Are Your Waiters Breaking or Building Your Business?
The world renown travelers review platform TripAdvisor recently released its travelers choice awards results, dubbed ‘Best of 2017’, as reported in the Daily Nation Tuesday, February 14, 2017.
The results were based on visitor reviews which saw Hemingways Nairobi voted the best hotel in the country, and five coastal hotels made it to the list, a club and two camps in Maasai Mara National Reserve making it in the top five.
The results showed the quality of service and food as the main benchmarks. The modern hospitality industry is all about competence in the people who represent you. The level of service quality is dependent on the quality of your staff. The qualities cut across knowledge and skills which will lead to hotel’s survival and development.
The world customers of today no longer take the traditional ‘thank you’ and ‘please’ as quality service. The stakes have gone higher and staff is required to give more than pleasantries.
Memorable experiences and dynamic services are what make up quality services. The TripAdvisor report also noted that hotels ambiance rank high among the things that customers look out for. For example, Hemingways Hotel was recognized for its ‘fantastic hotel with friendly staff’ while Pinewood Hotel was acknowledged for its ‘Quiet and beautiful’.
Hiring quality staff is imperative to the success of your business because your front-of-house staff is the face of your establishment. If you don’t have quality people working for you, you won’t be in business for very long, so hand-pick each employee and remember that you aren’t just hiring somebody to serve food and drinks; you are hiring somebody to represent you and your business.
What are some of the things to look out for when hiring waiting staff?
1. Outgoing personality
During the interview, the person should offer to shake your hand, make good, consistent eye contact and speak in a clear voice that is easy to hear and understand. A confident person will also think to ask questions along the way. If no questions are asked, offer them an opportunity to ask questions at the end of the interview. If the questions seem like something an experienced server should already know, you may want to question them further about their experience.
2. Team player
Ask what their idea of teamwork is and why they feel that it is valuable in a workplace. The last thing you want to do is hire waiting staff who are so proud that won’t ask for help or give it if somebody needs him. This can sink the ship in the middle of a dinner rush and will lose you, the guests. If they can’t provide you with good examples of teamwork, and a quality answer to this question, you may want to keep looking.
3. Ability to remain calm under pressure
With the pressure that comes with the job, you will need to hire someone who can be able to hold their calm under pressure whenever it represents its self. During the interview give the person real scenarios and ask them how they would respond. Some good questions are “What would you do if a guest is unhappy with his meal?”, and “What would you do if a guest forgot his credit card?” These questions not only give you an idea of how well their personal practices match your policies, but will also give you an idea of how experienced they actually are and their honesty levels.
4. Quick thinker
Waiting staff should have the ability to think on their feet and think through unexpected situations or problems as quickly as possible. S/He should be able to turn around a situation such like a delayed or a messed up order. If something they had ordered runs out, the staff should be able to make recommendations of something similar or suggest appropriate alternatives to the customer.
Their ability to read customer’s body language is important as they will be able to know when to clear plates or when to refill drinks without being requested is a big plus. Give them real time scenarios for them to explain how quick they are on their feet.
5. Observant and attentive to details
Waiting staff should have the ability to inspect everything before they serve, not a matter of picking it up at the service counter and taking it straight to the waiting customers. They should be able to ensure that any special request that had been put across have been catered for and that the presentation is impeccable.
They should always pay close attention to the sitting arrangements of customers for minimal interruptions when doing refills or cleaning any spills. They should also be close to the tables they are waiting in case the customers want to make additional assistance, this should be done while respecting the customer’s personal space.
The choice of staff in the hospitality industry should be a notch higher as they are the face of the business. With the high expectations of today’s customers, it’s the responsibility of the waiting staff to meet or exceed these expectations time after time.
Refresher training is advised time after time for your waiting staff to ensure they are up to date with the new market trends.
Corporate Staffing Services offer recruitment and training services to employers in different fields.
For your inquiries about our employer services, email client service manager, Ms. Muthoni Ndegwa at Muthoni@corporatestaffing.co.ke and cc. pwainaina@corporatestaffing.co.ke