One of the places a brand can break down fastest, of course, is in hiring servers who can make that last connection from the original, C-level suite marketing decks full of well-phrased biz speak and lofty platform initiatives to the tired, muddy, plucky-yet-noble Americans who showed up tonight with their overweight spouses for a bite to eat.
That server is often the weakest link in a very expensive marketing chain. But it’s not always their fault.
Sometimes they just don’t know what to do.
I made a comment on his blog post—its title was “Make Your Own Restaurant Rule Book”—which I will copy and paste here.
Me: “I like your point that you need to hire people who are automatically friendly. But I have found that even people who are a little shy have an excellent gift for humor and personal interaction if they aren’t driven into cynicism or forced to abide by literal commands that they clearly find awkward or unnatural. Are these people beyond hope? What are your suggestions for drawing these people out, and giving them materials or scripts or suggestions or SOME kind of room to find where their personality and the hospitality your restaurant requires of them intersect? (Basically, what would have happened if the Jennifer Aniston character in Office Space were given incentives and room to work; could she have been a lot of people’s favorite server, and made each customer feel like she was their advocate and “on their side,” instead of chafing under the arbitrary Rule of how many pieces of flair she was required to wear, and the false attitude she was expected to adopt? Or was she just not cut out for the job?)
Posted @ Tuesday, February 12, 2013 8:46 AM by Charlie Hopper
Mr. Hartzell’s response to my comment was very wonderful. I wrote to him and asked if I could reprint it, and in the email, he said, “If you feel that you can help restaurant owners do better and overcome the many obstacles, sounds like a plan. Hopefully it will not focus on me but will focus on solutions.” Then he included one of those little emoticon smiley faces.
So here, copied and pasted, is Michael Hartzell on the topic of inspiring servers who may need a little encouragement.
Charlie,
Thank you. Glad you found he information helpful.
The answer to your question is: I cheat.
The goal is to have talented people who do have great personalities shine more.
I cheat.
Example:
I will sneak a big tip onto a table and then ask the person to clear the table.
The individual will find a big tip specific for them with a comment card attached. The comment card say “Staffpersonname was very excellent. We love his/her personality and how committed they were. We will be back!”
I cheat
I talk to those who are regular guests and ask their opinion of the person in question. When they say positive remarks about the staff member, I ask them “can you tell them for me?” Almost always they say yes. They go out of their way to approach the staff person and tell them how awesome they are.
I cheat.
Other staff… a little trickier. “I don’t have time to let staffmember know because I am on the way out the door. Can you let staffmember know that I have heard many good things today about his/her service? Thank you for helping me.”
These are only three simple methods.
It has always been about consistent positive feedback from the source (guests), the peers and the supervisors. The little successes build and I have seen wall flowers who wouldn’t say a word rise to the top and become restaurant managers and great leaders.
Their style remains the same but they have a personal power which needs to be ignited.
Note: The examples I gave above are reflections of reality as I already had great feedback from the many sources. My cheats become a reflection of scenarios I am aware of.
Hope these get your engine running.
Mike
PS
Rewards each day help a lot to.
Every time someone made a positive comment, I would put a sticky on someone. Not required but a sign that someone is connecting well. They turn their stickies in for meals, benefits, etc.
Wasn’t that cool? He cheats. I like it. Presumably Jennifer Aniston’s character might, also.
