Abstract
The art of catering goes beyond providing food and beverages and extends to the ambience of the eating place and the quality of service received. The paper has presented findings and analysis of observations done by the researcher during a visit to a hotel. The observations were noted down on a checklist and later analysed to understand how the service level measured. The analysis is presented in this paper. The findings indicate that training of waiters on aspects of their behaviour, conduct, providing service and menu knowledge is required. A number of recommendations have been made that if implemented would help to increase the service level of the hotel.
Introduction
Food and Beverage presentation forms an important part of the culinary experience and the level of service, manner in which waiter behave, how the staff responds and other characteristics matter a lot for establishing the quality of a restaurant. It is not the food alone that brings people to a restaurant and while food is the main reason why people come, other factors such as service would keep them away (Cracknell, 2000). This paper provides an analysis of the research findings of observations done by the student during a visit to a restaurant. The paper presents an analysis of the findings.
Analysis of the Findings
Based on the checklist, an analysis of the findings and observations are as given below.
Accuracy of the mise en place
The mise en place was of acceptable level as this is indicated by the answer that the chefs have a checklist of food provided for the day. An organised Chef would have all the details for the food items required. However, there was visible spillage of food on the kitchen floor and this shows that health and safety measures at the back of the house was inadequate. The items were placed correctly on the table but one of the tables had the number plate missing.
The term mise en place is a French term for orderliness in preparing the ingredients for cooking. This is one of the main factors of culinary art and the emphasis is on ensuring that all ingredients, cuts of meat, vegetables, spices and other items are of the desired quantity, size and quality. When cooking many dishes, the quantity of ingredients in each dish is very important to ensure uniform taste and quality. Anything less or more would make one dish better and another worse and this is not acceptable to gourmet cooking. The emphasis is on having everything ready before the cooking begins so that nothing is wasted or missing and that each batch would have the same taste. This is very important in hotels where individual dishes are prepared each time when customers order items. It would be very inappropriate and unacceptable if each dish had a different taste (Davis, 1998).
Comment on all aspects
There were a number of positive and negative aspects about the staff and these are mentioned as below:
- Positive: Waiter welcomed the guests when they first came in and even helped with the coats and hats. The reviewer was pleased with the service that was provided. The overall service was somewhat acceptable but more could be done with proper training.
- Negative: The staff to customer ratio was not adequate and there was an excessive waiting period for the main course. Waiter had lesser knowledge of the menu and there was no explanation about the meals when questions were asked. Any answers that were given were obsolete and the waiter forgot the order and he came back to retake the order and this is a negative aspect of the waiter and shows carelessness. The body language of the waiter was bad and one of them had his hands in his pocket and this is inappropriate behaviour. The waiter showed poor listening skills, as he was probably nervous. The wine glasses were not polished and one of the waiters was leaning up against the wall with folding legs and this is an inappropriate behaviour. While most of the waiters had appropriate behaviour, they lacked training and etiquette and handling customers (Foskett, 2003).
Evaluation of the customer service from arrival to departure
On arrival, the headwaiter did not meet and greet the customers and the requirements but assistance with coats and seating were made. When the customers first arrived, they were made to feel very welcome and the waiter introduced himself though he did not give out the menus when the guests first arrived. The appearance and standardisation, which included personal presentation, uniform, hair, makeup, hands/ nails was acceptable though the waiting period for the main course was long and the appropriateness of service times was not good. The standard of verbal communication skills was not acceptable and the customer had a hard time in trying to understand what the waiter was trying to explain. The general up-selling skills were poor, the portion size was small and the taste was bearable. After the meal, the head waiter asked about the meal and the expectations. While the food id match with what was written on the menu, it was confusing if the customers did not know the language. The food was not overcooked and the temperature of the serving plate was hot and this is essential for good service, The menu had a number of choices and each course had at least four choices (Lillicrap, 2006).
Training Needs
From the observations, it is evident that some of the waiters need training in receiving and serving customers. Waiters should be trained in receiving guests and welcoming them with enthusiasm. The guests should be handled with pleasure and it should not appear as if serving customers was a job they did not like. When idle, waiter should be taught how to stand at ease and while appearing relaxed, they should be told that putting their hands in the pocket, leaning against the wall and other such habits should be avoided. Another important aspect is teaching them proper communication skills (Dahmer, 1995). The waiter should learn how to listen attentively, take down the order properly, repeat it after the guests give the order to confirm the items and there should not be any incidents such as forgetting the order and coming back to take it again. They should also have adequate information about the menu items and know what each dish is made of, how it will taste and so on (Arduser, 2004). When asked to explain about items on the menu, they should give the best possible explanation and if required, they should be ready to go back for expert advice when something more is asked and they do not know the reply.
Meal Experience
The meal experience can best be described as adequate, nothing exceptional. The hotel has a policy of giving smaller portion and the taste of the cooking that is the most important factor was just acceptable. While the waiting time for the items to arrive was on the higher sides, the table was arranged properly and most of the waiters were attentive while some of them tended to be rather careless in the way they stood and handled themselves. The problem with the menu was that if people who did not know the language came to the hotel, they would not know what they were ordering and this is not good. There should be some attempts of translating into other languages. However, the tables were laid out properly with all he cutlery items in place and the dining plates were placed warmed and this is a good sign of professional service (Brown, 2005).
Aspects of enjoyment
There was sufficient choice in the menus and each course had four choices and this was good for a lunch menu. Mise en place was acceptable and all requirements were met and correct items were on the tables. The standard of food serving skills, serving correct side, s/s skills and clearing between menus was acceptable and hygiene and maintenance of clear tables and sideboard was acceptable (Meyer, 2006).
Aspects that would affect other customers
People who did not know the language would have a hard time in trying to understand different items on the menu. The waiters had poor communication skills and could not explain the menu properly when questions were asked. These factors would certainly confuse other customers who would not know what they are ordering.
Expectations that were met, not met and exceeded
Expectations not Met
On arrival, head waiter did not meet and greet or check requirements. Waiter did not have much knowledge about the menu and the answers obtained were obsolete. The waiter was not attentive to customers needs and he forgot the order and came back to take it again. There was poor response to meeting customers requests and the standard of verbal communication was poor, Body language of waiters was poor and one of hem had his hands in his pockets while the other was leaning against the wall. The waiter s also had poor listening skills and he was nervous and complicated things for himself. The guests had to order twice for the same meal. The wine glasses were not polished and the customers did not pay much attention to the customers.
Expectation met
Assistance with coats and seating was provided. The waiter made guests welcome when they arrived and waiter introduced himself and assisted with the easting. Standards of personal presentation, uniform, hair, keep up, hands/ nails was acceptable. The workplace was hygienic and there was maintenance of clear tables and sideboard. The standard of food service skills, serving correct side, s/s skills and clearing between courses was acceptable. The customer service was acceptable and the staff worked as team. The chef asked if the food was satisfactory and took the required feedback. Waiters could easily access any part of the hotel and there was free workflow in the restaurant, and the mise en place was acceptable, The food was bearable but not overcooked and there were adequate choices on the menu.
Conclusions
The findings show that while the overall service level was acceptable, some issues such as behaviour of waiter, taste of the food, general service could be improved. One of the main issue was poor verbal communication skills of the waiters. Some of the waiters had poor attention span and this may be because of the low staff to customer ratio. There has to be a proper training given to waiters and they should be taught on how to behave while attending to customers and when they are idle. They should also be given adequate training and knowledge on the menu items and should know how to answer questions about the menu (Caulfield, 1987).
References
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