I've attended two consecutive breakfast meetings this week
both held at five star restaurants, one addressing strategies to realize Africa’s
wealth through inclusive business initiatives and the other addressing branding
and business opportunities to be explored given the country’s new county
oriented dispensation.
The fundamental organization and venue provisions at
both events have been exactly the same -a breakfast buffet spread accessible to
the guests at 7am on arrival, breakfast service until about 8am preceding the main
event commencement.
What has completely amazed me though, is how the two
experiences I've had, have been radically different despite an almost replica
product on offer. The food in both places was the usual breakfast fare of
fruit, cereal, juice, cheese, chafing dishes with protein and vegetable
offerings and a pastry corner, with the quality of food being pretty much the
same.
What then made the marked difference that had me heaping
accolades on one establishment and leaving with a sour taste in my mouth (pun
intended) from the other?
Well for starters, one significant difference was that
although in both places it was a self service arrangement as is normally the
case, the first had a top hatted chef hovering about the chafing dishes,
explaining to guests what fare was on offer, helping them make informed choices
and manning the quantity levels for re-fill cues. That added a delightful touch
to the breakfast selection experience.
The other buffet was not only unmanned,
but had items run out unreplenished, leaving guests feeling shortchanged at the
empty troughs, with only the item labels to confirm to them the specific food
item they had missed out on.
The table service at the first establishment was seamlessly
choreographed with the waiters almost intuitively alert to clear away crockery
as soon as one finished their last forkful, offer beverage refills as soon as
one took the last sip from their cups and appear almost magically by one’s side
at the first indication of a guest turning their head to look up for service.
At the second event, plates remained uncleared, with initial
plates used for whatever first course guests may have had, competing for table
space with the subsequent helpings. The sight was quite cluttered and
unpleasant. The beverage service was completely wanting and guests pretty much
had to cradle empty cups waiting for the 2 waiters to move from table to table
to serve beverage requests to a room of 15 tables with 8 guests each. I leave
it to the mathematically inclined lot to compute the total time taken to arrive
at the last table given the average time taken to serve an individual guest’s
order in relation to the total number of guests in the room.
It is almost cliché to repeat the often asserted point
about an organization being only as good as the people working for it. But
isn't that just the simple truth? The venue, food and drink may be the same in
two establishments, but what makes or breaks the guest’s experience is how it
is served.
Nothing beats attentive, courteous, timely and coordinated
service. Provide this to your customers consistently, no matter the product,
service or industry you are in, and that will have customers repeatedly coming
for more and automatically telling everyone about it. The key that unlocks the
door to customers’ hearts is predictable quality and unshakable consistency.
Sounds stolid, dull, humdrum and banal right? But that’s the
name of the game troopers. Even if you think up an exciting way to delight your
clients, keep it coming, each time, every time such that when they tell their
Mum about it and she comes to see you, you’ll do the exact thing her child told
her you would. And that right there is the key to keeping the currency flowing
through your ledgers.
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