The Pellucid Perspective - October 2015 - (Page 9)

golf course operations Diners and golfers alike bring new service expectations to the table today By stuart lindsay a friend of mine posted an interesting article about a New York restaurant that was concerned about the number of "bad reviews" they were getting on social media. Although the restaurant is not named, it is apparently a long time favorite with both locals and visitors. They did what many successful businesses do - they hired a firm to help deal with the review issues that mostly emphasized slow service and waiting too long for tables. The "experts" at first suggested that the problem was most likely a combination of inadequate training of the wait staff and a kitchen crew that had trouble keeping up with order volume. When the restaurant owner pointed out that they were serving about the same volume of "plates" and had actually added staff (with training) to try and combat the "bad reviews," the consultants agreed to look a little further. Like many New York restaurants, this establishment was an early adopter of video surveillance and had some old tapes from 2004 to compare with new digital images from 2014. They looked at 45 table transactions from similarly busy nights on Thursday July 1, 2004 and Thursday July 3, 2014. The results could probably provide worthy fodder for a Seinfeld Reunion. Of 45 tables in 2004, only 3 requested a different table. In 2014, 18 groups requested to be seated elsewhere. I guess this should be the first indicator that consumers are changing and feeling more empowered and self-important than ever. In both 2004 and 2014, all 45 were seated and provided menus immediately as the staff has been trained to do. In 2004, virtually all the diners opened and closed their menus within 8 minutes, signaling the observant wait staff to take their orders. In 2014, virtually all the diners left the menus unopened and most tables had at least one diner pull out an electronic device. Seven of the 45 tables immediately summoned the staff for help with their WiFi connection. This not only delayed ordering at those tables, but also diverted the wait staff from taking care of other tables. In 2014, menus remained largely unopened as pictures were taken and probably posted to impress their friends with the famous restaurant they were patronizing. When the wait staff checked about their readiness to order, most of the diners requested more time. In both 2004 and 2014, appetizers were "fired" within 6 minutes of orders being placed. No problem with the kitchen crew in evidence for either test period. In 2014, 26 of 45 tables took pictures of their food once it arrived. Fourteen of 45 took pictures of each other with the food and 27 of 45 requested the wait staff to take a group photo. Fourteen of the 27 requested a retake when they didn't like the first shot. In 2004, 3 of 45 tables returned food. In 2014, 9 diners sent food back to be reheated. In 2014, the diners took an average of 50 minutes longer to complete their meals. By now, at least some of you are wondering what the owner did to solve these issues; and some more of you are thinking I should connect the dots to golf. This is where it gets really interesting, because the owner doesn't have a solution - all he can do is ask these diners to be more considerate. He doesn't understand how his customers can expect to take all these pictures and expect their food not to cool off. To top it off, some of them then post bad reviews for slow service and/or cold food - not to mention the added kitchen load of reheating and the ripple effect of slowing up the preparation process for other diners. How many of you have approached a slow playing group only to be told "we paid our money" and that they effectively don't give an aeronautical intercourse about inconveniencing all the golfers behind them? And then you see the review posts criticizing both aggressive and ineffective marshalling from all concerned. How many of you have figured out ways to improve conditions while controlling expenses? And then you see more complaints about conditions show up on review sites anyway. How many of you have approached a slow playing group only to be told "we paid our money" and that they effectively don't give an aeronautical intercourse about inconveniencing all the golfers behind them? and then you see the review posts criticizing both aggressive and ineffective marshalling from all concerned. www.PellucidCorp.com The Pellucid PersPecTive 9 http://www.PellucidcorP.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Pellucid Perspective - October 2015

TOC
Bureaucracy torpedoes 2 course construction projects
Affordable golf: What’s the problem?
PGA TOUR “Changing of the Guard:” Can the young guns revive participation and demand?
Diners and golfers alike bring new service expectations to the table today
September golf weather impact: A “push” for the month vs. ’14
Miami golf OK, but no day at the beach

The Pellucid Perspective - October 2015