I never really understood this one. You work in the hospitality business, depend on the generosity of others to make your living, and yet you have nothing but contempt for those you serve. Those who pay your bills. I see it often when I walk in to places. That look on the face. “Oh no,…
Category: Labor
Tipping
Once in a while I like to put a post out there directed at the customer. This is one of those. There always seems to be so much confusion out there about tipping. I actually had a friend the other day ask me if 10% was still the norm. Maybe when Roosevelt was president Seriously? 10%? …
Tip the Dishwasher
I have mentioned on many occasions that I am fortunate to live in a neighborhood with many eating options. I am lucky. On any given night, I can eat Italian, Mexican, Japanese, Thai (3 choices there, actually), Indian, American, etc. If I am not feeling like any of those, I can just decide to get some…
Which Would You Do?
I would like to tell two stories and let you decide for yourself. Scenario one: A friend of mine stops to get a latte at a local coffee house. She doesn’t see the cash only sign and proceeds to order from the barista. She receives her coffee and attempts to hand her credit/debit card to the…
Who’s Watching the Door?
I recently had the chance to visit the great state of Hawai’i for my darling wife’s birthday (I did bring my wife this time). We had a fabulous time and managed to eat out at a few ‘fancy’ restaurants. It can be a challenge mentally going from no-sales tax Portland, to over-priced resort world, but…
That One Guy–the Cancer
Every restaurant has at least one. In fact, all businesses seem to. The thing that I have never understood is why restaurants keep them. We are in the hospitality business, and we should always be 100% about hospitality, so I could never figure out why those employees who do nothing but spread ill-will throughout the staff,…
Front vs. Back?
I visited a new place in town the other night with my dear wife. I like going to new places (who doesn’t), seeing what’s happening in town, watching the different approaches to the same old business. I love this most of all My favorite part of going into a new restaurant has to be the…
Teamwork
Unfortunately, there are many restaurant servers who forget that there is no ‘I’ in team. So often they are focused only on their own section, apparently unable to see anything else. Almost like a horse with blinders, they just plow ahead. I don’t mean to pick on just servers, I was one for many years…
Preset
I have talked before about the importance of mise en place for the front of the house. This definitely falls under that category. Whether you own a fine dining establishment, or just a local neighborhood joint, pre-setting of silverware and other things is still very important. It actually makes the whole experience better for the…
Make it Nice Every Time
Why not? I never really understood anything but. Is it really so much more important to be cool than to be nice? I understand that some customers can be quite difficult, but shouldn’t we at least start out under the assumption that everyone is decent, and therefore deserve the very best we have to offer?…
Work Ethic
Because of my resposibilities here at the culinary school, I am often asked to speak to students who are about to leave the nest and go out into the real world. I find myself returning to this same theme over and over again. I see this all the time in this business: Those who work…
Get Them to Come Back
The more I talk about this to my students, the more I meet with consulting clients, the more I think back on my restaurant experiences–both as an employee and as a customer–the more I realize that this is really all it is about. Getting them to come back. Absolutely right. It is not how much restaurants…
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