Blaming poor service on trainees or saying ' we just opened ' is not on

Excellence guru, Tom Peters once said: “I can think of no company that has found a way to look after external customers while abusing internal customers. The process of meeting customer needs begins internally.”

Sometime ago, four of us dined at the Chinese restaurant in a 5-star hotel. From the 06 items ordered off the menu, 04 dishes were served after approximately 25 minutes and we commenced eating. Over 10 minutes later and mid-way through the meal - still no sign of the 5^th and 6^th items we had ordered. Only after reminding the waiter did the balance 02 dishes arrive… that too between three minute intervals and not before another dish ordered by the diners at the next table, briefly came our way. The only apology I received was in the form of a whisper from the supervisor that our order was taken by a trainee. Obviously this trainee was put in the ‘deep-end’ with little or no coaching from the seniors.

A couple of days later, someone complained on Facebook about being at the receiving end of indifferent and overbearing service at a recently opened small standalone restaurant. In defense of the restaurant, a reader wrote urging the complainant to be tolerant as the restaurant had only just opened.

Regardless of a restaurant's size style or when it opened, the serving staff represents the face of every dining establishment. Thus good service should be everywhere – from day one onwards. There cannot be ‘bad days’ as some people very charitably or nonchalantly put it.

In my opinion, a good part of the blame for bad customer service caused by employees- lies very often with the management / owners of the establishment. In their pursuit of short-term growth they drive businesses to engage in practices that end up alienating the people they should be treating like royalty, namely customers.

True, there is an acute shortage of staff at this very point in time. It can only get worse. To overcome the situation restaurant operators hire anyone and everyone who has two hands, two legs and a smattering of English. Most restaurateurs don't bother or demonstrate a professional inclination to train staff properly. Training during my time was mostly confined to learning the skills set required to succeed. This included greeting guests, seeing to their needs, taking orders, staying attuned to their needs, being an effective communicator and delivering accurate and prompt service. Learning physical skills, i.e. dexterity in carrying several dishes, moving swiftly between the kitchen and dining room was all part of the ‘on-the-job’ training.

Our supervisors didn’t need to teach us good manners. We learned this in school and our parents ensured that we practiced this in the home and everyday environment. Nowadays, simple common courtesies have disappeared from many walks of life. Even a simple “please” or “thank you” seems bizarre to some of our young people.

When restaurant operators shortchange the training process, it comes back to bite them with a vengeance - affecting customer service, food quality and the overall dining experience.

Shafeek Wahab – Editor, Hospitality Sri Lanka, Consultant, Trainer, Ex-Hotelier

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