In the service industry, every interaction you have with your guests holds an equal amount of weight in the eyes of your customer. From when they’re first seated until they finish off their nightcap, guests should receive exceptional and attentive customer service. While basic hospitality skills are essential, it’s the soft skills that set great service apart. By merely focusing on a few crucial fundamentals, front of the house employees, servers, and bartenders can create quality relationships with their guests and develop loyal clients. To master the service balancing act, you must practice these three keys to providing an unbeatable guest experience.
Be Personable
Maintaining a friendly and upbeat personality is essential for guests to feel welcome at your event. Try to personalize their experience as much as possible. If you are a bartender or waitress, start with your introduction. While communicating specials, making menu recommendations, or taking special requests, take the time to facilitate conversation to make them feel at ease. Remain patient while guests make decisions and offer your expertise whenever possible.
Exceptional service means taking a genuine interest in your customers. Do your best to remember details, like drink orders or first names, to make your service memorable. Also, keep open lines of communication throughout the evening. Whether the bar is backed up or the kitchen is running behind, you’re still responsible for executing quality service. If an issue arises, provide your guests with definitive solutions and keep them consistently updated. If you set the stage with confidence and kindness, guests will usually respond in the same fashion.
Be Efficient
With numerous responsibilities on your plate at all times, prioritization and time-management skills are a must for the service industry. Events are fast-paced, with an ever-growing to-do list of urgent tasks. Instead of getting caught up in the rush of it all, you have to remain level-headed.
Customers’ needs should always come first and be taken care of in a reasonable timeframe. Having to wait ten minutes for a drink refill or for a side of sauce can quickly turn even the best guest experience sour. Write down a special request, so you don’t have to waste time returning to a guest or repeating multiple questions. Also, while you shouldn’t hover over your guests, it is essential to consistently check-in to make sure their needs are being met.
Be Adaptable
In event service, no two days are alike. While that means the work is never dull, it also means that there are unique accommodations for every event. Ensure that you’re adequately prepared by studying banquet event orders, the menu, and learning about the venue before the first guest arrives. Throughout the event, you also have to be flexible, adapting to a wide range of demands and requests. The ability to think on your feet is valuable and the more knowledge you have, the more easily you can confidently manage a situation.
Make Your Service Exceptional
Guests don’t attend events simply for great drinks or delicious food – they come for the experience. They may not remember their drink order or the meal they ate, but they’ll surely recall the way that you made them feel. Take the time to hone these three skills. By developing your abilities, you’re guaranteed to take your service from good to great.
