I was sitting with Ivan the General Manager of the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa engaging our creative faculties and sharing the ingenious thoughts. Whenever we meet, this is the kind of conversations we have. We like to explore new ideas and share how to turn them into reality. All of a sudden our conversation was interrupted!
“Good evening gentlemen, my name is Moses I am your waiter
this evening. I have an assortment of hot and cold beverages that I am serving
this evening. I will start with the hot ones. I have cappuccino, mochaccino,
hot chocolate……..”
His General Manager replied, “You said you have a mochaccino, what is that?”
“It is similar to the cappuccino, the difference is that it
has a bitter taste because of the strong coffee and it comes in a smaller cup
than the cappuccino,” Moses replied confidently.
When it was time to finally order our beverages Ivan ordered
the famous cappuccino and I decided to explore the mochaccino. Let me confess. I had never heard about a mochaccino up until
that time. So what made me order it?
It is Moses’ amazing product knowledge. Not only could he
remember more than ten beverages available that evening but he could also
differentiate between them with so much confidence. I was impressed, sold out
completely. This is the stuff that great waiters are made of!
Knowledgeable and confident personnel who deliver great
service to customers do not come on their own accord. They require developing a
service culture through an investment into strategy, training, implementation
and retraining of employees. As an employer you need a well-crafted strategy
that is implemented across board. All the facets of the organization should
work harmoniously to deliver exceptional service. It should be like a well-oiled
machine providing seamless service. New entrants into the organization have to
be taken through the drill of service excellence. They need to understand the
service philosophy and walk the talk.
Every three to four months a refresher course has to be
carried out. This can obviously not be as intensive as the first one because it
will be focusing on problematic areas that have been identified during the
three months interval. This is a must do. In order to become great the
investment into retraining cannot be over emphasised.
Creating a service culture is the only way that guarantees exceptional service delivery. Go ahead and do it. You will reap the rewards and they are immeasurable. The next time I am at the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa, guess what I am going to order? Another cup of mochaccino!
Yes, you read it correct!! Another cup of mochaccino. Forget about its bitter taste. If it comes with great service, why not?
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