Rediscovering the lost art of hospitality - Part 2
Thailand is often referred to as the “Land of Smiles”, and fully deserves this honour…no matter what. Enter any retail shop, bank, travel agency or any service industry in that country and even if you do not come away with anything; you still get to take away something – the memory of the graciously smiling staff. It is the same in many hotels and restaurants over there, where hospitality is deeply embedded in their culture.
Most service-related operations have not heard of the Chinese proverb ‘A man without a smiling face must not open a shop’. Regrettably, today, we are here for ‘us’ not for ‘others’ and the danger is that in this highly materialistic world we live in, the younger generation will dismiss hospitality as a lost art.
In a culture where hospitality knows no boundaries and pride is placed on personal service, will technology replace the human factor? Memorable customer service can only take place in a human-to-human situation. Dr. John Hogan claims “Hospitality is much more than a word today. It has become an industry that runs the danger of becoming too high tech, with too little high touch.”
How true. Last year, social networking reportedly ate up more than 1.72 hours of the average person’s day. Google logs more than one billion searches each day. On YouTube, 60 hours of content gets uploaded every minute, and over at Facebook, more than 800 million updates are recorded daily. We are becoming so wired technologically 24/7 that before we know it we’ve lost track of time and, sadly for many of us, we learn we’ve lost touch with some of our most important relationships both personally and professionally.
For instance, using iPads as menus may be passable in some of the “middle of the road” restaurants; they just aren’t suitable for those that specialise in fine dining. When people go out to eat, they are looking for a human experience. They like that someone is taking the time to cater to their needs. The majority of discerning diners would agree that human interaction is very important. A machine can’t replace that. A good waiter brings what a machine can’t. Having a server is part of the experience. You just can’t take that away. Regrettably, most waiters behave like dysfunctional machines. I guess that’s when it’s time to bring in the real machines. How sad!
John Hogan said that “Hospitality means providing service to others, yet not being cast as a servant”. Explains why the Ritz Carlton describes its employees as “Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen” thus taking the role of servitude out of the equation. No small wonder then why the Ritz Carlton hotels are fabled for delivering legendry service. Service must not be viewed as a job nor should it be monetized.
Another good example is Japan where service is an expression of a profoundly different understanding of what we consider "work”. Hospitality is deeply integrated in Japanese culture, and their service which mainly seeks to over-deliver, is an emotional commitment. It’s not viewed as a job, it’s not an extra, it’s valued and it isn’t monetized. However big or small the gesture or the task, true hospitality, especially in the hospitality industry has to be extended with the utmost sincerity, decorum and respect. Unlike, the more commonly experienced version of service which is glib, delivered grudgingly as a chore and with an expectation of monetary reward. The test of hospitality is being real: there should be no mask, no placating, and no question of pretending or forcing oneself to go through the motions.
Ilzaf Keefahs – writes on hospitality related matters that he is passionate about, and likes to share his views with hoteliers and customers alike. |
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