The Oppertunity To Give A Gift.....

We talk about Zheng-attude or what we see as taking the extra step...  We sometimes take for granted what exactly we do in the restaurant/hospitality business.  I feel we are lucky because we have the oppertunity to make people happy.  Does it happen all the time?  Not always.  Does it happen 98% of the time...yes :) 

We have an oppertunity to give a gift to everyone who comes through the door, to practice our art of hospitality.  Sure alot of times we are here for the money, to make tips.  But we come in contact with so many people during the day, we have so many chances to make someones day better.  That is the fun part of what we do. 

Now we have so many examples of how we do this and I know things happen everyday that do not get recognized by me or your other crew members.  But take pride in knowing that we appreciate it and the people you come into contact with appreciate it.  But I wanted to share this example with you because it really hit home. 

We had a couple that really enjoyed their meal at the Riviera a couple of weeks ago, they asked Richie to come out and say hi.  This was nice because they really appreciated the pride that the whole crew put into their evening.  The lady was a vegan and asked if they gave enough notice could the kitchen prepare something special for her and Richie said sure.  Would this create extra work sure but Richie was taking pride in his craft/art, which for him is his food.  The couple called a few weeks later and said they wanted to drive from denver for their aniversary dinner and would the kitchen do a vegan option for the wife.  Richie said no problem.  Not only did they do a vegan option he brought in a table cloth, candles and roses for these people.  The couple was blown away!!!!  No one told Richie to do this. He took it upon himself to make their evening special, that was the gift he and his staff were able to give.  It turns out the gentleman is a journalist from denver and he would like to write a story on the riv.  Now Richie did not know this at the time but he put his gift out there anyway and it just so happened.....

Now I know this is an extreme example, but the overall point is you have the ability to make hundreds of people a day a little bit better by giving the gift of you and your personality.  Sure there is good food and drink in there but the real art is your interaction. So have fun with people, get to know them, throw that kitchen guy or girl a compliment, let a customer know you like their shoes...what ever. 

If you are working at GRIND get out and check in with the customers, make sure they are recognized, at Zheng or the Riv say hi to that table that you recognize but are not in your section.  It is just the little extra that makes the difference.