The Same Old Service

I walk into a restaurant and I am immediately greeted with, “Hi, for two?” by the hostess. I confirm that we are a party of two with the hostess and then I am escorted to the table.

The server then comes to the table and starts us off by saying, “Hi, how are you? Can I get you something to start off with to drink?” The server asked me a how I was, but yet didn’t even bother to wait for a response and immediately went into a second question of what I wanted to drink. If the server doesn’t want to know how I’m doing, then don’t ask. The server could have just started me off by saying, “Hi, can I get you something to drink?” How many times have you been greeted like this when you go out to eat at a restaurant? So is this how the rest of my dining experience going to be, just someone who is here to take my order? Nine times out of ten this is the way service is at restaurants, this is how I’m greeted.

In the blog, 4 Ways to Instill Customer Loyalty, Perez (2016) says, “70% of customers choose to not return to an establishment based on negative interactions with the staff.” Servers wonder why people just throw orders at them. It’s because most of the time servers act like they are there to just take your order. How can servers move away from being an order taker? It is by engaging and interacting with your guest.

Working in the restaurant industry, we are not just apart of food service. We are in the hospitality industry. We need to move away from thinking about food service because that puts restaurants in the fast food category where all they do is take orders rather than creating a dining experience. But what does hospitality really mean?

In the viewpoint, What is hospitality?, King (1995) states, “Hospitality is a process that includes arrival, which involves greeting and making the guest feel welcome, providing comfort and the fulfillment of the guest’s wishes, and departure which includes thanking and invitation to return. At each step of the process, these courtesies, or social rituals are enacted and define the status of the guest and the nature of the guest/host relationship.” Servers need to think of themselves as being a host at a party. They should be inviting and make the guest feel welcome in the restaurant. When a guest feels welcome, the more likely they are to return.

References:

King, Carol A., (Ed.). (1995). What is hospitality?: Int. J. Hospitality Management (Vol. 14 No. 314.) Great Britain, UK: Elsevier Science Ltd. Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/science/article/pii/0278431995000453?np=y

Perez, Claire., 4 Ways to Instill Customer Loyalty. Retrieved from: http://www.buzztime.com/business/blog/how-to-instill-customer-loyalty/