TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION - THE STORY OF WILLIAM WALDORF AND GEORGE C. BOLDT

  

WILLIAM WALDORF ASTOR AND NANCY ASTOR

GEORGE CHARLES BOLDT
(April 25, 1851 to December 5, 1916)
He was a Prussian-born American hotelier. A self-made
millionaire, he influenced the development of urban hotel
as a civic social centre and luxury destination.

 It was a stormy night. an elderly couple looking for a room for a night, came to Belle Vue Hotel, Philadelphia. The young clerk at the desk informed the couple that all rooms of his hotel were booked and also that not a single hotel room was available that night in Philadelphia because of an international conference. 


          However, seeing their plight, he decided not to let them to go out in that bad weather. He, therefore, offered them his personal room. The couple were reluctant as that would cause great inconvenience to the young clerk. "Where are you going to sleep, young man, if you give your room to us?" asked the old man. "Oh, I am young and single. I can sleep at the reception area in the night. I insist that you accept my offer as I cannot let you go out in this storm. You may not even get a taxi in this kind of weather." Having been left with no choice, the elderly couple accepted the young man's offer and spent the night in his personal room. 


          Next morning, before leaving the hotel the old man after having expressed his gratitude offered a handsome reward to the young man. "Please don't embarrass me with offer of money for my room. I didn't give my room expecting any monetary compensation. I just wanted to be of some help to you." The old man was really touched by the young man's compassion as well as high sense of honesty. "You are really a good human being, my son! I thought God had stopped making people like you. What are you doing herein such a small hotel? A person like you should become the manager of the best hotel in the world."


          "I am quite happy working here in this small hotel and moreover, I don't have skills to run anything bigger than this. However, thank you for your kind words and compliments." said the clerk.


          "Tell me, if I built some day the best hotel in the world, would you come and join me?" asked the old man with a cunning smile. The young man thought this as some kind of jovial gesture of an old man at an emotional moment. "Yes, if you built one, I will definitely join", said the young man, wanting somehow to get rid of the old couple as he had to take up the pressing list of day's work lying on his desk. "Good bye", said the old man. "You would hear from me soon." "Good bye", replied the young clerk.


          Three years passed, the young clerk was already promoted to become manager of the hotel. While going through his mail one day, he opened an envelope and found a return air ticket to New York, with an invitation letter to attend an inaugural function. However, not much details about why was he invited, were given. 


          The young man became curious and decided to go. Upon his arrival at New York, the young man was welcomed by his host who personally took him downtown. There, in front of him, lay the finest hotel he had ever seen.


          "That," said the gentleman, "is the hotel I built for you to manage." While standing on the street corner beside the soon-to-be world-renowned WALDORF-ASTORIA HOTEL, the young clerk, GEORGE C. BOLDT, was titled its first manager. 


          For the next twenty three years, until his death in 1916, Boldt remained faithful to the hotel and to the confidence WILLIAM WALDORF ASTOR had placed in him.    

WALDORF ASTORIA HOTEL

Article Source :

TRUTH IS STRANGER THAN FICTION - THE STORY OF WILLIAM WALDORF AND GEORGE C. BOLDT

The Moral of this Story:- "Do not turn your back on those who are in need, for they might be angels"

The Brilliant Basics to Exceptional Restaurant Service

Service in the front is as important as as a good chef. I have mentioned this in my website Restaurant Promo Ideas previously. You can have the best Michelin Star Chef, but if your staff can't sell the product or can't get the food item to the customers table properly and promptly. You will slowly loose your customers.As customers are the life blood of any restaurant, your business will gradually decline. There are lots of resources on the net to help you train your service staff both free and with a price tag. This free ebook consist of 13 chapters of the author's experiences and knowledge in relation to restaurant service. The Brilliant Basics to Exceptional Restaurant Service

11 Ways to Say Thank You to your Employees

Train Your Staff how to Handle Different People's Requirements

Different people have different likes, dislikes and requirements. So I would like to suggest that you train your staff on the different groups of people. When I was a waiter, we were trained on ways as to how to give the best and appropriate customer service to a certain group. We were trained how to serve elderly, the tired, the hurried and so on and so on. So nowadays as part of my training to my service personnel, I have added training on ways to better serve different groups of people. Below are some of the ways. Maybe you can use it in your own training.

1. The Early Customers
Most of the time the service personnel will normally frown when the customer comes early before they have set up. Train your staff to receive them courteously and let them when service will begin. Offer them a drink perhaps coffee and newspaper or magazine to read to keep them occupied.

2. The Late Customer
As always make them feel welcomed. Train your staff to provide good service without making them feel that they are being hurried. Ensure the service personnel inform the guest 15 minutes before kitchen or the buffet is closing to give them time to order other things example desserts.

3. The Customer that's in a Hurry
Recommend something that the kitchen is able to prepare fast like a hot soup or sandwich perhaps. If there's a buffet then recommend it. Train your staff to let them know how long the items will take to prepare. Provide the best possible service you can offer. Ensure the staff is pleasant but don't waste time talking stories.

4. The Angry Customers
Most of the time your staff will avoid guest like this but if handled well this type of guest can be a regular to your outlet. Listen to their comment; thank him for calling this to your attention. Try to rectify the error but if its beyond your job scope, then get someone to handle. Don't forget to inform him that you are you are passing his comment to another person who is able to handle the situation,

5. The Tired Customers
Sit them at a quiet table and assist them with packages and coats. Set them in a quiet table. Assist them with their clothes and packages. If the weather is cold then suggest a hot soup, hot drink. On hot days suggest a chilled salad or even a frozen drink. Avoid disturbing them as they might just want to relax quietly.

Converse in the Language of the Locals

Malaysia is a multicultural country, so you will have different languages used. Even though Bahasa Malaysia is the national language and English is taught in schools, you still need to use the local language or dialect. This will then make the locals happy and thus create lasting relationship. This was apparent when I was working in a resort in Cameron Highlands. I have always worked in places that people understood Bahasa Malaysia or English, so it was easy to create promotional materials to attract the locals to my restaurant. So naturally I brought the same thinking to Cameron Highlands. What I didn't realize was that most of the locals were farmers who were only fluent in Chinese. So whatever flyers or promotional materials that we sent out was just rubbish to them, which I only found out after talking to a local farmer. Now I have software that I can write out menus and flyers in Chinese. I even hired a clerk and a few staff that can read, write and understand Chinese. Well this got the attention of the local Community and now they are frequenting my outlets. In the months of June till August, we get allot of Middle Eastern customers as they want to escape the heat in their country. So for these months my promotional materials are written in Arabic. How its even easier with Google Translator.
If you can learn the local language or dialect, that is even better. The locals will warm up to you if you took the trouble to learn their language. This I found to be true when I was attached to a hotel in Thailand. The Thais were so happy that I could speak their language and even my staff respected me more.

When a Customer Walks in your Door

Here is a checklist or steps that you can use to train your staff in delivering quality customer service. I use this steps in my trainings. Got it from a friend and I have added some of my own experience into it. Its a sequence that starts from the time the customer walks in till the time he leaves your establishment.

When someone walks into your store, you must always remember that he/ she is a potential customer. You and your staff need to:

1) Be visible as soon as he enters your store

By acknowledging him, you will give him the impression that you value his business. Look up from your point of sales, stop whatever you are doing for the moment. If your work needs you to be away from the area, such as going in and out of the storeroom, then you need to have some kind of gadget that alerts you when a customer enters your store. I have seen some not to expensive ones that run on batteries. It gives out a sound everytime someone passes its beam of light. You can put it at the entrance doorway.

2) Greet the customer in a friendly manner.

The resort where I started my career had this Japanese Restaurant. The staff there greeted everyone that walked in the door by calling out "Good Evening" loudly in Japanese. Even the cooks behind the counters greeted the same way. The manager there said that's the way the Japanese greeted their customers. Well you don't have to follow that style. Just greet the customer how the community around you greets their friends.
Make eye contact, don't stare. Smile, don't grin. And say something such as, “Good (time of day). How may I help you?”

3) Show that you are willing to help.

By acknowledging and greeting the customer, you will give him/ her the impression that you are ready to assist. Nobody likes to be followed around or rushed while they browse through your menu or your store. So train staff not to continually follow customers around or rush them through the menu. Even interrupting them every few minutes to ask them how they are doing will sure to annoy them and chase them away. If the customer says "Just looking around" or "Just browsing" , just let them browse and after a while approach them to enquire if they have found what they’re looking for.

4) Listen carefully if the customer has an enquiry.

Listen carefully to what he has to say. The way to show that you are actively listening is by making eye contact, nodding, or even jotting down notes. Ask questions when the customer is finish if its necessary to get more details that will enable you to solve the problem. Never and I say it again Never interrupt a customer when he or she is speaking. You can’t listen when your mouth is moving. This is what I tell my staff about active listening "God gave you two ears and one mouth, so as you listen more and talk less."
Be sure that you and your staff know your products and services inside out. I ussually make my staff repeat the product knowledge of a new item daily in our briefing until I or my assistant is sure that the staff knows the product by hard. I ask them to say in their own words, so as they don't sound like a robot. For good customer service, tell customers what they want to know, not everything you know about it.

5) Always be cheerful, courteous and respectful
Throughout your interaction with the customer maintain a professional image. Never, never ridicule him if he ask a not too bright question. Remember he is paying our salary. Again never judge him by appearance I have seen some people who are dressed simple but they have the money to purchase your product. So be nice to everybody.

6) Make sure you end on a sweet note.

Even if the customer doesn't want to buy anything, you should end the interaction on a sweet note. Never pull a long face or grumble. You should never use phrases like, “Here we go again” or “Okay, then” and turn your back to the customer. If the customer is not ready to buy, you can suggest , “Is there anything else I can help you with?”, “Would you like a brochure?”, or “Would you like to try that on?”
If he or she wants to buy something, escort or direct the customer to the counter where you or someone else will go through the payment procedure with him.