Service
Britain was ranked 14th in the world for its hospitality welcome recently, prompting the industry to take a hard look at its service standards, and whether it's doing enough to attract talent into front of house careers.
Restaurants leave customers playing the waiting game
More than half of UK diners believe that speed of payment is now a more important issue for a restaurant to address than the quality of food, with 89 per cent claiming that slow payment has ruined their evening.
Wadworth opens cookery school to improve pub food quality
Family brewers Wadworth has opened the Wadworth Brewery Cookery School, providing training to members of its managed houses and tenanted pubs, in a bid to raise the food standards across its entire estate.
Service staff lack professionalism of the kitchen, Zagat founder claims
Britain’s front of house staff lack the professionalism and respect found in the kitchen because ‘there are little to no service training schools’, Tim Zagat, co-founder of the eponymous restaurant guide has said.
Encourage all hospitality staff to improve wine knowledge, industry told
Restaurant and bar operators should encourage their British staff to take up sommelier as a career to balance the level of foreign sommeliers in the hospitality industry.
IoH launches hospitality management guide
The Institute of Hospitality has released a new educational guide that aims to provide managers in pubs, restaurants and hotels with key tips and advice on how to manage and motivate their staff.
WorldHost training programme gains LOCOG seal of approval
LOCOG has awarded People 1st’s WorldHost customer service training programme the London 2012 Inspire mark in recognition of the legacy benefits it will bring to UK skills and employment.
People 1st and GoSkills merge for unified hospitality and travel training
The hospitality skills council People 1st has merged with the transport and travel skills council GoSkills in a move designed to streamline customer service training efforts across the sectors.
Fast pub service is amongst top priorities for customers
Speed of service is one of the most important considerations for pub customers, according to a nationwide survey conducted at some of the largest pub chains.
Hotel staff lack knowledge of local areas, finds customer survey
The large majority of people in the UK feel that hotel staff don’t know enough about the local area, which significantly reduces the value of customer service provided.
De Vere opens Greenwich Academy of Hospitality
The hotel and event space group De Vere has opened its fifth Academy of Hospitality, which will train 400 young Londoners in cookery and customer service.
Yohann Jousselin wins UK Sommelier of the Year after six attempts
Yohann Jousselin, head sommelier at the Vineyard at Stockcross, has been named the UK Sommelier of the Year 2011 after six attempts at the title.
Yohann Jousselin: Sommeliers need to be proud and adaptable
An exceptional sommelier is proud of his work and adaptable to any given situation, according to the UK Sommelier of the Year 2011, Yohann Jousselin.
People 1st merger to align hospitality and travel training
The hospitality skills training group People 1st is considering a merger with its counterpart for the UK transport sector, GoSkills, in an effort to pool reduced resources and streamline customer service training efforts.
Brett Graham: The Ledbury’s success is down to service
Brett Graham, chef owner of The Ledbury in Notting Hill, entered the S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards for the first time at number 34 this year.
Service Standards: How to give great hospitality service
Improving your own service skills, as well as those of your staff, can make a noticeable difference in your business and the satisfaction of your customers.
Fat Duck sommelier named Young Sommelier of the Year 2011
Sommeliers at that The Duck in Bray have scooped up the top three awards in the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’ National Young Sommelier of the Year competition, held this week.
Bad restaurant service results in eat-and-run, finds survey
Bad service in restaurants remains the biggest gripe for UK diners, but a new survey has revealed that it also leads many consumers to eat and run.
How to best measure customer service
Jules Murray, of sales and customer service consultants Spider on the Wall tells BigHospitality how restaurants, pubs and hotels can measure customer service in the most cost-effective and beneficial way.
Service standards: How to raise the profile of front-of-house
Michel Roux’s Service TV programme has put front-of-house on the map, but how can the hospitality sector sustain this momentum? BigHospitality takes a look at steps that can be taken to help raise the profile of a career in service.
Savoy Educational Trust pumps funds into hospitality training
The Savoy Educational Trust has pumped almost £60k into education and training initiatives in the UK hospitality sector with the aim of boosting college efforts in the face of university budget cuts.
Service standards: A day at Galvin at Windows
Restaurant magazine’s Stefan Chomka joins the front-of-house team at Galvin at Windows for a glimpse into the service secrets of the Michelin-starred restaurant.
Top restaurant operators reveal their service secrets
Diners are becoming ever more scrutinizing when it comes to service, and less inclined to let a bad restaurant experience slide.
Special feature: Service standards
March is BigHospitality’s Service feature month. Every Monday we’ll be looking at front of house service in the UK. What constitutes good service, and how can the industry help attract more young talent into front of house careers?
Quarter of operators fail to upsell wines
A quarter of hospitality operators are missing out on potential revenue by failing to encourage their staff to upsell wines, research has found.
Pearls of Wisdom: Ronan Sayburn
The Master Sommelier has been Hotel du Vin’s director of wine for 15 months, and previously oversaw the wine offer at Gordon Ramsay Holdings for eight years. He recently appeared on Michel Roux’s Service programme for BBC2, and is now concentrating on perfecting the wine cellars for HDV’s rollout of the standalone Bistro du Vin concept.
Raymond Blanc’s service secrets
Raymond Blanc has set the benchmark for the UK hospitality sector for decades, with many chefs and waiters benefiting from his Oxfordshire hotel and restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons’ inspirational development and training practices.
AFWS training scheme follows Michel Roux TV show
The Academy of Food and Wine Service has launched a training framework that it hopes will continue the momentum created by the BBC2 series Michel Roux's Service, which aimed to raise the profile of front-of-house careers.
Pearls of Wisdom: Michel Roux Jr
The celebrity chef and owner of Le Gavroche recently opened Roux at the Landau with father Albert, following the launch of Roux at Parliament Square earlier this year. He made his TV mark on BBC’s Masterchef: The Professionals in 2008, but is now fronting a new show for the channel promoting front of house careers instead.
Michel Roux Jr promotes service careers in new TV show
Michel Roux Jr has taken a break from promoting chef careers on Masterchef: The Professionals to present a new TV show aiming to raise the profile of front-of-house careers instead.
Olympics customer service training programme gathers support
UK sporting venues such as Twickenham Stadium and Royal Ascot have signed up for a customer service programme introduced last year by People 1st to train hospitality staff ahead of the Olympics.
How to deliver "outstanding" service like The Ivy
With the 2012 London Olympics fast approaching, the hospitality industry needs to step up its service standards to provide visitors with a warm, British welcome.
Customer service training project to reach 200,000 by Olympics
People 1st has launched a new campaign to train 200,000 hospitality and tourism staff in time for the 2012 Olympics
Le Gavroche sommelier receives AFWS Excellence award
The head sommelier at Le Gavroche in London has received one of the top accolades in this year’s Awards for Excellence from The Academy of Food and Wine Service (AFWS)
The Good Pub Guide 2011 blacklists bad service
The 2011 Good Pub Guide has blacklisted 381 pubs after receiving “serious criticism” from their customers, including rude staff and smelly dogs
Premier Inn tests Twitter concierge service
Budget hotel chain Premier Inn will trial a new concierge service, which will allow guests to send in their requests via Twitter
How to maximise your drink sales: the perfect serve
Money made from drinks in food-led operations should account for 30-50 per cent of your total revenue, but even though consumers are now seeking cheaper options, there are a few tricks you can use to help your drinks offering fight back.
AFW calls for Annual Awards for Excellence nominations
The Academy of Food and Wine Service’s Annual Awards for Excellence are now open for nominations from industry employers
Customer service and value 'most important' for diners
Restaurant, hotel and pub operators are being encouraged to monitor their staff’s delivery of customer service after a survey found that almost half have no system in place to do so