Get it yourself!? Why some in Scottish 'hospitality' need to learn from America – Joe Goldblatt
Joe Goldblatt contrasts two experiences of customer service, one in Edinburgh, the other in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Ever since Covid struck, the challenges faced by restaurants have dramatically increased. The cost of doing business has risen significantly and their profit margins have diminished so much that many have faced closure. One side-effect of these numerous challenges appears to be the diminishing service being offered to their guests.
Recently, my wife and I experienced this in a popular Edinburgh restaurant. We were seated promptly in this very busy establishment. The server approached our table and asked if we would like to start with drinks. We replied that we would like a glass of tap water.
“You need to collect it yourself from the counter,” she said, pointing to a jug and glasses halfway across the room. We were surprised a restaurant that charges £21 for a main course would require their guests to fetch their own water.
Bring your own cutlery?
A few minutes later a second server delivered our meals and we asked her why we were required to serve ourselves. “I am sorry. I do not think this policy is correct,” she said, frowning. She then brought a jug to our table and filled our glasses.
The term hospitality means to serve others. If the guests are required to serve ourselves, where will it take us? Will we need to bring our own knives, forks, glasses and plates in the future to save a dishwasher’s salary?
The next day, I received an email from the restaurant asking us to “rate our experience”. I wrote a brief note describing my dismay about having to serve myself and the restaurateur promptly wrote back complaining about the rising costs of doing business and reminding me that water and the utensils required to serve it are not free. These costs, they stated, must be recovered to remain in business.
Whilst I’m sympathetic to the hospitality sector’s challenges, I also worry about future reputational decline.
Greeted like an old friend
This experience reminded me of when I travelled all night on a train from Boston, Massachusetts, to Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the USA. Upon arrival at my modest hotel, I was surprised to see a middle-aged receptionist wave at me from behind her counter.
I looked over my shoulder to see if she was saying hello to an old friend, but she pointed her index finger at me, smiled broadly, and gestured for me to step forward. “Welcome to our hotel, We have been expecting YOU!” she said warmly.
I was surprised by her enthusiasm as in some hotels the first words you hear are, “how would you prefer to pay?” My new friend leaned confidentially across the counter and asked: “What would you like to do first?”
Behind her was a casino, to her left was a cafe, to her right was a spa providing massage and facials, and finally behind me was a series of high-end shops with gifts I might bring home to my own family.
I shrugged my shoulders and told her that I was awfully tired and would like to go straight to my room for a shower before giving a midday speech to 1,000 people in her grand ballroom.
A free breakfast
Then, as if she was a genie about to shout “master, your wish is my command!”, she tapped her well-manicured fingers upon her computer keyboard. A few seconds later she raised her eyes to mine and said, with an even bigger smile, “Professor Goldblatt, I would like to invite you to be our guest for a complimentary continental breakfast in our cafe while we prepare the most lovely room for you. Will you please accept my gift?”
Of course, I realised what she was really saying was that, at 10am in the morning, my room was not available. However, instead of telling me I had to clean my own room, she was offering me a complimentary service of a free breakfast which was a nominal cost for the hotel.
l immediately accepted her gift, enjoyed my croissant and coffee, and soon a bellman approached my table and announced “sir, please follow me and I shall bring you and your suitcases to your beautiful room”.
The room was not exceptional, nor particularly beautiful. However, due to the generosity and enthusiasm of the receptionist and the bellman, I was genuinely surprised and delighted.
Keep the magic alive
In my view, this is what is missing from modern hospitality. Due to the financial challenges being faced by owners and operators, some of the magic seems to be slipping away. And when a guest in a first-class restaurant is told that they must serve themselves the water, to me this is a tipping point that will result in me not patronising their establishment in the future.
A wise business leader told me many years ago that it only takes a little extra service to retain a customer in the future and it only takes a small mistake to lose a customer forever. In the US state of Louisiana, this extra service is called “lagniappe” which means “a little something extra”. One example of this is when the baker adds a free thirteenth donut to his baker’s dozen.
I sincerely hope that restaurant and hospitality professionals will find other ways to reduce their rising costs without forcing their guests to serve themselves. After all, if a small hotel in Atlantic City can surprise and delight me with their ethos of service, perhaps all hospitality enterprises may aspire to this same magical standard?
Joe Goldblatt is emeritus professor of planned events at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland. His views are his own. To learn more about his views visit www.joegoldblatt.scot
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