Hospitality After Covid. Part 2 - Being Genuine.

Going through adversity with someone brings you closer together. Just look at the end of any marathon and you'll see strangers hugging and crying together. There's something about a shared struggle that allows us to drop our barriers and let people in.

At the moment we're going through a collective struggle and as a nation we seem (on the whole) to be dropping our barriers, letting people in and collectively coming together for good. I've never seen communities so connected.

These connections, are genuine, authentic, honest and make us feel part of something. We feel heard, we listen, we feel valued and we value those around us.

But now we've become used to these meaningful connections when we experience insincere, or distracted conversation it'll be more apparent than ever.

Now in the past a restaurant might have got away with talking to their guests in a distracted manner, or by reeling off a script, or simply by trying to get the orders in as quickly as possible. When things reopen, insincerity from front-of-house teams will be jarring and ultimately bad for business. The restaurants that can provide that genuine connection will be the ones that do best.

So what can we do to help our teams? Firstly, get rid of any scripts, any generic repetitive spiel that your teams use. As soon as we use scripts all the conversation is one way and it's flat and robotic.

Secondly, slow down. Make that first interaction with a table relaxed. The more slowly you speak, the more the guest has a chance to get involved in the conversation.

“Truly listen to each guest, what are they telling you, what can you connect with.”

Thirdly listen. Truly listen to each guest, what are they telling you, what can you connect with. Allow space between when the guest finished speaking and you start. It makes everyone feel relaxed and heard. Space allows for genuine connection.

Then finally instead of focusing on steps pf service or speed, focus on the emotion you want the guest to feel. How do you want to make them feel? By having a clear intention of how you want your guest to feel you'll bring yourself into the present giving yourself the best possible chance of building a meaningful connection. And that’s what people will be going out for, for genuine human connection not robotic generic BS.