Hospitality in Business

Busy is a good thing, though at times we can become distracted from the important things that keep us going, the things that drive us to be here in the first place, and it is those things that continually move us in the right direction - in the direction of our dreams.... Anyway, I have about a months worth of ideas, stories and life from the food world to share, so that should be enough material to keep me busy for a while.... Now,if there were only 4 more hours in every day I would be set....
As the local downtown area worsens in terms of construction and desired clientele I naturally take a step back to look at the way we operate as a business. The number of heads that walk through our door are less than they were six months ago, and it is something that traditional advertising has no control over.... As we engage in more direct social media there are definitely ways can further leverage those mediums and tap into them(i.e. facebook, myspace, twitter)in ways our competitors currently don't, but irregardless, I still spend more time on marketing our brand than ever before. So in times when the negative factors surrounding us, as a restaurant, outweigh the positive reasons for coming in, how do you increase your market share? How do you convince your target market to jump through hurdles like the local construction, a lack of parking, and a diminshed desired local demographic. How do you? Speecials can do it, differentiating your product offering can, but in an area with competition is stiff, what can do you? Well, its simple - you work as hard as you can every day to make and keep your customers happy. You make them feel like they are a part of the restaurant, and the community. You take an active interest in their lives, you make them feel like you care, because in reality you do care..... For any of us that are in the industry, it should be because it is what we love, however so often we get clouded with the rigorous grinds of daily life in this industry. The long hours begin to take a toll on us, the complacent staff can at times be unbareable, the competition is brutal and the challenges to business survival never seem to want to go away. The other day there was a situation involving a waitress of mine - A customer was greeted at the front door, a server took care of the customer by directing them to a table and handing her a menu. The guest ordered a glass of water which was delivered, but then the customer was neglected - not intentionally.... the waitress forgot about the lady for ten minutes, until while circling the dining room she was delivering food and drinks to other diners, and was flagged down. The guest bantered with my waitress in a serious though friendly tone regarding the situation. Apologies were made, the lady ordered some food and it was delivered some fifteen minutes later - it was a medium-well burger which we overcooked - when I learned of the situation my waitress commenced to complain about how the customer was being rude, and kind of testy. I handled the situation appropriately, explaining that I wasn't really upset at the fact that the customer was neglected. Yes, that is terrible customer service, and shouldn't be tolerated, but what grinded my gears was that she acted almost as if she was being inconvenienced by the customer. My thoughts are this - Okay, first we messed up by giving poor service, then on top of the poor service we improperly cooked her food. Does she not have a right to be upset? Why would this customer ever come back? We didn't do a damn thing right in this situation. Hell, once a mistake is made it is up to us to correct it, then coddle the customer so much that they recognize we, as a business, don't accept mistakes. We are here to make and keep them happy, and so many workers in this industry don't get it!!! So often, I have taken a situation that could have potentially turned for the worse and twisted it to make a story that in the ened the customer ca't help but see in a positive light. Hospitality is an ideology, and something that I think, for the most part we are either born with or we aren't. I firmly believe that my purpose on this earth revolves around making people happy. I smile when someone cuts into a perfectly cooked steak, or downs a perfectly salted dirty martini. Groups of friends gathered around the bar enjoying beers and each other's company is incredibly satisfying and humbling, and it is something that I am happy to be a part of. I, as often as possible, attempt to show an active interest in our customer's relationship with us as a restaurant and a place to escape. All it takes is a smile and a thanks, a message on facebook, or asking somehone how their day is going. It isn't hard and is the greatest way to create valued customers who will in turn become ambassadors for your brand. So, no, we aren't perfect here, but if we, as ambassadors for hospitality, truly pride ourselves on taking care of our customers by making them feel appreciated and part of our community, then they will be a part of us, and regardless of the circumstances make an effort to support us, for no other reason than that they enjoy being a part of us..... So... Construction? Who gives a damn.... Inadequate parking? Hell, the customers we want, if treated hospitably will walk a couple blocks if we give them a reason to make it worth it. It is up to us to make it worth it. It starts with each and every one of us making an effort everyday. Every single person can make a difference, and if someone isn't making one, then its time to ask, why are they still working for us?