10 Fatal Flaws of Service-Giving

By Sanjog Modgil
President Food & Beverage
Association Of Thailand
Executive Assistant Manager
Amari Atrium Hotel, Bangkok

When plotting their service strategy and delivery, too many operators, managers and trainers focus on what they should "do" for their guests. I think it's just as instructive and illuminating to define first what not to do.

So let's take a closer look at what not to do to the guest and examine the fundamental fatal flaws of service-giving as seen through the customer's lens. Eliminate these service blunders, and you may no longer have the need to "teach" service at all because your customers will have a consistent experience characterized by the absence of complaints.

1. Host distracted when greeting or seating. Most customer complaints can be traced back to disrespect or perceived disrespect. A distracted, visibly irritated or stressed greeter should not be the first thing a customer experiences when walking in your front door. After all, they just drove past 10, 20, 30 or 40 other restaurants to come to yours. Hosts and greeters should be enthusiastic, focused, pleasant. Think of it as "grace under pressure". After all, the customer is not an interruption of their job. The customer is their job.

2. Too slow when speed is expected. Teach your team to be both accurate and swift during both peak and slower meal periods. Recognize them when they improve accuracy and speed, and coach them how to get better when they don't.

3. Too fast when ease and comfort is expected. In tableside-service operations, assess first what time constraintsัif any--your guests might be facing. Don't rush customers who want a leisurely experience. Train servers to first take what TGI Friday's CEO Richard Snead calls "the experience order"; greeting each table in a friendly and calm manner; finding out if they are in for a leisurely meal or have a tight time-frame. Now pace and layer your service accordingly. Customizing the service experience can't begin without first assessing the guest's expectations.

4. Server interrupting w/out permission. To truly serve a guest, you must first connect with them, respect them and treat them preferentially. Too many servers robotically hustle up to the "next" table and interrupt guest conversations with an abrupt "Ready to order?" backed with a forced smile. Teach servers to wait next to the table if guests are talking to each other until eye contact from them indicates they're ready.

5. Manager interrupting on w/out permission. Managers are taught to do "100% table visits" but few have mastered the finesse of doing so, interrupting guests in mid-bite with a brash "How is everything, folks?" Wait to the side for permission to interrupt, just like a server.

6. Letting guests overhear managers and crew discuss the daily activities of running a restaurant. Customers should never be within earshot of managers telling busers to wipe down a table, clean the bathroom, or bring more ice to a bartender. They should never have to hear a manager reprimanding a server or greeter, or listen to a manager having lunch at an adjoining table complaining to another manager about business. Pull those conversations away from your customers.

7. Not noticing a guest with a problem. The most important real estate in your restaurant is the 18 inches or so between the top of the table and the top of the customers head. Constantly scan the guest's body language in every section for patrons who look like they need something or appear unhappy with their food, beverage or experience.

8. Avoiding a guest with a problem. This is much worse than not noticing a problem in the first place. Managers and servers must be vigilant in the dining room about resolving a small problem before it becomes a big one. The classic problem resolution formula follows the acronym BLAST: Believe the Customer, Listen to them, Act on the complaint, Satisy them and Thank them.

9. Spending too much time with regulars and ignoring the "unknowns". Managers must seek out strangers every shift and touch every table. Ask guests if this is their first time with you, learn their names, and thank them for their patronage.

10. Making lots of mistakes (but never learning from them). Messing it up is one thing, failing to recognize the error and learning not to make the same mistake again is what distinguishes good operators from great ones. At their weekly meetings, managers should each bring in 3 service or operations-related challenges from the previous week to discuss and analyze so that they don't happen again. It's all about continuous improvement. As the Japanese proverb says: One hundred days to learn; one thousand to refine.

Bottom line? We're only as good as our last happy customer. Think like your guests and focus first on what not to do, because in the long run great service means never having to ask for anything n