Service as a Culture

Service as a Culture

            Recalling my first day of “Hotel Orientation Class” I remember the remarks from the department chair of the hospitality program, “To be successful in the hospitality business you must be willing to and possess the ability to serve.”  Many years later as I write this I look back partly in nostalgia and partly to re-group to find the means necessary to convey those words and that attitude with clients and fellow industry observers.  To be “hospitable” the willingness to be of “service” just goes hand-in-hand, you can’t separate the two without a disconnect in the core meaning of hospitality.  We’ll dedicate this months’ ruminations to that culture of service that drives many to provide the care of our guests.

            Today there is no shortage of “Service Guru’s” (that’s not a disparagement) who’s experience across many different industries they use to support their theories of how to deliver better service (NRN, 5/31/18).  Of course good, better or best guest service does remain in the eye of the beholder and being that subjective it can be elusive from operation to operation and from one industry to another.  As for the hospitality industry it can be as simple as “provide our guests the service you would expect” or perhaps the development of an evaluation tool that may be reverse-engineered to create a guest service training program along with appropriate standards.

            Offering the level of guest service each staff member would expect to receive in a similar situation only works if the entire staff is operating with the same service experience and therefore expectation levels.  Those of us currently working in or with a history in the industry understand that even with single-digit staff turnover the above scenario is a challenge as even the smallest gap in experience can make for a good or bad guest-expectation outcome.  Each hospitality operation is unique in what their guests expect; however, we’ll need to generalize somewhat to demonstrate our suggestion of steps to create an acceptable guest service program.

            Let’s consider the outcomes, achieving the service standard that is appropriate for your operation. First step, “Create the Standard” of which both management and staff agree is obtainable.  Second step, “Train to the Standard” by working together both parties can identify the necessary steps to prevent slip or drop within the program.  Third step, “Evaluate by the Standard” which should include a combination of guest feedback and management observation.  The final step is “repeat as necessary” since training needs to be fresh and ongoing throughout any organization and even seasoned professionals need to knock-off the rust.  Training programs should be tailored to the expectations of the desired service level.  Presently managers have upgraded tools such as company or industry-produced videos and even the benefit of online reviews whether these be internal of one of many consumer-driven review sites.

            As a former student I can remember the anticipation of graduation day when I could rid myself of the many ‘tomes’ with which we were saddled by our instructors.  So imagine my dismay at my first job opportunity and the first thing I was handed (in the form of a training manual) was another book!  This was just the reality check of moving from one level of training to another or from the basics to the company way upon which I could be expected to follow to obtain forward and upward progress.  I wasn’t really any different than other former students in this regard but I hedged my bet with hard work as well.

            Fast forward to today’s reality’s and training is just as important as it’s ever been to a successful business regardless of the industry.  Training methods may have evolved and the manual may now be a login and password that can be accomplished on a new staffers’ smart phone, now that’s convenient!  No matter the training challenge or lack thereof we’re available to guide your team through the process at www.themenuspring.com .