business. Some of the best managers started their careers as waiters or hostesses and worked their way up from that position. Career progression is very important when trying to move forward as a manager

Do not job hop from restaurant to restaurant. Corporate chains like to see no more than two jobs in five years when considering someone for a position. Tough it out if need be, but job hopping does not lend confidence to your abilities

Remember that the guest is always number one. Yes, call them guests, not customers, you want your guests to feel like they are dining in your home, not just as though they are just another face in the dining room. Talk with them, get to know your regulars, spend all the time you can on the floor, and stay out of that office!

Know your numbers! Even if your General Manager does not like to talk about these things, find out anyway, learn all you can from the other managers, Front of House and Kitchen Managers, learn the steps necessary to keeping your numbers

Treat your staff with the same respect you wanted to be treated with when you had the same job. From dishwasher to owner, everyone in the building is accountable. Your staff needs to know that you have no problem cleaning a bathroom in order to make your guests' visit positive, and neither should they. Your philosophy should be that you wouldn't ask someone to do something that you won't do.

Stay put before leaving. When looking for a new position, keep your old one! It is easier to find a job when you have a job. Posting on the major job boards is acceptable, but if you are planning on using a recruiter, keep your resume unsearchable on the boards. Concepts search the boards, and if you are visible they will not speak with you if a recruiter presents you.

As with everything else in life, you've got to enjoy it!!

An out-of-this-world opportunity

Anybody heard of the St. Julian scholars before? No? Me too. Until a year ago. But that's a shame. It has started 10 years ago and recognises high potential performers in the hospitality industry only to send them to some of the well-known hotel schools. 1 year on, it has opened a vast networking opportunity, industrywide recognition and peer support. Anybody serious about a career in the UK hospitality industry, go and have a look at

My Restaurant

Well, it isn't really mine, is it? But a former colleague of mine kept telling me to treat it as it would be mine. What can I say? It is in the heart of theatre land in Covent Garden here in London. It's special in a way because the people that work with me, make it special. Of course, like everywhere else, it has it's black sheeps. It's how you manage them.
The place never stands still and we get a good mixture of people through the doors.
What made me start this blog is the fact that hotel/ restaurant life is never boring. Right now, I don't know what expects me tomorrow. Well sort of, I do obviously have a plan. But it is those unplanned moments I am referring to. Just today, I met with our training consultant to discuss the review of mystery shopper points, then on to a tasting for the new a la carte menu (from which I will be including recipes over the time) followed by a meeting with a video production company to create funky advertising material. An average day, really!

Good evening

So there I am. I am new to this so be patient. Over the last ten years, I have been working in a number of hotels, not always as a Restaurant Manager. But always with the same dedication, commitment and enthusiasm. I have been fortunate enough to go through an apprenticeship system back home so have learned my trade from the bottom up. It's not always been easy. Hotels can be fun, a lot of fun! I will share what this job, this industry is all about, throw in a few recipes and whatelse I might find useful. I am open for suggestions though.