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Guest Connection …
The most vital ingredient to successful operations

The ski season fast approaches and foodservice directors and management are busily trying to find staff, man the jobs and ultimately make sure the food is served — maybe hot, certainly fast, and likely with the least amount of customer interaction.

While the season is short and the lunch rushes are fast and furious, my consulting partner Rudy Miick taught me that customer contact — “The Connect” — is far more important than speedy service.

I believed, for a while that when the rush is on the only thing that counts is putting out the food. However when I opened my first restaurant in late April I decided to take a different approach. What I have been told, and what I have come to believe, is that my new restaurant provides the most outstanding service anywhere. I believe it because every restaurant review talks of the outstanding service and almost every customer comments on how wonderful our service is — many saying they will come back just to be treated so wonderfully once again.

While what we do at the service level is unique, it really wasn’t very hard to implement, and the results are amazing. Great service covers any and every operational mistake, while at the same time making the guest feel like they are a cherished commodity.

While our food is pretty good, I am convinced that our guests come back again and again for the service experience. Given that ski resort food is often nourishment and not ‘outstanding’, you could deliver service this year, and stand out form the competition.

Can you do it at a ski resort? You bet!
When you settle down to hire your staff, hire personality and not skills. You can teach anyone to flip a burger or make some pizza. Anyone with a grade 10 education can likely learn how to run a cashier stand and everyone can clear tables and reset them. But not everyone has the ability to share their personality, and those than can share personality should fill your payroll. If you hire staff with personality and then provide them with a skill set, you will create a loyal employee.

But more so, once those staff members are hired and are ready for training — go about training them in a different manner. Bring them together and tell the cooks that their primary job is not to cook. Tell the cashiers that their primary job is not to collect money. Tell the bussers that their primary job is not to clear tables.

Their primary job — everyone’s primary job — is to “Connect” with the guest. Once connected, there is not a think that can go wrong that is not solvable.

Better yet, you can take a ‘ski resort cafeteria feeding experience’ and turn it into a positive time of relaxation and sharing for your guests. As a result, many guests will come back to a resort more often if they believe that they are being treated as a friend and valuable guest rather than like ‘cattle in a food line-up’ who are being grossly overcharged for cafeteria food.

By now some of you think I am crazy, but the truth is that guest connection is where the industry is going and it is the only way to provide a higher level of service and guest satisfaction than your competition.

So how can you execute this style of service with a transient staff? It is easy. Just spend a little time training them and outlining how it works, believe in the guest connection and transfer the belief.

First, when training, explain to your staff that the guest connection is the primary job of every staff member. You have made efforts to hire personality rather than skill sets (although some may also offer skill sets) and that you are interested in their personality being a vital and vibrant part of what happens in the foodservices at the resort (actually this would be good advice for the entire resort).

Guests, ALL GUESTS, should be treated as if they were guests in ones own home. Some will be treated more casually than others given the nature of the staff member’s home and the individual’s personality, but all should be treated as if the guest were dropping by their home for a lunch or afternoon drink. How would you react as a host or hostess? Why don’t you react the same way at work? When they see someone new in their home, there is an introduction, questions of inquiry, questions of concern. ‘Hi and welcome to ….. resort, how’s the snow today? Did you get caught on the …lift. Closed for 20 minutes you know? What would you like on that burger? You know I love catching afternoon rides on …lift. Generally no lines after lunch! Have a great day!” The cashier can interact with ‘my that is a great ski suit … must keep you nice and warm on a day like today?”

When I go skiing and line up for lunch, sliding around in my boots, holding my helmet, gloves and a tray, I usually get “ whatcha having bud? you want bacon with that?” and I met up with a scowling tired cashier that tells me my burger, fries and a coke, none of which are cooked to order and all of which I am balancing on a tray rail that is too small along with my helmet, gloves and now fumbling with my wallet is “$15.50 please” and if I am lucky I get a perfunctory ‘thanks’ as I have my change passed back to me by someone who does not look at me or worse, it slides down a little shoot into a cup for me to scoop up.

Efficient yes … and memorable … well I guess so!
What if a guest is greeted by someone who offers to carry their tray after they pay and help them find a table. A gentle conversation like “wow you have a lot of stuff there. Can I help you find a table and carry your tray for you so you don’t drop anything. It is pretty busy here but I have a spot a little out of the way which I think you will enjoy”.

I think the ‘connects’ in the notations above are pretty clear. If you can get your staff to deliver on a consistent basis your guests will be ‘blown away’. If your staff feels that they are more than a ‘cog in the wheel’ and that they are participating in a positive activity, they will be loyal and will stick with you throughout the year.

And maybe the rest of the resort will pick up on what hospitality is really all about and the infection of connecting with guests will spread throughout the resort, making you and yours stand out from the rest.

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