Title – Don’t give the games away
Source – Unknown
Date – 6th September 2007
This article caught my eye half an hour after leaving a usually excellent tapas bar in central London. In a restaurant where I have been repeatedly over the years and experienced a great atmosphere, excellent food and good service, on that day we had a rather different experience and had commented over our lunch how on that day it reminded us of Fawlty Towers.
But outlets in London as elsewhere should worry more about their long term prosperity rather then just during an Olympic year. London is a year round tourist destination and many premises rely on that element for their regular income. But to do so at the risk of your regular customers is a risk too far. Ultimately tourists and locals want the same thing and if you look at any successful operation you will note the one consistency; great service.
On our visit to our Tapas bar, it was obvious that the waiter was new, although authentically Spanish, it was unfortunate that his English was so minimal that the ordering process itself was a trial and as we had predicted, we were never going to get exactly what we ordered. Fortunately the tapas format does allow for these mistakes in that even if half your order is wrong, you still have some food to be getting on with while the rest of your order is corrected. But when even the water doesn’t turn up, the amusement soon turns to frustration and the lack of English means that even the apology is lost in translation. Ultimately had this been our first visit it would also have been our last and even though we love the place, even if we do give it another chance it will be their last chance.
Staff training is an essential part of any business and is even more vital in this type of environment, we all know that a large part of our bill is the service otherwise we may as well go to a supermarket and cook for ourselves at home. The Olympics are set to provide a windfall to many such businesses in London and the UK as a whole, but if that is the only incentive you have to get your business right then you are already getting your business wrong.
Source – Unknown
Date – 6th September 2007
This article caught my eye half an hour after leaving a usually excellent tapas bar in central London. In a restaurant where I have been repeatedly over the years and experienced a great atmosphere, excellent food and good service, on that day we had a rather different experience and had commented over our lunch how on that day it reminded us of Fawlty Towers.
But outlets in London as elsewhere should worry more about their long term prosperity rather then just during an Olympic year. London is a year round tourist destination and many premises rely on that element for their regular income. But to do so at the risk of your regular customers is a risk too far. Ultimately tourists and locals want the same thing and if you look at any successful operation you will note the one consistency; great service.
On our visit to our Tapas bar, it was obvious that the waiter was new, although authentically Spanish, it was unfortunate that his English was so minimal that the ordering process itself was a trial and as we had predicted, we were never going to get exactly what we ordered. Fortunately the tapas format does allow for these mistakes in that even if half your order is wrong, you still have some food to be getting on with while the rest of your order is corrected. But when even the water doesn’t turn up, the amusement soon turns to frustration and the lack of English means that even the apology is lost in translation. Ultimately had this been our first visit it would also have been our last and even though we love the place, even if we do give it another chance it will be their last chance.
Staff training is an essential part of any business and is even more vital in this type of environment, we all know that a large part of our bill is the service otherwise we may as well go to a supermarket and cook for ourselves at home. The Olympics are set to provide a windfall to many such businesses in London and the UK as a whole, but if that is the only incentive you have to get your business right then you are already getting your business wrong.
At Beyond The Blue we offer a wide range of courses to anyone working in the licensed retail sector as well as consultancy services which can include a mystery shopper programme to allow you to independently evaluate your services. Unbiased evaluation is often impossible from within a business as staff are too close and have far too many preconceptions to be objective. For those working in the licensed retail sector we offer the portfolio of BIIAB accredited courses.
Please visit our website at www.btbl.co.uk
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