Loved the wording in the job ad in yesterdays Merc for Sails Restaurant.
It read:
"Would you like to work with some of the nicest customers in Hobart....? We are looking for energetic and super friendly staff to join our hardworking team.
You will be working as a Food and Beverage Attendant in an established".... blah blah blah
"Food and Beverage experience is not necessary but we are looking for
customer service superstars!
Come and introduce yourself to Anna or Liam at"...blah blah blah
"Don't forget to bring your resume...
and we will even shout you a coffee..."
It's brilliant, I reckon. They're telling you what they want but not in that usual, offhand way of job ads.
The most clever thing about it is that they quite obviously know that they can train anyone to do any job - but the REAL attribute they want is the customer service focus (is it possible to train someone in that?) - and what better way to (unobtrusively) test that but to request the applicants come up and introduce themselves to you? That's exactly what you want them to do as part of their job - go up to a table of total strangers and make themselves known, and look after these people solicituously - so obviously that's the best way to see how they will perform.
Also to add the bit about the coffee - a master stroke. Well done Vantage Group.
And of interest in yesterdays Merc, in the Public Notices, amongst the Applications for Liquor licences:
a Special licence for John Bullock at Howden for a premises called 'D'Entrecasteau'
A Special licence for Matt Rau for a premises in Federal St called 'The Italian Pantry and Serra Rau Fine Foods'
Also one for Kristian McPherson for 'Dukkah' and Paul Stone for 'The Foodstore' (currently known as 'Bellerive Fresh Fruit Market').
My Nellie and Mr Nellie dined out last night at Gobblers highly vaunted restaurant Smolt, in Salamanca. They enjoyed it, and Nellie DID threaten to do a guest review for me of it - but what they did observe, unfortunately, was one of those mega-shabby situations that you hear about and shudder.
That's the one where a restaurant receives a booking for a large number of diners on a Saturday - who don't show up!
If I were the owners of Smolt, I think I'd be contemplating legal action. For someone to do this to a new restaurant, on a busy Saturday night, where they set aside half the restaurant for these people who didn't show, seems criminal to me.
Mr Nellie had noticed that this new restaurant, for a Sat night, was only half full and commented to waiter who explained that they'd been expecting a booking for 19, who hadn't showed.
There should be a Black list of people like that maintained somewhere. One consolation - from all the feedback so far about Smolt, it won't damage them at all.
Sunday, 4 November 2007
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14 comments:
Three quick ones Rita.
I like the add for Sails, but it does smack of desperation from a company with well below par service standards who cannot atract good staff and have a huge turnover.
'Serra rau' Serrarao - John Serra and Matt Rao. Brillant things on the way from two of Hobarts most passionate and comsumate food suppliers (Matt makes a good coffee too). Get down there for all your continental goodies (open to the public!)
I really feel for the Smolt guys. This is an increasing phenomenon in Hobart with a lot of restaurants having large no shows. A friend with a conspiracy theory bent believes that opposition restaurants are making false bookings. It does happen but not that often. I believe it is just society with a lack of respect or scrupples.
The only way to combat this is to take credit card details upon booking and charge a set fee for 'no shows'. At least this will cover wages and wasted prep if nothing else.
Customers need to realise that once a booking has been made it is a legally binding contract, and an individual was recently sued for breach of this contract with the concerned restaurant winning cost and damages of over $3000.
Agreed HRV - re the credit card details being taken on booking. Nellie, Mr Nellie & I discussed options on combatting this last night, especially as they reported that the extra staff who obviously had been called in for the night and now had bugger-all to do (in comparison) were being let go round 9.00 ish.
Where was the damages case of $3000+? In Australia?
Bloody good on them. I hadn't realised that making a booking is a legally binding contract, but if it is - this should be more widely publicised so this stuff doesn't happen.
I've heard about rival restaurant owners doing this to their opposition. Haven't known how much credibility to put to it tho. I can believe it of some.
Anyway - I too feel for them, with wastage and staffing costs as they are. Definitely take the credit card number as well as the phone number, especially with a larger booking.
I like how everone is ready to jump down the throats of the people who made that booking...who is to say someone at Smolt didn't stuff up? It's quite common for restuarants to accidently book someone in on the wrong night or not at all. Did someone from Smolt take the 2 minutes required earlier that day to call the people who had the booking to confirm it? Did they try and call that night to find out what happened? Did they even bother taking a phone number?
For large booking numbers they should be treated like a function, details set out, signed confirmation from the organisers, either set menu or a minimum spend per head and yes, definately a CC number or deposit...I know it's new but there is no excuse for them not to be doing that sort of thing already. It's just poor organisation and poor management.
Points well made Anon 10.04. Hopefully Smolt personnel have learnt from this and will in future phone earlier on the day and check all is still going ahead (if they didn't).
I won't get into criticising Smolt management at this stage, but hopefully they are receptive to suggestions such as you've quite validly made here.
Thanks for that Anon.
Rita, a good ad always needs a hook dont you think? It also pays to be honest, no point talking it up if it wont be the reality. They sound like a lot of thought went into their 'hook'.
It seems there a bit of restaurant planning going on, lets wait & see?!
As to the no shows, its an age old problem. The touble with HRV idea of taking CC details is that its quite off putting for many diners.
I'm glad Mr & Mrs Nellie enjoyed smolt, I was really impressed as you could see. I hope they continue to do a brisk trade.
Yes Rita it was in Australia - Sydney I believe.
Anon I agree with your comments but I know that these guys go by the book. This is a recent trend in Hobart.
If a restaurant doesn't follow these procedures then more fool them. An apprentice of mine recently made a booking but was unable to go to a popular Hobart restaurant but when he did not show up on the night (family emergency) the restaurant did not courtesy call back, but one of the chefs left an abusive massage on his phone. This is not a good thing obviously. Most restaurants do it by the book.
In my personal situation recently we have had many large groups of 'no shows' and when we call after 30 minues grace there is usually no answer or they have forgotten to cancel. Time, wages and product are expensive and someone should foot the bill.
I think that taking credit card numbers and charging a fee (average spend per head or some form of deposit to cover wages, food prep etc) is totally understandable, but does the rest of our fair state. It is a sad fact that people in Tasmania still balk at things that are the norm in the rest of Australia and world wide. I hope that soon we will start treating the hospitality with the same respect that is given to other industries. A booking is like an appointment someone has put aside this time for you and it is incredibly rude to not show up or show up late without a phone call. Alright I've rambled enough
Agree wholeheartedly Anon 1.48. We accept too much stuff that occurs here in Tassie just because we're out of synch with the rest of Australia (and the world!).
It's time Hobart came into line with the rest, and accepted good manners (like, for instance, calling to cancel a restaurant booking), and the fact that you might actually be inconveniencing people or, heaven forbid, costing them money - and you in turn could well be penalised for doing this.
I'm Hobart born & bred, and have always excused Hobart for those very reasons, but we now have so many imported people that SURELY we must be made up of more imports than originals, so we can't keep on with the thinking that "we've always done it that way, so we'll keep doing it."
We shouldn't follow for follows sake but if somebody started then it could soon become the rule rather than the exception
I think the Drunken Admiral also suffered a big no-show in recent times.
Back to that ad for Sails...no good to me, I'm a tea drinker.
Oh, well, like Gobbler says about trends it won't be long till tea is the new coffee. I'll bide my time and be trendy again one day.
PS Fish Frenzy asks for your credit card details when you phone up ahead to order TAKEAWAY.
Lots of people I know won't do that and have stopped phoning to order.
Not that it seems to have hit their business...it always looks busy when I pass.
Sir G - don't be an old fuddy-duddy! I too am (only) a tea drinker, but if I was a hip young thing in my 20's, I'm sure I'd be boasting about my latte intake! I still usually refer to meeting people for a coffee, in the full knowledge that it will be THEM having the coffee, not me!
That's it Rita, ta. I want to open a restaurant called Fuddy-Duddy or Fuddy-Duddies.
We could serve the old stuff that's threatening to become the new trendy stuff.
Prawn cocktail, fondue, ham and pineapple, brown windsor soup, chicken marengo, mock turtle soup, mulligatawny, beef wellington, rice pud with jam, duck a l'orange, tutti-frutti icecream, choc bananas, bangers and mash with onion gravy, toad in the hole, corned-beef hash, chicken maryland with banana fritters and pineapple fritters, deep-fried ice-cream...etc etc...
Don't forget Steak Diane and Peppered Steak - my two all time faves!
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