Don't forget the humanity in hospitality
What is hospitality? The age-old Oxford dictionary defines it as “the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors or strangers”. In fact, if you ask most non-industry personnel what hospitality is, they will probably define it in various ways, including if staff were friendly, responsive, courteous, and generally made them feel welcome. However, what makes hospitality memorable is when a particular experience is delivered in an outstanding manner.
Outstanding experiences in hospitality typically stem from the staff involved in experience leveraging a basic tenet of our life, and that is humanity. If you are the sort of staff member who constantly walks about with a fake plastic smile and pretends to feign interest, you may perhaps conjure a memorable experience...but in the false sense of the word. Yes, hospitality is tough. Yes, front-line staffs in particular are at risk of being on the wrong end of a guest or customer’s wrath, including verbal and physical violence. However, they are also equally likely to be on the receiving end of a guest or customer’s genuine gratitude when they deliver service that is truly outstanding.
I recently received outstanding customer service that perfectly brought out the humanity in the staff member concerned at the Rajagiriya outlet of Burger King. My wife and I, with our 4-month-old son in tow, had planned to do our usual Saturday errands and finish off with a quiet, relaxed lunch. However, plans do go awry, when dealing with an infant, plus a half-hour wait in fuel queue; meaning, we were perilously close to his feeding time, and babies do not understand the concept of a-la-carte. They want quick service, pronto.
So when we walked into Burger King and placed our orders, he was already showing signs of restlessness, and when our food came in an impressively short time, my wife was holding him in one hand and eating with the other, which is not easy to do when tackling a burger.
That’s when this gem of a lady working at the outlet came to the rescue. Observing my wife's difficulty at eating whilst holding our son, she volunteered to hold and walk him around. Holding our son, who quickly settled down, she did exactly that for ten minutes, during which time my wife was able to enjoy her food. Now that’s humanity for you, recognizing when someone needs a helping hand, and spontaneously offering it.
I don’t think her formal job description, or the requisite SOPs state that employees should console babies, and that’s why you’ve got to think on your feet at times. After all, there is no SOP for being human. You either have it, you don’t, or you can learn – if you are willing to.
Upon reaching home, I posted a message on the Burger King Sri Lanka official Facebook page with details and requested the e-mail addresses of their bosses, as I wanted to ensure that this lady would be appropriately commended for her act of kindness. Their social media team was very competent, and within half an hour, I received the details, and they identified the employee by name as I had sent a photograph of the lady carrying my son.
Remember, when you are a customer, while it’s all too easy to post a negative incident on social media, it’s equally easy to post a positive one. So when you encounter a positive experience, do post it, tag the relevant persons and business pages, and convey your gratitude to the company. In a trying time when we are all struggling to keep our heads afloat, whatever little positivity that can be found is a refreshingly welcome vibe.
Ashraaq Wahab -Technical Director Hospitality Sri Lanka, Automotive Journalist, Marketer and Writer, enjoys penning his thoughts, insights and ideas on a variety of topics.
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