The success of any food service business depends on a great extent on the quality and behavior of the staff working there, The importance of attribute of food and beverage service staff required for food service staff are as follows:
Personal hygiene
This attribute of food and beverage staff is most important for the service staff as they are constantly handling food and beverage, and often go near the guests. No guests will patronize a restaurant if the food and drinks are handled by the staff who are unhygienic or with bad breath and body odor. The efforts gone into making good quality dishes will certainly not be appreciated by guests if served by staff with poor personal hygiene.
To ensure proper personal hygiene, all staff should:
- Bathe twice a day or at least once. to avoid body odor.
- Brush teeth and use mouth wash daily.
- Have regular dental check-ups for good dental care.
- Wash hand frequently, especially after the use of the toilet.
- Not touch any of the facial parts or touch the blemishes as our skin carries disease-causing bacteria.
- Not sneeze, cough, or blow nose near food and in the work area.
- Not bite nails.
- Not use handkerchief in the restaurant.
- Keep shoes well polished.
- Wear a clean and well-laundered uniform.
for male staff
- Should shave daily
- Hair must be short and well-groomed
- Nails should be clean and well-trimmed.
- Beard and mustache should be trimmed.
- Should not use excessive or strong body spray or uniform.
For female staff:
- Hair should be short and tied up
- Excessive makeup should be avoided.
- Nails should be clean and well-trimmed.
- Jewelry should not be worn, however, wedding and engagement ring and simple ear stud are allowed.
- stockings should be clean.
- Sandals, high heels, slipper, open-back shoes, and slip are not acceptable and are unsafe, shoes with laces should be worn.
A high level of stamina and good health is required for both male and female food and beverage service staff as they have to be on their feet throughout the operation hour. This can be achieved by
- Regular exercise.
- Healthy eating habits
- Adequate sleep.
Checking personal hygiene is important and it starts from oneself. It is the responsibility of the head waiter to check the personal appearance and health condition of staff during the briefing.
Punctuality
Staff must report to work on time with a proper uniform and good personal appearance.
punctuality reflects the interest the staff has towards their work. If the staff does not report to duty on time on a regular basis. It shows a lack of interest in the job.
Honesty
It is of paramount importance as it reflects the character of a person. The service staff may be tempted to eat guest’s food steal establishment’s and guest’s property, tell lies to his colleagues and guests, pass on vital information to a competitor, and so on. But it is important to remain honest in the face of such temptations.
Loyalty
The staff should be loyal to the organization in which they are working, They should bad mouth the organization or colleagues to anyone or promote the competitors’ business.
Conduct
The conduct of the service staff is very important. especially in front of guests. Rude behavior towards guests or arguing will damage very quickly the reputation of the establishment that has been built over the years, Rules and regulations of the establishment must be followed and senior staff must be given due respect.
Personality
The staff should be diplomatic, tasteful, courteous, even-tempered, and not controlled by emotions. During service, wait staff come across various challenging and demanding situations that should be handled diplomatically, satisfying both customers and management. They must converse with guests in a pleasing manner and have the ability to smile at the right times.
Attitude towards guests
The attitude of a person determines whether he is successful or is a failure, Positive attitude toward guests will make the service staff successful in their career, The staff with a good attitude will
- Anticipate the guest’ needs and wishes
- Be attentive to guests at all times during service.
- Not ignore the guests’ requests.
- Listen to guests’ complains carefully and immediately solve whatever he can or refer to supervisors in authority
- Be proud of his work
- Take up additional responsibility.
- Show interest in learning new ideas and developments relevant to his field.
- Not indulge in preferential treatment of customers according to the number of tips he receives
- Extend all possible help to his colleagues.
- Report for duty on time regularly, stay back till all the guests leave the restaurant, and obey the instructions of seniors
Sense of urgency
It is very important to increase seat turnover and revenue during business hours.
slow service will lead to low seat turnover and lower revenue. The wait staff should be quick in getting food from the kitchen, serving dishes, presenting bills when completed, and re-lying cover for the next arrival. All these must be done quickly and effectively, without running around and shouting.
Honesty
The service staff are salespersons in the restaurants and must know the products they are selling to customers. It is not possible to sell a product without having adequate knowledge of it. The waiters must know how each dish is prepared, portion, size taste color of the dish, garnish, waiting time required in the case of a la cart menu, accompaniments, correct cover, service procedure, various types of drinks on offer, drink size, correct glassware to be used, the temperature at which served, and so on. The knowledge makes the staff more competent in answering and/or offering suggestions on food and drinks. The waiter with sound product knowledge will always be successful in his work.
Local knowledge
The service staff must have sound knowledge of the area where they work, This will enable them to answer any queries of guests on entertainment, places of interest, shopping area, transport facilities and so on.
Memory
Good memory is an essential asset for service staff, They should be able to remember who has ordered what, who is sitting in which table number, which room number a guest is staying in, the likes and dislikes of guests, where they would like to sit, What type of food they prefer, what type of drinks they like, smoker or non-smoker, name of the guest, and so on. This will help the service staff satisfy the guests to a great extent.
Team spirit
Almost all activities of the food and beverage service areas are carried out by a team of staff. No staff member can think of doing all the activities by himself and be successful in his job without the support of the other members of staff. Therefore, it is necessary that the wait staff have the ability to get along with everyone. They must help colleagues to perform better in their jobs and complete work as a team to satisfy customers.
Communication skills
Very good communication skills are necessary for service staff not only to suggest, explain, and serve the dishes to customers but also to have a good interpersonal relationship. It is always an added advantage to know the local language and any foreign language to interface effectively with guests. Taking to guests in their own language instead of just English is very effective and builds a good relationship.