There’s something about hospitality that just makes me feel so good. For me, it’s not what’s going on around me, it’s the people I’ve met and the simple gesture of coming to their house for dinner. It’s the feeling that comes from knowing that no matter where we are in the world, we have the opportunity to connect with someone else.
This is especially true for hospitality and baristas. When you sit down to a drink at your favorite bar and the bartender asks if you’d like to order some food, you don’t just want to order chocolate mousse and a scotch, you want to actually order something that is tasty and delicious. You want to be able to say, “yes sir, I will order something that you cannot make.
I think this is the hardest part for hospitality associates. They don’t really have the experience or the training to handle the unexpected.
What the hospitality manager wants is to make sure that the guests at his bar will actually want to eat before they order. They want to get them to ask for what they are expecting (or not) and in that way, their expectations will be met. In other words, they want to make sure you can actually say. “Hey man, I would like the chocolate mousse and a scotch.
As a hospitality associate, I’d say the hardest part is making sure you can actually say that. But how do you make an impression on a person in a conversation that you don’t really want to? You know, like, “Hi, I am a hospitality associate. You should come with me and I’ll make sure you get everything you need.
I know I’m an easy mark. I was a hospitality associate for years, but my impression has been that I’m one of those people who would rather sit down and talk to you than just go away. And that’s just my impression. I really have no idea. I do have a hard time telling if someone has actually been around. I think the way I do it is by trying to get them to say something that they might not want to say.
I remember my first experience with hospitality associate. I was in a bar and a woman came over to me and asked if I was the hotel’s new food and beverage director. I thought it was odd, honestly. So I said, “I don’t know. I’ve been here only two weeks and I have no clue what I’m doing.” I said that because I didn’t know what I was doing.
This is where you have to remember that most people want to be helpful, but people also want to be told what they want to hear. It can be a bit of a shock to people the first time, and that’s when the welcome committee comes in. The goal is to get your guests to believe that you genuinely care about them and want to help them.
That brings me to the next question: how do you ensure you’re helpful? Well, the first step is to ask your guests if you’re able to help them. But the key to helping them is to be genuine. If its a guest who just came over and is having a bad day, dont say, I can’t help you.
The best way to help out is to be genuine and make as many of your guests feel as comfortable as possible. The first problem with this is, it could be as easy as you asking for the check to clear before you start talking about your plans for the evening. The second problem is, if youre too eager, you could end up looking like you care too much. As a rule, you dont make your guests feel like you care about them.