This is the summary of my observation of the staff and customers at Ted’s Mexican restaurant during our Professional and Communication class field trip
Keywords: Anxiety, conversations, manager, non-verbal communication, observation, waiting time OBSERVATION AT TED’S MEXICAN RESTAURANT The Professional and Communication class went out to Ted’s Mexican restaurant for observing people. When we all arrived and within moments we were informed there would be a twenty to twenty-five minute wait. The twenty-five minute wait passed quickly and then we were informed that it would be a little longer. We all agreed that would be fine. I went to the check-in station and asked for water for six of us and only one with lemon. The waitress that brought
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We all were starving and very anxious to be seated. As a group we decided that if we moved out of the corner and stood closer to the check-in station we would be noticed and within minutes they called for our group to be seated. The greeter took off without making eye contact and saying anything. I spoke up and asked are we to follow you? With hesitancy she said “Yes.” She appeared to be aggravated and frustrated and seemed to be in a hurry. They sat us in the back corner of the restaurant in an L-shape with two of the chairs that were side to side, plainly it could be seen that this was not going to work. The waitress began apologizing for the wait and began to ask for our drink orders. The waitress stood behind one of my classmates shouting over her shoulder to each person. Then it was like relay game when they brought out our meals. The waitress would ask one person what was needed and then would just take off before asking the entire table. I know that we had fifteen people in our group, but when dealing with the public I feel that they need to be more concerned with service quality so that the customer will return again. There were several times that I was watching around the restaurant and noticed several large groups and they were sat in a straight line, which is the perfect seating for large groups. I feel that staff was in need of more customer training so that they can have a prosperous restaurant. In conclusion I have realized that communication is not just talking, but listening and to divert any emotions that the public can sense. I have now made myself more conscious of my communicating and listening skills. Ted’s wait staff and their service was not professional and may not have had the proper
Stephen Boos has worked in the food service industry for over 30 years. He started as a bus person and subsequently trained as a chef’s apprentice. Steve’s mother believed that a college education was something that everyone should receive. She felt that a college degree was a good investment in Steve’s future. In 1976 at his mother’s insistence, Boos moved to Northeastern Ohio to attend Kent State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. After graduation, Steve began working for East Park Restaurant as a line cook. Using his education as a foundation, Steve made a point to learn everything he could about running a restaurant, from cutting meat to the bi-weekly food and beverage orders. His versatility, keen business sense, and ability to control costs resulted in Steve’s promotion to General Manager, as role he has held since 1995.
There were two major issues that Ehrenreich has with working in the restaurant. The first one is the management and the second issue is the amount of money she makes. The management is views as the enemy to the employees; making new rules for the staff and the endless accusations about the employees behaviors. The salary for restaurant employees makes it hard to secure housing, prescription drugs, and any unexpected expense. “Serving in Florida” written by Barbara Ehrenreich is a reflected recap of her time working in the restaurant industry.
People are consumed with their own reality that they didn’t even acknowledge me sitting at a table watching them. Each person seemed to have their own stories different from everyone else’s. For the most part, the employees seemed to have similar interests in wanted to produce the best customer service. The customers had the same goal of wanting to try a new popular restaurant they might have been unfamiliar with. Overall, the general consensus was that a majority of people wanted to get on with their day with as little human interaction as
Loud.” The staff was not comfortable with her habit of singing at the top of her lungs, bossing other, more experienced women around, and extolling to the crew how great her abilities were in the kitchen. The old crew clearly had certain norms that each member followed, and disruptive behavior was not one of them. In short, these factors adversely affected kitchen staff morale and performance. The staff harbored great resentments toward the management, fellow personnel, and the new allocation of tasks.
One key design principle of this establishment was of a casual sit-in dining restaurant opposed to being seated with a server and menus, a person must order from the front. This cuts down on the time it takes a family to wait, settle in, wait, and then order off or a menu. Also the restaurant is spacious and has a lot of seating allowing for a rush of people with no problem. Another key design that governed that effectiveness of this process what the way the kitchen was mostly exposed and in the front. If you were sitting close to the front you could watch your food be prepared. I’m sure the cooks feel the extra pressure being under the watchful eye of the people whom the food belongs to. Another design principle that governs the effectiveness of the process in Jason’s Deli is the menu itself. The menu is pretty diverse but the one common denominator is that the food is recognized as healthy and made from the freshest ingredients possible. Finally I would add the self-servicing drink station is another key design principle because this cuts down on the time it take to wait for a waitress for a drink refill (if this were a formal restaurant).
Panera Bread’s atmosphere is enjoyable. The employees and the managers keep the restaurant clean at all times. When I walked into the restaurant for the first time there were visible employees wiping off the table and sweeping. Panera Bread has almost no trash visible around the entire restaurant. Looking around, there were no trash cans in sight; they were hidden by doors and cabinets. Panera Bread receives ample amount of customers a day keeping the restaurant clean is important, but the workers keep everything running smoothly as well. While waiting in a moderately long line, the employees immediately noticed the incoming rush and started working as a team to get the customers and myself in and out. Along with the workers helping to make the line move faster, the customers in line around me are keeping conversation. We are entertaining each other making the wait time appear shorter. With the great customers and keeping the restaurant clean, Panera Bread workers and managers keep the restaurant well managed. The noise level is separated by the location of dining. In front of me a group a friends decided to have lunch at a table laughing and enjoying themselves and a woman behind me chose to eat alone while reading a book, sitting in a quiet corner. More importantly the manager was always walking around making sure tables were clean, and trash was not i...
Or should I say something was missing? Besides three or four cars the parking lot was empty. I was in shock. Even we are closed the parking lot is more full than it was at that moment. As I parked made my way to the store entrance I could see some of my managers and fellow employees standing outside with signs. “Don’t Feed Corporate Greed” and “Market Basket Strong” were plastered all over the place. Walking into the store was kind of scary. It was a ghost town. There was no one at the checkout and only one customer service women in the courtesy booth. She looked at me smiled and said “It’s going to be a busy day” in an extremely sarcastic voice. I chuckled, smiled back, and proceeded to log myself in. My manager came inside and asked if I wanted to protest. I was skeptical at first because I wasn’t quite sure if he was kidding or not. He enthusiastically handed me a large blank piece of poster paper and a marker. “Write something but keep it appropriate” he said. “This is a peaceful protest Tommy and we want to keep it that
The restaurant business is a challenging industry and if a company has a strategy that works for them as well as their employees, it should stay the course and tweak as needed.
At Chipotle, a Mexican fast food restaurant, the customer approached the first station where he ordered a burrito. The first employee asked “What can I get started for you?” The customer then replied with “Andrew will get a chicken burrito.” The employee proceeded then to warm a tortilla and ask the customer what kind of rice and beans he would like. The customer responded in similar fashion, saying, “Andrew will take some brown rice and no beans.” It was then that the customer began to look at the customer with a confused look. She did not say anything, and she continued to keep creating the burrito. When the customer went to the next part of the burrito-creating process (with a new employee), he did not begin his responses with “Andrew will have” but rather stating what he wanted on the burrito (e.g. “pico, sour cream and cheese, please.”). The next employee was the cashier, responsible for ringing up the customer for his food. The cashier asked the customer if the burrito was going to be it for him. The customer responded with “That’s going to be it for Andrew today.” The cashier then acknowledged the customer and then proceeded to check the customer out. Once the checkout was completed, the customer said “Thank you,” and left the restaurant.
...lso more faster at taking orders and delivering them to the tables faster the newcomers. This was very easy to spot. From the interview I conducted with the server I learned that the newcomers learn the language of Chili’s during their training when they are first hired. When the newcomers pick it up it becomes easier for them to communicate easily. This goes for learning the genres and knowledge too.
“I’ve been here for ten minutes and my server hasn’t taken my order yet!” This is a direct quote from me before I worked at a restaurant. I never looked to see how many tables my server actually had or how much running I made them do. The sad truth is most people do not notice these details either, which may affect the tip their server will receive. By looking at the attitude and maintenance of restaurant customers, you can classify them into three categories according to their tipping patterns: the “hmm…how good were they? tippers,” “the “stick-to-the-fifteen-percent tippers,” and the “I-am-or-once-was-a-server tippers”.
When reading the opening lecture I cringed at the thought of dealing with communication. Sort of that belly ache feeling you get when you had to do an oral presentation in front of the class in elementary school. I understand have a number of strong qualities but self-image and my perception are still traits I long to improve.
However, not only the high quality standards of food affects the business, the staff who are presently providing the service are entitled to establishes him or her self with their tone (the sound of the voice), manner (the level of maturity), language and body language well enough to satisfy the customer and to make them appreciated of feeling more welcomed and values them as a proper customer. E.g. if a customer was about to speak the staff operating the till would say hello, may I take your order please,' and when their products are given Thank you and please come again.'
Restaurants provide homogeneous products, though service delivery may differ from one place to another depending on the caliber of regular customers registered over a period of time as well as the target market. This means in most cases, service delivery will remain the main factor behind success of any enterprise in the hospitality industry.
According to the standard requirements, all stuff should be trained However, No training, no monitoring, and no records. This was the biggest gap which lead to ignorance and mistakes. Even if they are not supported, they must intensify the arrangement and hygiene.