A memorable dining experience
The worst manners come from receptionists at restaurants who labour under the illusion that it is a privilege for customers to spend money at their establishments when the truth is it is the other way round. The other month, I telephoned a popular award winning restaurant, five days in advance, to book a table, and the first thing I heard, was: ‘We are fully booked.’ When pressed, the male answering the call informed me that they could slot me in should they receive a cancellation. When I requested him to call and let me know should that occur, he replied ‘These days we are very busy and it’s best if you can call us in a couple of days to find out’. Talk about beneath the level of abysmal service.
Twenty Five years ago, on a trip to Luxembourg, Yaron Front who annually travelled 16-18 times overseas, wished to make a table reservation for two, at a Michelin 2-star restaurant. The problem was that it was his last night in town before flying home. Not only that - in order to get to the airport in time, he had to dine rather early. When he called the restaurant, he was told that it would be difficult… but to be on line until he (staff) asked the Chef. The person who answered the phone comes back on line and says they’ve never had a guest from Yaron’s country and they would be happy to see them at the requested hour.
When Yaron gets to the restaurant, he notices that there is no parking and the place appears closed. He stops the car on the clearly marked ‘no-parking’ zone in front of the restaurant and goes in. As he hurriedly walks inside, he meets a Maitre’d who asks ‘Mr Front?’ and when Yaron replies ‘Yes’, the Maitre‘d quickly informs the Chef who immediately welcomes Yaron with a handshake and a friendly hug, telling him how happy he is to see him. When told that the car was parked outside, the Chef requests him to hand over the keys to the Maitre’d, to have the car parked at the Chef’s private home parking across the street.
Yaron and his wife are then guided to a private room and enjoy a superb dinner accompanied with wine based mainly on the chef’s recommendations. Throughout their dinner they have at least 2 waiters in attendance, with the Chef who was so jolly, popping in to make sure all went smoothly whilst providing information about the food served.
It was much later that Yaron learnt that the restaurant opens only later and they opened it two hours early to accommodate his request. Even more interesting, that evening the restaurant was fully booked. Despite all this, the Chef found a way to accommodate them and made sure he was around to personally handle their meals.
25 years later, Yaron, still considers this his most memorable restaurant experience. Talk about “above and beyond”.
Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier
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