Interpersonal Skills - How to Talk to Guests During Service?

Dealing with guests during service

Greetings such as ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good evening’ should be used upon receiving guests or when the member of staff first comes into contact with the customer, for example when lounge service staff attends to people already seated in the lounge.

The list below identifies examples of interpersonal skills needed at particular points during the service.

• Showing guests to their table: always lead and walk with them at their pace.
• Seating customers: ladies first, descending in age unless the host is a lady.
• Handling coats/wraps: handle with obvious care.
• Handling menus/wine lists to customers: Offer the list right away, open it for the guest and wait for them to take it.
• Opening and placing a napkin: Open carefully, do not shake it like a duster, place it on the customer’s lap after saying ‘excuse me’ to the customer.
• Talking to customers: Only talk when standing next to them and looking at them.
• Offering water or rolls: Say, for example, ‘Excuse me Sir/Madam, may I offer you a bread roll?’
• Explaining Food and Beverage items: Use terms the customer understands, not technical terms such as turned vegetable or pane. Use terms that make the item sound attractive such as casserole, not stew, creamed or purée potatoes not mashed. Do not use abbreviations, for example, ‘veg’.
• Being culturally aware: Meeting the needs of customers from other cultures will affect the ways in which staff need to be aware of the dietary requirements of the various religious faiths.
• Serving and clearing: Always say ‘Excuse me’ before serving or clearing and ‘Thank you’ after you have finished with each customer.
• Offering Accompaniments: Only offer them if you have them at the table. Offering them when they are not at the table usually means ‘I will get them if you really want them!’