4.2 Service Advantage
Significantly, Eat Me patrons talk about the friendly staff .The good food is the common second notation. Each member of the service staff has been trained and encouraged to have social interaction with the patrons. They can speak English well and conduct their service in a polite manner, all with a genuine smile on their faces. This presentation is a key job requirement as the majority of Eat Me customers are short-stay foreign tourists. Restaurant manager Mr. Pinsiri explained that all Eat Me servers have been trained to pay attention to service details, no matter how seemingly insignificant. To illustrate, should some mishap occur at a particular Table, servers are trained to be proactive and vigilant in order to prevent repeat mistakes. During a peak period when service failures are more likely to occur, both managers Mr. Pinsiri and Mr.Orellana will be more attentive to customer service, seeking to lessen opportunities for repeat service failure. At fine dining restaurants such as Eat Me, repeated service mistakes lead to dissatisfied customers who aMe staff. Additionally, should a food order be unavoidably delayed for a significant amount of time, the patron will be informed of the reason by the staff member, who will in turn often add a complementary drink as an apology. Another example would be if a customer feels that their food is too spicy, overcooked, or is lacking in taste quality, the staff has been trained to replace the food immediately with a sincere apology, or if appropriate, to provide a refund and/or discounted bill. Finally, if a customer has been delayed due to waiting for the bill, or if the bill is incorrect, the staff has been trained to give an immediate apology with an explanation for the delay or mistake, thus preventing the service mistake leading to negative word of mouth publicity.
4.3 A Positive Organizational Culture
According to Mr. Hausler, Eat Me has created and developed a positive organizational culture with an emphasis on rewarding staff, instead of emphasizing discipline, and placing strong emphasis on individual growth. Failing to praise employees for fine performance is not a productive strategy and can create a negative workplace environment. Even though most employees would seldom seek praise, a good management strategy using positive effects for morale has clearly documented that sincere praise, and even small rewards, to diligent staff provide tremendous value. Specifically, Eat Me staff are treated similarly to a family member. If mistakes are made, regardless of severity, a chance is always given for explanation and improvement in order to avoid staff dismissal.
An emphasis on individual staff growth is a positive aspect of the organizational culture at Eat Me. Owner Darren Hausler attests that he proactively encourages his staff’s professional development; this despite the fear that an employee may eventually leave because of finding better employment opportunities on their career path precisely because of their work experience at Eat Me. However, he professes his willingness to share his restaurant experience with his staff to whom he always provides advice or support if they want to pursue a hospitality industry career. Eat Me is committed to a philosophy of encouraging employee growth and advancement, even should a better opportunity elsewhere arise.