The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - June 16, 2000

WHAT IS GOING ON OUT THERE?
Some comments from Danna Goldwasser and Jeff Portwood on my note last week about walking out of a restaurant for not being acknowledged for five minutes:

This last week, we sat for exactly six minutes at a table, watched four different employees and a manager-looking person walk by -- and no one even made eye contact. As we stood at the door to leave (without dining), we asked for the manager (it happened to be the same one who walked by us to begin with.) His response to us leaving..."Really? Where were you sitting? Wow, I'm really sorry." And that was then end of the conversation. The funny (or is it sad?) thing: we watched our table after we got up -- our menus were picked up within thirty seconds of our departure!

Is it a coincidence, or are the management teams in restaurants we walk out of actually modeling this behavior (or rather, indifference) that we see in the performance of their employees? In this age of "upselling" and "salesmanship" there seems to be an incredible decline in (or complete lack of) the first basic rule of service: greet the guest. (I'd add "with a smile" if we could get past just being greeted!)

A note from the Doc:
In today's competitive climate, you can't afford to let ANYONE get away! This seems intuitively obvious, yet I notice an appalling lack of urgency when it comes to acknowledging newly-arrived or newly-seated guests. What the staff sees from management is what management will see from the staff. In this case, it appears that management placed an emphasis on getting the tables ready to be re-seated but had not given any attention to their most perishable resource -- the service of their guests.

With a busy summer season coming up for most operators, it might be a good time for an internal audit.

-- Have you clearly established standards for how quickly a guest should be acknowledged? I suggest 30 seconds at the front door and 60 seconds at the table.

-- If you have clear standards, how often are they checked? Is this a point of evaluation on your performance appraisals?

-- Do you have enough greeters on schedule to assure that when a guest comes through the door, someone is moving toward them with a smile?

-- Does the rest of your staff take responsibility to approach a guest who is looking lost and initiating some sort of service? If so, how can you prove it?

-- Are your servers' stations of such a size that they can deliver the level of personal service you need? I know of some very savvy operators that are going to 3-table stations just for that reason. A (very) few servers can handle up to six tables well but anything over that is asking for trouble in all but the very slowest periods.

-- Do you have a sense of urgency when it comes to delivering service to your guests and is that adequately conveyed to your staff? If so, how could we tell?

-- Do you demonstrate an equal sense of urgency when it comes to delivering service to your staff? If so, how could we tell?

-- If you cannot find the staff to provide the proper level of service throughout the entire restaurant, have you had the courage to close enough seats off so that you CAN do a great job for the people you are able to seat?

Just a reminder that if you do not take proper care of your guests, your volume WILL come down to a level where you can handle it! A few thoughts to ponder on an early summer weekend. Enjoy!

. . . TOLD YOU SO!
The headline article Nations Restaurant News this week deals with the hazard of restaurant noise levels. We discussed this very topic in this month's Management Insight Series interview with Phyllis Ann Marshall, along with some ideas on what you can do about it. NRN reports that the restaurant reviewers for the San Francisco Chronicle are now taking decibel monitors with them and including a "restaurant noise rating scale" along with their reviews. How noisy is your place? Are you losing business because of it? Are you liable if one of your staff suffers hearing loss because of it? It is not too late to sign up and get a copy of Phyllis Ann's take on this issue. In July's month's MIS tape, I interview human relations guru Robert Kausen. If you are not already a subscriber, you can find out more at www.restaurantdoctor.com/MIS.html.

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW
LeRoy Browne <leroybrwne@aol.com> wants to know the latest on 1) customer loyalty programs and 2) wine tastings with signature dishes. If you have anything to offer, drop him a line with a copy to me and I will (eventually) post the results.

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