Service

             We interact with service providers many times every day. In fact, most of us are service providers of some sort ourselves. Doctors, lawyers, chefs, accountants, stock brokers are just a few that quickly come to mind. What is it that makes the service we receive exceptional?

            Service is defined as the action of helping or doing work for someone. That’s a fair definition, but there’s a lot more to it. Service to me is asking a service provider for something and them giving it to you. For example, at a restaurant you ask your waiter for a drink and he brings it to you. Poor service is asking for something and not getting what you asked for. For example, same restaurant scenario, ask for a drink, your waiter brings you the wrong drink and has to go back correct their error. Of course, the human element is involved so errors will happen, but a good service provider will make few errors and when they do make them they will compensate for their mistakes is some way. Maybe the waiter will buy you that drink or the next one.

The guest experience is paramount to a good service provider. We choose what and where we are served. I could stay at home and have all of the perfectly made food or cocktails that I want, but I often want someone else to take care of it for me so I can relax. Sometimes I just want to just let someone else handle all of the details for me, so I can relax.

My wife and I love dining out at fine dining restaurants. We usually order the tasting menu and let the chef decide what we are going to eat, only noting to our waiter any food allergies or strong dislikes that we may have. We’ll also order the wine pairing to let the sommelier choose what we should be drinking with our meals. It’s pure luxury to have true passionate professionals choose your meal for you.

I wouldn’t do this just anywhere, however. I cooked before I got into household work and I worked for some of the best in the business, and some of the not so best in the business as well. I trained under Julian Serrano, then of Masa’s in San Francisco (now of Picasso at the Bellagio in Las Vegas), Michel Richard of Citrus Restaurant in Los Angeles, and Steven and Mitchell Rosenthal, then of Postrio Restaurant in San Francisco. I had the best schooling of all working for those men. I learned passion for my chosen field, quality standards and what great service really meant.

When we go out now, we go to Masa’s, where Gregory Short now upholds the standards that I learned at Masa’s when I was there. We also trust Per Se in New York, where my good friend worked (he’s now the chef of the new Bouchon Restaurant in Beverly Hills). We cooked together at Sundance Resort in Utah many moons ago. Or Michael Mina, who has amazing standards that are upheld in all his restaurants. I could keep going, Gary Danko in San Francisco, Picasso in Las Vegas, L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon at the Four Seasons in New York. The list goes on, but it’s actually pretty short. These places are made what they are by the passionate professionals who hold themselves to standards that are high above those of people who are just doing a job. We’ve all been to good restaurants, but how often do you go to a great restaurant?

A great restaurant (or shop, theater, club, diner) is made great by the people that it employs, their passion for service and the overall guest experience. I reflect back on my post entitled “No, you say?” and see that in my interactions with service providers, I’m immediately put on the defensive when someone tells me “no” right off the bat.

“Do you have this in a size large?”

“No.”

A good service provider would go the extra mile and do everything they could to avoid telling me no.

I was recently in a children’s store, as we are expecting our third child, looking for a kit to convert our crib into a bassinet. I was told no at another store, then called the manufacturer and they told me that I could in fact get this kit from any retailer that carried their brand. I asked at the store I hadn’t been to and the ladies told me that they didn’t think it was possible, but that they would check. I got a little perturbed, as I already knew they could get it. They told me that the buyer would call me when he was in.

I received a call and the buyer told me that it’s not something that the company sells separately any longer, but that he could order the full crib/bassinet kit, break it apart for us and just sell us the part that we needed. Now, that’s what I’m talking about!!! The sale might be small ($180), but now I’ll go back there again when I need something. I knew that I could buy the kit from an online retailer, as I was told I could by the manufacturer, but I wanted to buy the part locally. The buyer’s willingness to bend the rules and make my experience a pleasant one has gained him and his store a loyal customer who will tell everyone he meets what a great store it is! Sounds like we both win!

           

I could go on about service forever, and I’ll go on some more another time. Until then, remember that if you’re providing a service, do everything that you can to avoid telling your customer no. Make them happy. If you’re a customer, reward the business and service providers that go the extra mile with your loyalty. If you do, there will eventually be a lot more good service providers around as they’ll be the only ones to survive this tough economy.