Great Expectations

WHAT IS “GOOD SERVICE”?

Good service is meeting or exceeding guest expectations.

A simple answer? Perhaps, but deceptively so, because management of guest expectations is a subtle and difficult art that starts at the birth of any hospitality concept.

As a professor of hospitality, I often ask students if McDonald’s can provide better service than a high-end restaurant like the French Laundry in California, or if a Four Seasons Hotel is inevitably better than any Motel 6 (that link is the best I could do!). Invariably, my students respond that the famous restaurant or the Five Diamond hotel must have better service. But do they?  Consider your expectations while at a fast food joint – probably a filling meal, fast and cheap. However, while at a fine dining restaurant, conscious and subconscious expectations can include everything from the host’s greeting to the sincerity of the server’s farewell.

So, Good Service begins with guests' expectations, but how can a business manipulate those expectations? In the restaurant industry, managing expectations begins with the menu – which defines everything about a restaurant, from the equipment needs in the kitchen to the decor of the dining room.  If a menu includes traditionally luxurious items like foie gras, Wagyu beef, and desserts finished in gold leaf, then the team creating that concept wants guests to have certain expectations of that meal. People typically do not spend $18 for an appetizer at a drive-through window – but they will if seated in a plush leather booth, listening to classical music.

THE TAKE-AWAY

• Train staff on guest expectations – Good Service begins with training, and an effective training program ensures those enrolled are aware of expected outcomes. The students and employees who I train know their goal is to meet or exceed the expectations of their particular guests because I reinforce that concept throughout the program. 
• Be the best possible version of yourself – If you are managing a Burger King, what is the best possible version of you? If the staff has accuracy and efficiency down pat, the only element needed to exceed guest expectations is a warm, sincere greeting and a smile.  As mentioned above, Good Service can mean different things as expectations vary by setting.
• Aim to exceed, not just meet, expectations – One of the best examples of Good Service is a Denny's on Santa Fe Boulevard in Denver, at which I ate probably two dozen times while living in Colorado.  I returned to this particular location again and again because they continuously exceeded my expectations: my order was always accurate, hot, and timely; my coffee cup was never empty; and, lastly, my server was always friendly.
• Expectations can’t always be taught – As a hiring manager, I looked for personality and provided training on other skills, often hiring a genuinely friendly individual who lacked thorough industry knowledge over those with years of experience who came across as burnt out. In other words, Good Service (as opposed to merely effective service) starts in the hiring process. Have potential new hires talk with as many people as possible during the interview process, including front and back-of-the-house employees as well as managers. Also, thoroughly check references – you'd be surprised the kinds of things people will tell you over the phone.
• Training = a probation period – Finally, and most importantly, training must have consequences. Too often, especially in the hospitality industry, managers train new hires and then put them on the floor without further consideration or evaluation. In order to ensure Good Service, employers should let new employees go who fail the training program. Although this method takes time and money, hiring the wrong people to work on a team can be much more costly.

ABOUT ME

Jeremy Corn currently works as a professor of hospitality management and culinary arts, as well as the creator and editor of The Good Service Project. He has 15 years experience in the restaurant industry with the majority of his career spent as a dining room manager and sommelier. He holds an MBA from the University of Colorado-Denver, a BA from the Metropolitan State College of Denver, and an AAS in culinary arts from the Art Institute of Colorado. He holds professional certifications from the National Restaurant Association, the International Wine Guild, the American Academy of Financial Management, and the American Culinary Federation.