What are the most important elements and what difficulties must be faced in order to offer customers quality service.
Let's talk about the "Dining Room." It is almost always present in a business that is open to public and, even if we limit ourselves to the hospitality and catering public businesses, it can be very different. For example, let's think about a sumptuous hall like that of certain large hotels, or about spectacular ones that boast an incredible view. It can be modest and functional like those of many suburban pizzerias, or it can be a simple small area in front of the counter of a food store. Many different rooms that take on different shapes and send different messages, although they all have in common their reason for being; it is the place where three fundamental functions take place: welcoming the customer, serving him and greeting him.
It is therefore the strategic part of any venue, as it is there that the most important person is hosted: the customer. With their presence, they are the basic motivation of the whole business. For this reason, it is essential that it is pleasant and well functioning during all hours of service.
In this article, we primarily focus on "Room Service", that is, staff issues.
The word "service" comes from "to serve". It should be one of the most beautiful and noble activities of the human being and instead, especially in recent times, it has acquired not very positive nuances. As well as the professional behind it, that is the waiter, a word that in everyday language seems to define a second rate profession. The descent of the "waiter" into hell is even more striking when compared to the rise of the cook to heaven. The two opposite paths have sharpened the disparities and increased the distance between the two professions. Instead of being united and working in symbiosis as should be correct or desirable, these two professionals have reinforced the widespread tendency of recent years witnessing the predominance of the kitchen over the dining room.
Cooking is the first choice for the majority of students attending any Hotelier Institute. Being a cook is the dream of many young people and also of many adults who give up professions and salaries of absolute respect in order to be able to dedicate themselves to cooking. In short, the dining room is not attractive anymore and it has become rare and difficult by now to find capable and determined young people in this sector. The consequences are not insignificant, because, as mentioned at the beginning, the dining room is the most important area of any venue, and the staff has the fundamental mission of ensuring the customer feels good in order to induce him to come back.
But what are the most important aspects of this job? There are three words that encapsulate the essence and the issues of this sector: Reception, Knowledge and Service.
Reception
Let's start with reception, which we think is the most important of the three aspects. All experts agree that reception is nearly always what makes the difference. Moreover, reception is universal; it must be taken care of in any environment, whether we are talking about a starred restaurant or a luxury hotel, or if we enter a pizzeria or a bistro. In every venue you need to know how to welcome your guests in the best way. Most experts also agree that the first few minutes are very important; sometimes it's a matter of seconds, a glance, and a nod. The good waiter must understand immediately who enters the restaurant and stops in front of him. From the way they walk, how they are dressed, what they look at when they enter, who they are accompanied by, what their first question is... these are all small messages that allow them to understand the mood, desires and expectations of those who have just entered the room. You must keep in mind that generally all clients have in common the fact that they are not at home and therefore there is always on the one hand the uncertainty and fear of an unfamiliar place and on the other hand the potential curiosity of those who want to discover about it. Knowing how to establish in a few seconds a good relationship with the new guest will make the whole lunch or dinner experience much easier. And in the simplest cases, sometimes a smile, a word, a phrase said with the right intonation is enough to create this relationship. A warm welcome is the keystone of any dining room service. In large part, it depends on the character of the waiter and on his predisposition towards others, and then it improves with experience.
Knowledge and service must also always be there, but they are generally proportionate to the level of the restaurant. That is, it's clear that we don't expect the same knowledge or service if we walk into a three-star Michelin restaurant or a neighborhood trattoria.
Knowledge
Knowledge is strictly connected to studies, to personal insights; also, it often comes from the preferences each of us may have. Therefore, just for example, the one who loves natural wines or craft beers will have stored an adequate amount of information that will surely be useful in their daily work. It is a clear and functional way to convey one's passions and ideas to customers, a way to personalize one's professionalism. The only risk is that of being intrusive, of not understanding what the balance is between being appreciated and insisting beyond limits.
Service
Finally, service. You can learn it at school, at the Hotelier Institute, but experience is certainly the real teacher. Only by working in dining room, better if in different countries, you will eventually reach an adequate level of professionalism. It is only by watching and being close to those who know more, those who have served in prestigious places, that you will eventually learn the details of this job, its secrets and subtleties.
The job of the waiter is not an easy one, it must be rightly motivated, even economically, and too often it is a poorly paid job. This is because adequate professionalism is missing and as a consequence employers often do not recognize its importance. The lack of professionalism in the Dining Rooms of Italy (and not only) is perhaps the biggest problem of the catering industry, because it affects every business, from the neighborhood bar to the starred restaurant. In our own small way, we tried to send a signal, creating and realizing a new format that for the last 5 years has been standing alongside Emergente Chef and Emergente Pizza: Emergente Sala. This is a competition for the under 30 young waiters that every year is divided into two selections (North and Central South) and a final in Rome. It has had and it keeps on having a lot of attention, being also the only event focused on these issues. We are proud of this because we witnessed closely the positive impact of these competitions, the solidarity among competitors, the knowledge of being object of attention and the ability to share tensions and memories with other colleagues.
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