Savvy service or slack standards?

Every outlet in the region is trying to eradicate it, but time and time again, poor service standards crop up as a key customer complaint. Caterer Middle East brought together a collection of experienced F&B customer service experts from across the region at YO! Sushi, Dubai Mall, to address and evaluate one of the major issues dominating discussions on the region’s hospitality scene

What do you make of the general standard of customer service in the Middle East?

Halima Anderson: Coming from a restaurant background, I can say it is a bit distressing at times. I have seen restaurants where the service is absolutely amazing and the bartenders can make an absolutely fantastic drink. On the other hand, I have seen the exact opposite where you have the wrong people in the wrong places. They could be working in an outlet with a beautiful atmosphere, but sometimes the service just seems to be in utter chaos.

Sunit Agale: The service level changes from restaurant to restaurant. The hospitality industry in the Middle East has grown a lot in recent years and we have experienced international chains entering the region, bringing with them a hiring process that has been both external and local. A lot of staff coming into the region do not find themselves confident enough or comfortable in terms of adjusting to the service level or the service requirements.

Joachim Textor: Basically, there is a lack of consistency. At Rotana we train staff for six months or one year but then often they will move on. We have had a lot of transfers and it’s a process that means we have to start all over again. Customer service training is effective, but it’s a process we have to keep restarting, over and over.

Subhash Chandra Kumar: I train my staff for six months, after which new hotels open up and half of my staff will leave. Training is very important, but maintaining a consistent service level in this region is challenging.

Every hotel trains its staff but every hotel has a different standard. And staff turnover in this region is simply higher than anywhere else, which affects customer service standards.

Waleed Haj Ali: In that case it is important to have a proper succession plan within the company and to fill vacancies from within the company. We often hire and promote people from within the company at Gourmet Gulf.

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Mahmoud Harb: The standard of service in Dubai is simply not there. I come from Lebanon, where you will find a specific level of service you cannot find in Dubai. Unfortunately we have noticed that customers are accepting it, but I think everyone should definitely be looking at revising their service standards.

Textor: I would say customers are accepting it because what choice do they have?

Anderson: People are lowering their expectations; what’s important is to recruit the right people, as this is where bad standards start.

If you have a member of staff whose personality doesn’t lend itself to working in front-of-house, then maybe they’re better being placed in back-of-house. First of all, put the people in the right place and secondly take care of them — if they’re happy you’ll get longevity out of them and in the long run you can save on resources.

How important is customer service in regards to other operational aspects in an outlet — for example, is the quality of the food more important than the service?

Anderson: I’d say that food and service are equally important. I’m a lover of food and I’m very critical about the food I put in my mouth, but would you return to a restaurant if the service was poor?

Textor: For me, food is more important in an outlet; however it is important that the service complements the food.

Harb: I believe the food quality comes first. If you like the food at a restaurant but didn’t like the service, then the next time you can order take away. Sometimes the service can be bad, but people will be queuing up because the food is so good.

Agale: The best chef can serve the best food, but if the service is bad the customer will not come back; there should be a harmony between the food and the service.

Hospitality cannot be bought from a shop, so we need to continually train our staff. The food can be top class, but the service has to be in line with that.

Kumar: Service and hospitality has to go hand-in-hand. If anything from either side goes wrong then the customer will not come back to the outlet. If the service is slow, there’s a possibility they may no longer want their meal. The quality of the food is as important as the quality of the service, in my opinion.

Kevin Wills: Every outlet and menu we have is customised. In one outlet, service could be more important than the food and in another, the food could be more important. They are often so interlinked that they cannot be separated.

Service begins in the kitchen and it isn’t just about taking care of the guest: service is about everything from taking care of the server who’s taking care of the guest, to ensuring the steward in the kitchen has enough material to clean the dishes in the backroom.