Restaurant Service: Warm vs. Cool
Welcome back!
I just finished reading a piece by our town’s major restaurant critic. There was one paragraph that I found disturbing…
“I’ve been to this oldie a number of times over the years to mixed results, but I’m happy to say this was our best visit yet. The service was a bit unnecessarily gruff and cool, but you’ve got to love the historic townhouse feel of these well-restored rooms. I’d say the classic Italian fare was also quite well-done, from the escarole soup to the a wonderful pasta e fagioli (perfectly al dente orecchiette, rich beany broth), a super tender, well-crisped pork chop topped with tangy chopped salad.”
I would suggest that service that is “unnecessarily gruff and cool” is totally unacceptable. There’s entirely too much of that kind of service out there, and if an owner actually tolerates it, he or she should be actively looking for something else to do.
In sharp contrast, I spoke with a chef/owner from a restaurant called Manna in Margate, New Jersey. John and Vicki Merlino recently opened what has become a very popular BYOB at the Jersey shore. Listen to what he had to say…
“My wife and I agreed that our new restaurant was going to be the way we planned it to be. One thing was an absolute - our service would be warm and friendly and our restaurant would emphasize the concept of true hospitality. Most of our staff are members of our church and were inexperienced as servers. The training part is easy when you have the kind of loyal people we have and I know this emphasis on friendly service is a big part of our current success.”
It’s not brain surgery - it’s good food and “true hospitality”. The friendly part is the only acceptable way to go!
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Comments
Bob,
I could not agree with you more. As a veteran of more than 25 years in the hospitality industry from San Diego to Hawaii to Napa Valley and back to Southern Clifornia, it is so frustrating not to get the true hospitality that you should. I sometimes feel quite embarrassed by what some people in the industry feel is acceptable.
Keep up the good work.
Dale Lanctot
It’s a shame how gruff and cool can sometimes be mistaken for something akin to refined and unassuming. Some of my worst meals have been at 5 star restaurants were the serving staff made me and my guests feel inadequately prepared to dine with them and the server never once smiled or met our eyes when speaking with us.
Give me smile and a warmly-met gaze to put me at ease any day!
Bob…
With the market being floodd with hospitality talent because of businesses closing, it would seem an opportune time for operators to take a second look at their staff, cull the slackers, and replace them with skilled professionals with “hospitality hearts”.
Paul http://www.WaitersWorld.com
I knock myself out in the attempt to give great service and sometimes that doesn’t even rate with some of the customers. I am astonished that anyone can be “cool and gruff” in the service industry but I witness this all too frequently.
It amazes me that a restaurant would allow any staff to treat the customer in any way that would cause the customer to feel slighted, or worse…un-welcome. That also means that there is not enough supervision… Every manager in the business should want to make a customer feel like family. That is what brings the customer back, and builds loyalty. How many patrons is a snobby server worth? If you love the people who come into your establishment to spend their money…they will love you back..with loyalty.
I can’t tell you how many times I have given a poor review to a restaurant that does not train the staff to be uber-polite to the paying customer. People leave their homes to go “out” for a treat. Not to be condesended to, snubbed, or made to feel stupid… If only the owner of a restaurant could see the results of poor service. Unfortunately, most of the time, the un-happy customer just never returns.
The very idea that the hospitality industry can be inhospitable is unacceptable. A restaurant customer should be treated as a guest. I reckon one of the reasons is that a restaurant owner does not make efforts training the staff in the art of making a guest feel welcome. Often, a waiter is only a “useful utility for ferrying food” from the kitchen to the table.
I’m in culinary school now, training for my post-retirement career change. Little attention is paid to front-of-the-house issues, and our chef/professors intimate a real distain for servers. Having worked as a server in my youth, I know that it’s a real balancing act to keep happy both the public and the often-surly back-of-the-house staff. Between bad pay, low supervision, and poor training, it is no wonder that bad service from waitstaff has become commonplace.
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Bob, I agree completely that if a restaurateur tolerates
gruff service, he should be in another line of work. Too
many places tolerate inferior service and wonder why business isn’t better.As a publicist, I’m always reminding
clients to improve service.