The Service Industry

We get many compliments in our dining room regarding the food. One of my jobs is to visit as many tables as possible, to see if the guests are enjoying their meal and to gauge how their time at BT is going. If I pick up on any discontented vibes, I will use this opportunity to learn about a problem, and either make it right or take it as a lesson for improvement in the future. We have our share of problems - over salted fish, underdone potato, tough steak, cold coffee - but, for the most part , it seems as though Brooks Tavern can cook. Our kitchen crew rocks.

The other aspect of the dining experience is, of course, service. And last night we got a very nice compliment for the front of the house. A customer told me that while the food was wonderful, "as usual", it was the service that really put us on the top of their restaurant list, that our service was the best in the area, "hands down". That was extremely gratifying to hear. We really do try to put service on equal footing with the food. I tell the staff that that is an area where we can stand out from other dining choices and help our guests decide where they want to eat: "Honey, do you want to go out for good food and okay service, or good food and great service?" What's the choice?

That all being said, we are currently training two new servers. It is such an important job, making sure that the new staff members are up to speed with the demands of our customer's expectations. I usually like to hire people who have little to no experience so I can train them myself, to my specifications, but experience can be a boon if the employee is a quick study. I do feel sorry for the new servers - all of us watch their every move; I stand behind them as they recite the specials or take an order or serve the entrees. It will be weeks before I will feel comfortable letting them operate as free agents, and even then there will still be plenty of fine tuning.

It's been a while since we had new waiters. The stress of it is immense, and really serves to reinforce how great our staff is. Ann, Ashley, Emily, Joy, Pete, and Val have all been here for over a year; Ali has ten months under her belt. Erin is the "newest" crew member, at almost six months. This core group makes my life sweet. I can trust that they will operate in the fashion that we expect them to; they treat the customers, the dining room, the business like we do. I can relax and enjoy my own job in the DR - walking around basking in all the compliments that the guests offer for the kitchen...

Our dining room staff rocks.