Practice makes perfect...so start practising
Here we are, under yet another ‘lockdown’ in Sri Lanka amidst the latest wave of Covid, and the dreaded Delta variant to boot. Local and international tourism is well and truly down. But it will rise like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes; because as vaccinations rise, borders open up and the travel-hungry populace begin scratching those travel itches. I suppose it’s not too optimistic to say that by end 2021, we will be able to... at the very least, dine at a restaurant or visit a hotel in the same province.
What does this mean for hoteliers, restaurateurs, and tourism industry players? You’ve been inactive for so long, it’s time to re-activate. No doubt, things will be a bit rusty, much like trying to start a car that has been immobile for months. However, rejuvenating your idling empty hotel, restaurant or tourist hotspot isn’t as simple as calling the battery dealers and sticking in a new battery. You’ve got to get back into the groove, practice, monitor, evaluate and improve. What’s the best time to do it? When tourists begin coming back, or before they do? The smart ones would have already started. The slow but steady ones will read articles like these and spring into action. The laggards will wait till tourists start coming when they will fumble with product and service delivery - resulting in dissatisfied and never to return precious customers.
Remember, people will be tolerant of shortcomings because of the pandemic and economic downturn, but don’t push their patience. I recall an anecdote from a friend who visited one of the major local brand five-star hotels in Colombo for the buffet soon after the May/June lockdown was eased. He told us that the food was of mediocre quality,and the staff seemed totally ‘out of focus’, like they had forgotten how to dispense hospitality. The only thing that had increased was the price. He also related this story to his family, his office mates, and friends, and needless to say, bad publicity spreads fast and a lot more than good reviews. Do you want your operation to be like this hotel? I don’t think so. Here are some quick steps as to the course of action you should take to prepare for ‘The ‘Return of the Tourists’.
Update your Standards of operations (SOPS) and seek areas for improvement
Firstly, update and brush up on your SOPS and ensure that every single member of your staff is conversant with them. Next, hold brainstorming sessions with the staff on how the SOPS could be improved, particularly in light of the current pandemic. Put yourself in the shoes of a customer. What would you like to see? For example, it used to delight diners to have a chef appear out of nowhere to grate some cheese over your freshly prepared, piping-hot pasta with a flourish. But will that be appropriate in the ‘new normal’? Will customers be comfortable with that? What about the simple act of pouring table water? Will they want your server to pour the water for them, or will they prefer a covered carafe of water or bottled water to be placed at your table instead?
Start role-playing
Theory can only be embodied by practical application of it. This is where you can engage in role-play, where staff take turns acting out the SOPs to their peers, who act as customers. This way, you can identify shortcomings and take corrective action. For example, will a staff member come unnecessarily close to another table whilst serving an adjacent one? This might have been alright pre-pandemic but will certainly not be appreciated whilst social distancing is the order of the day. What about those tables where your server has to lean across one occupant to serve another? These are all practical constraints that need to be reviewed and can only be identified when you play them out, and... what better time to play them out than now, when hotels and restaurants are empty?
Keep cleaning, even when there are no patrons
Consider a table. If you clean it every day, it stays relatively free from dirt, marks or stains. Clean it every week and that coat of dust requires some scrubbing. Clean it after a month and the chances are you will have some embedded dirt, stains and other detritus that requires some vigorous effort to completely clean. The same applies for your establishment. Try to maintain a regular cleaning regimen even though facilities are not in use. There is always dust and dirt in the air that settles over time.
Check your freezers
It’s economically tempting to try and ‘finish up’ the old stocks rather than discarding them, but if you do this, you are asking for trouble, especially if a guest has a bout of food poisoning as a result. The best service experience in the world will not compensate for a bad stomach. Especially an angry one!
Keep your customers informed
It’s good to keep your customers informed of what you are up to. You could even shoot some video clips of your role-play efforts and team building sessions and share on your social media channels. This reassures customers that you are already planning to give them the best experience when they return.
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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