First impression, bad impression

In the 2010 movie Date Night, Steve Carrell and Tina Fey arrive at an übertrendy seafood restaurant called Claw where the patronizing host answers the phone, “Claw, you’re welcome.” Carrell and Fey’s characters have no dinner reservation and are summarily dismissed. Carrell tells the host, “We’ll be standing right over there,” with the foolish hope that a table may become available. To which, the snotty host replies, “I’ve already forgotten you.”

It’s a funny movie scene and one that is exaggerated for comedic effect. That’s not to say stuff like this doesn’t sometimes happen in real restaurants. I once arrived at an upscale Italian Boston restaurant where a cowboy hat-wearing hostess seated on a barstool behind the podium drank a glass of wine while talking on her cell phone. She refused to acknowledge the growing line of customers waiting to have their reservations honored until she finished her frivolous conversation with a boyfriend. That restaurant, as you might expect, is long gone.

No matter what kind of full-service restaurant you run, the host or hostess has a vital position that sets the tone for what customers may expect. Yet, too many restaurants, after putting in so much effort to get the food and décor right, neglect this important function.

Here are three recent examples of what I’m taking about.

Scenario one: During a visit to a trendy restaurant, I was greeted warmly by a solitary hostess, who acknowledged my reservation.  “Excuse me for a moment,” she said, and left the podium, presumably to see if my table was available on the other side of the restaurant, which is not visible from the podium. It took four and a half minutes for her to return (I timed it). Meanwhile, a number of other customers had arrived at the restaurant wondering why nobody was there to greet them.

Scenario two: I arrived at an upscale restaurant and was also warmly greeted by the host, who was dressed in ragged jeans and a rumpled shirt, while the rest of the staff wore crisp white shirts and vest. Why was the host so sorely underdressed? It sent a confusing message.

Scenario three: I arrive at another hot, new restaurant, where the hostess is standing behind an odd barrier that blocks all but her head. Nevertheless, she makes eye contact and smiles as I approach. As we begin to talk over the wall, a server approaches and the hostess rudely turns away from me to carry on a conversation with the server. There’s simply no excuse for poor manners and bad design.

In the first case, the single hostess arrangement is simply foolish. The other two cases appear to be the results of bad design and poor training. I’d love to hear your thoughts on these scenarios and how you’d fix them.

Meanwhile, take a look at this month’s cover story on ways to speed up service. One of them involves the host/hostess position.

Michael Sanson | Editor-in-Chief
e-mail: [email protected]
web: restaurant-hospitality.com
twitter: @MikeSansonRH