The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - July 14, 2000

STRUCK A NERVE
Looks like my rant last week hit home with a few folks. Some of the comments (without attribution since I did not ask permission to use their names):

I'm not sure what percentage of people will work in the service industry today, but as I recall reading some time ago the number is far greater than 70%. If thats the case, why as a society do we not teach it in our schools? Am I thinking to weird here to think that a couple of courses in "Service 1, 2, & 3" while a kid is in high school might actually help? As the labor pool shrinks, I think the problem will get worse rather than better. Do you know of any schools that specialize in service? I may just have to start one just so I can say I tried to be a part of the solution and not the problem.

The 7/7/00 about "Whos In Charge" hit the spot for me. I have been thinking about it all weekend. You are right in what you said. Changes will happen this week based on what you said. Thanks a whole bunch!!!!!!!

(Edited for length) It is my suspicion that most owners/managers do not know how their staff talks to their customers. The best way that I have found is to sit in the dining room as a customer and evesdrop. When I do, I hear things that absolutely shock me, particularly from servers who guests love and whom I consider to have excellent customer service skills! I wonder how often service lapses result from company policy. In debriefing with a couple of my best servers after an incident, I discovered that they believed they were just following company policy (in this case, seeing the host for patio seating) and that they also believed that it was an unspoken part of their job to "train the guests" in the proper procedures for eating in our restaurant.

A note from the Doc:
Do you REALLY know what your staff is saying to your guests? Do they REALLY understand not only your policies but what they are designed to accomplish? Do they REALLY have the latitude to achieve the results you want in their own way? We tend to see what we want to see so it is always in interesting exercise to do some hard research to be sure that our pictures are accurate.

ARRIVEDERCI
This will do it for now. We have a plane for Italy at dawn and I still have to pack. As usual, I will be posting a daily diary of our travels on my website (www.restaurantdoctor.com) under "Trip Reports." This will include photos and is written from the perspective of a wandering restaurateur -- what did I learn today? Usually, these trips are good for some serious ideas and insights, so check in from time to time. The EHC will continue as usual. Ciao!

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