5 tips to become a more hospitable person - whether you work in hospitality or not!
Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group has some interesting hospitality quotes to his name. One is that hospitality is impossible to teach, and that it’s all about hiring the right people. I’d like to disagree with him in part. Yes, some people are stubborn and don’t want to learn – the adage ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’ is oft-used on them. That too is a misnomer – science has proved that old dogs can be taught new tricks, much like elderly people can learn new things! But what if you are not stubborn, and actually want to learn and improve? One way to succeed at hospitality is to become more hospitable – and here are five ways on how to achieve that with some effort and elbow grease.
Don’t judge on appearances
The days of judging people merely on appearances are past us. It is not uncommon to see a T-shirt-and-shorts-clad person walk into a car showroom and put a deposit on a Mercedes-Benz, nor is it uncommon to find a smartly suited person taking the bus to work (not yet in Sri Lanka for obvious reasons, but it may happen if our public transport improves). Therefore, when a person walks into your establishment, you should treat him or her equally, regardless of appearance.
Face-to-face…or mobile?
Quick, let me ask you a question. You are the Manager of a small hotel. You have a client in front of you who wishes to discuss holding a cocktail party at your hotel. Your phone starts to ring. Who is more important? If you answered phone, it may seem natural to most, but it is an example of how personal interactions have taken a backseat to virtual ones. The client in front of you actually took trouble to visit to your premises to talk to you, while the one on the phone could be calling for any myriad of reasons, including a possible misdial! So, don’t interrupt the customer in front of you to pick up that phone. Give the phone to a competent member of staff to handle (unless your name is Basil Fawlty and your hotel is called Fawlty Towers - in which case best not call Manuel, Polly might be better). Concentrate on the customer in front of you, the one who took the trouble to come to meet you, rather than be disturbed by others who may call, send WhatsApp messages or e-mails, in-between. They are important too: but not as important as the personal interaction which should command your uninterrupted total attention.
Listen and read!
How many times have you given an instruction to someone, only for them to miss out some part of it, or send a report to a client, only for them to claim that some information is missing, despite it being right there, under a dedicated heading? This is because proper listening and reading are skills that are rapidly becoming extinct, and yes, I am part of the problem too. The only feather I can claim is that I am aware of my need to improve. Take a long, hard look at yourself and see if you need to improve your listening and reading skills. Devote some time to properly listen and read, take notes if necessary and if in doubt, ask then-and-there, and note it down if necessary – do not wait several hours or days and inquire.
No job is too ‘demeaning’
Consider this. You are the Lobby Manager of a resort, on night shift with your Customer Care Agent (CCA). A couple with their young child arrives at 2am after a 14-hour flight and another 2-hour cab ride to reach your hotel. Your CCA is checking them in, while you are chatting to them. Their child hasn’t taken well to the extended travelling, and suddenly throws up his dinner, all over the tiled floor in the lobby. There is no janitor on hand, and the CCA is busy with check-in formalities. What do you do? Do you (a) ask the CCA to stop his work and clean up the mess immediately while having a grimace on your face, (b) Frantically call housekeeping and demand whoever answers to immediately get their a** over here whilst slowly making yourself scarce, or (c) fetch the nearest available mop bucket and mop, and clean-up the mess, whilst re-assuring the parents that mishaps can happen, and ask if the child would like a glass of water / beverage. If you answered (c), you deserve a medal – because it’s a rare breed that would choose this avenue, yet it speaks volumes to the guest, as well as the staff. It shows the guest that the management genuinely cares about them, and it demonstrates to the staff that their Managers are willing to roll up his sleeves and get their hands dirty if required. Finally, that they ‘walk the talk’ and show humility - because no job is ‘beneath them’.
Maintain a positive attitude
This is the hardest one. Especially when you’ve had a rough day, it’s easy to let the blackness of doom wash over. However, in hospitality you cannot afford for this to happen. Attitudes are contagious – an employee with a positive attitude can win over a disgruntled customer much like one with a negative attitude can cheese off a friendly customer. No matter how hard your job is, remember that at the end of the day, hospitality is about providing exciting and excellent experiences to customers. Even if you are a disgruntled employee, do not let your disgruntlement pass through to your customers – after all, one of them might be a potential future employer!
Ashraaq Wahab– Technical Director Hospitality Sri Lanka, Automotive Journalist, Marketer and Writer, who enjoys penning his thoughts, insights and ideas on a variety of topics.
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