It has been a while since I\u2019ve encountered an honest-to-goodness \u201ccaptain\u201d in an American restaurant. And I\u2019ve never met one in a casual eatery. But I want to make the case for putting someone at the helm of the front of the house. That means a highly qualified, take-charge person who calls the shots and steers your crew around all the obstacles that can get in the way of a quality dining experience.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s my reasoning? Well, savvy operators are looking for any point of difference they can establish between themselves and their competition. At the same time, the idea of providing excellent customer service has morphed over time to become the larger notion of providing patrons with a great experience. Consequently, operators are dialing up their expectations of people now occupying traditional restaurant positions.<\/p>\n
Wait staff, for example, are now also expected to \u201csell\u201d menus via precise product, ingredient and cooking knowledge, and to \u201cexpedite\u201d food by assuring proper portioning, temperatures and garnishing.<\/p>\n
The role of host is also evolving\u2014or perhaps I should say it\u2019s ripe for reinvention. Because many operators are still placing the youngest, prettiest, handsomest, newest, greenest person they have in this key role, with no more training than a vague direction to \u201cwatch for open tables and seat the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Big mistake, one with the potential to kill return business. I continue to observe many hosts socializing with their co-workers and many more seemingly unable to divert their attention from their cellphones. They\u2019re certainly not focusing on guests.<\/p>\n
In my workshops, I zero in on the host role as one of the greatest opportunities to \u201cdial up.\u201d In addition to being the first and last person a guest encounters, a host should accept the responsibility of controlling the flow and the floor.<\/p>\n
Western culture no longer looks at dining as \u201cfine dining\u201d exclusively. But that doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t borrow some ideas that made fine dining the experience it was back in the day. <\/p>\n
Travel to Europe or take a cruise and you will encounter a \u201cRestaurant Captain\u201d\u2014a front-of-the-line person who interacts with guests and ensures that every facet of their dining experience is top-notch. The host is the American equivalent of that role in midscale and casual dining, at least in terms of being seen as the establishment\u2019s public face. But few restaurants hold their hosts to the level of performance a true captain delivers. Training your hosts to do more than \u201cput butts in seats\u201d is another opportunity to distinguish your operation from the competition. <\/p>\n
How can you transform your hosts into captains? By hiring based on personality, work ethic, attitude, dapper appearance and an ever-present smile. By demanding the best and never compromising. By treating \u201chost\u201d not as an entry-level position but as a stepping stone for an ambitious person you are intending to move into a leadership role. <\/p>\n
An operator I greatly admire told me the host is the first person he goes to for a \u201cpulse check\u201d when he visits any of his 15 restaurants. He expects the host to know (and continually be updating) the guest wait, kitchen response time, table turnover rate, what\u2019s selling, who\u2019s having a great night and who isn\u2019t, etc.<\/p>\n
Sounds as though he expects his hosts to act more like captains, and the success of his business proves he\u2019s right.<\/p>\n
Bottom line: Your guests expect more than just customer service today, so you should expect more from your team.<\/p>\n
The role of host, the first and last person guests encounter at a restaurant, is ripe for reinvention.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n