ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - December 3, 2004

The focus this week has been on Margene's 81-year old father who has been in the hospital with all sorts of ills. She is back in Buffalo with him now and the latest report is that he seems to be rallying ... but I have a bag packed just in case.

If you are of a mind, send some warm wishes to Willie Young. He is a good man having a hard time right now.

Senior Service
I got a nice note from ace hospitality trainer, Claudia Carr a couple of weeks ago. I think there is an important point or two in her message. She wrote:

"I chaperoned a group of eight seniors (80s and 90s) to Victoria [British Columbia] last month for a few days. We stayed at the Grand Pacific Hotel. I have never in my life witnessed such gracious service to seniors as they were shown in the restaurant of this hotel. I never saw the 'resigned' look, rolling eyes, ho-hum service that I have almost come to expect when servers are faced with a large group of seniors ... and these servers had no way of knowing that my group likes to have cocktails along with wine and they are big tippers. It worked out well for everyone, but I was happily amazed at how nicely they were treated by all crew that worked in that dining room."

Lesson #1 -- It is unfortunate that exemplary treatment of senior should even be worthy of such comments. I mean, if everyone delivered high level personal service, we would hardly notice. Great service only stands out in comparison to lousy service. Are we really being as disrespectful to our older diners as Claudio suggests? Unfortunately, it is happening ... but it better be happening in somebody else's restaurant and not yours!

When was the last time you had a training session on serving seniors? Do you know what turns them on, how they like to be treated and what annoys them? I devoted a whole chapter in my first book, "Restaurant Basics" to serving seniors. The Baby Boomers are getting grayer, and the establishments that are going to get the senior business are the ones that go out of their way to earn it. Do the work.

Lesson #2 -- Although she did not mention it, knowing Claudia as I do, I am willing to bet that she also sent a nice note to the hotel management complimenting the dining room staff. How many times have you and I let a great service experience pass without a written acknowledgment. OK, it is what is supposed to be happening, but as with the seniors, the fact that you notice great service speaks volumes about the quality of what you usually experience.

You acknowledge it to reinforce it -- to let the servers know that somebody notices when they do it right. Since people do what they are rewarded for let's start rewarding exceptional service not only with a good tip, but with a note to the management as well.

Maybe if there are more positive strokes, the general service level will improve and that can only help our industry. Besides, you probably spend too much time being critical of what is not working. It would do you good to get in the habit of always praising the things that are going right.

Dazed and Confused
Because Margene and I did not know if we might have to dash off to the east coast on short notice to be with my father-in-law, we did not dare to plan our normal Thanksgiving gathering at the house. Instead, we went out for dinner with friends. There were not many places open so we ended up at a nearby golf course restaurant where we had enjoyed a pleasant meal many months ago.

The good news (for them) was that the place was packed! The bad news (for us) was that they were totally in the weeds. They had opened up the banquet room and were seating everywhere they could ... but they did not have enough staff to service all these tables and the staff that they did have was clueless.

There was a long line at the hostess stand when we arrived, and at least 25% of the tables in the place were still piled with uncleared dishes. When we were finally seated, we sat forever. A waiter finally came by and said he would get us a wine list. When he did not reappear at our table, I finally walked to the hostess stand and got it myself. That was about the way the rest of the meal went as well.

It took forever to get the drinks, our order was not taken for nearly 20 minutes and even though they were only serving five dish-up items, the food delivery was very slow. When it finally appeared, the food was just thrown on the plates and the plates dropped unceremoniously on the table. I could go on, but you get the picture.

What we had was a classic case of loss of focus. They were so into getting the meals out that they lost sight of the experience they were providing. There was a golden opportunity for them to introduce a whole bunch of new people to the restaurant ... and all they managed to do was to educate us all never to return.

It is difficult to replace the memory of a bad time. Never forget that you are selling the experience, not just the food and drink. Remind yourself (and your staff) each day that your only purpose for being in business today is to give every individual diner an experience that will cause them to want to return ... sooner rather than later ... and to say wonderful things about you to their friends.

Restaurant Basics
Would you like to know why guests don't come back ... and what you can do about it? Would you like to have that information available for every key staff member so you could incorporate it into your service training program? Would you like to have that information in your hands in minutes?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, do ! have a deal for you! I have just published Restaurant Basics as an e-book. The full title is, "Restaurant Basics: Why Guests Don't Come Back and What You Can Do About It" and if I do say so, it has been acknowledged as an industry classic since it was first published. It is the only book on customer service written entirely from the guest's point of view ... and that is the only perspective that counts!

To introduce my new electronic series ... and since we had that discussion about what seniors are looking for ... I am offering Restaurant Basics at less than half the regular price ... but only for the next two weeks. Think of it as an early Christmas present. You can find more information on the book itself under "Books and Materials" on my website, but at the moment, the electronic version ... and the deal ... is only available through the link below.

Eventually I plan to offer electronic versions of all my books to allow for immediate delivery ... and no shipping charges. Just place the order and the book downloads directly to your computer as a PDF file. Pretty slick.

Click here to order Restaurant Basics at less than half price.

Super Summit Schedule Change
Because we have been preoccupied with my father-in-law's health issues, it has disrupted the promotional program for the Super Summit. We are now too close to Christmas to expect anyone to pay attention, so the information will have to go out in January.

As a result, I have decided to move the event back to April 17-19 ... still in New Orleans ... still focusing on "Creating the Effortless Organization" ... and still the only event of its kind in our industry.

Because of the nature of the program and the need to keep the group small, attendance will be on an invitation-only basis. Not everyone is ready for this material, so you cannot just sign up ... you must apply. Robert Kausen and I will review the applications and extend invitations to those we feel are ready to benefit from what we will present.

Watch the EHC for information on how to apply.

Click here to learn more about the Super Summit.

The Perpetual Question
What did you learn from your staff today?

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