Customer Service Has Moved Toward Customer Care

As I waited for an answer to my technical question from a stereo company, the recording stated a "customer care" representative would be available shortly. With aging baby boomers, world events, and the additional pressures in today's society, it is "customer care" that must evolve in our economy. We have moved from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. And, if we are smart, we will move towards a "servicecare" economy.

We live in a high tech, button touch environment with decreasing personal contacts which makes customer interaction more important than ever to corporate imagery. For example, if you call for computer tech support, the representative often makes it a point to address you by your first name. If it is the office supply company, they may ask, "How are you doing today?" This makes the customer feel less like a number and more like a human being.

The successful restaurateurs always take it one step further towards "servicecare" because they understand that restaurant customer service literally involves the immediate health of the patron - more so than any other industry except for healthcare industry itself.

A recent survey asked diners why they went out to eat, and the main response was "to feel good." This must be true. After all, the word "restaurant" has French origins meaning "to restore." During my waiter period for many years, I felt my job was to restore humanity, especially to diners arriving from a very stressed out day.

In my past dining room service work experiences, I remember certain actions lifting service to this higher level of "servicecare." One time a customer requested margarine that was not available in the restaurant. The owner walked across the street to the grocery purchased the margarine and brought it tableside. The patron was delighted.

Then, there was a regular customer (diabetic) who always got immediate attention with some kind of bread or crackers to keep from feeling faint before her food arrived. If there was a baby present at a table, our staff ensured their food would come out as soon as possible to pacify them.

Customers remember these kinds of actions as it creates a long lasting positive image for any company or restaurant establishment. The owner truly cared about his guests and it always permeated through the dining room and to the staff - even after he left to open other restaurants for that company.

Restaurant Customer Service involves major three points:

1. Care and Concern for the Customer, 2. Spontaneity, flexibility and creativity of frontline workers which enhances the ability for on-the-spot problem-solving, 3. Recovery-making things right with the customer when the process has gone astray.

These 3 points must be highlighted in every waiter training program: If they are kept in mind, then quality customer service will automatically occur.

Customer Service Has Moved Toward Customer Care

As I waited for an answer to my technical question from a stereo company, the recording stated a "customer care" representative would be available shortly. With aging baby boomers, world events, and the additional pressures in today's society, it is "customer care" that must evolve in our economy. We have moved from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. And, if we are smart, we will move towards a "servicecare" economy.

We live in a high tech, button touch environment with decreasing personal contacts which makes customer interaction more important than ever to corporate imagery. For example, if you call for computer tech support, the representative often makes it a point to address you by your first name. If it is the office supply company, they may ask, "How are you doing today?" This makes the customer feel less like a number and more like a human being.

The successful restaurateurs always take it one step further towards "servicecare" because they understand that restaurant customer service literally involves the immediate health of the patron - more so than any other industry except for healthcare industry itself.

A recent survey asked diners why they went out to eat, and the main response was "to feel good." This must be true. After all, the word "restaurant" has French origins meaning "to restore." During my waiter period for many years, I felt my job was to restore humanity, especially to diners arriving from a very stressed out day.

In my past dining room service work experiences, I remember certain actions lifting service to this higher level of "servicecare." One time a customer requested margarine that was not available in the restaurant. The owner walked across the street to the grocery purchased the margarine and brought it tableside. The patron was delighted.

Then, there was a regular customer (diabetic) who always got immediate attention with some kind of bread or crackers to keep from feeling faint before her food arrived. If there was a baby present at a table, our staff ensured their food would come out as soon as possible to pacify them.

Customers remember these kinds of actions as it creates a long lasting positive image for any company or restaurant establishment. The owner truly cared about his guests and it always permeated through the dining room and to the staff - even after he left to open other restaurants for that company.

Restaurant Customer Service involves major three points:

1. Care and Concern for the Customer, 2. Spontaneity, flexibility and creativity of frontline workers which enhances the ability for on-the-spot problem-solving, 3. Recovery-making things right with the customer when the process has gone astray.

These 3 points must be highlighted in every waiter training program: If they are kept in mind, then quality customer service will automatically occur.

Customer Service Has Moved Toward Customer Care

As I waited for an answer to my technical question from a stereo company, the recording stated a "customer care" representative would be available shortly. With aging baby boomers, world events, and the additional pressures in today's society, it is "customer care" that must evolve in our economy. We have moved from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. And, if we are smart, we will move towards a "servicecare" economy.

We live in a high tech, button touch environment with decreasing personal contacts which makes customer interaction more important than ever to corporate imagery. For example, if you call for computer tech support, the representative often makes it a point to address you by your first name. If it is the office supply company, they may ask, "How are you doing today?" This makes the customer feel less like a number and more like a human being.

The successful restaurateurs always take it one step further towards "servicecare" because they understand that restaurant customer service literally involves the immediate health of the patron - more so than any other industry except for healthcare industry itself.

A recent survey asked diners why they went out to eat, and the main response was "to feel good." This must be true. After all, the word "restaurant" has French origins meaning "to restore." During my waiter period for many years, I felt my job was to restore humanity, especially to diners arriving from a very stressed out day.

In my past dining room service work experiences, I remember certain actions lifting service to this higher level of "servicecare." One time a customer requested margarine that was not available in the restaurant. The owner walked across the street to the grocery purchased the margarine and brought it tableside. The patron was delighted.

Then, there was a regular customer (diabetic) who always got immediate attention with some kind of bread or crackers to keep from feeling faint before her food arrived. If there was a baby present at a table, our staff ensured their food would come out as soon as possible to pacify them.

Customers remember these kinds of actions as it creates a long lasting positive image for any company or restaurant establishment. The owner truly cared about his guests and it always permeated through the dining room and to the staff - even after he left to open other restaurants for that company.

Restaurant Customer Service involves major three points:

1. Care and Concern for the Customer, 2. Spontaneity, flexibility and creativity of frontline workers which enhances the ability for on-the-spot problem-solving, 3. Recovery-making things right with the customer when the process has gone astray.

These 3 points must be highlighted in every waiter training program: If they are kept in mind, then quality customer service will automatically occur.

Service Equals Performance Equals Service

Restaurant service can be described as a "performance" of some kind involving two parties whereby one party is the benefactor and the other party is the performing party receiving some type of monetary payment. The value of the service depends on the personal experience of the benefactor. When I looked up "service" in Webster's, there it was #11 out of a total 31 definitions. The payment part was not included, but the key word mentioned was "performance."

As I relate this to restaurant's, it is so easy to see waiter service is excellent training for actors, since they are performing all of the time. There might be days when their energy level is low, yet they are still expected to perform on the show stage at night. It is not much different for the waitstaff whose livelihood depends quite a bit on how they look and act before many people per night. Waiter service is essentially a balance between the "look" and functionality. In other words, waiter service is half an art form and half a science. Even the word "performance" makes a lot of sense when relating it to other service fields such as medical, legal, financial and armed. In religion, they are called prayer services.

With increased human knowledge and modern inventions, the term "customer service" has evolved over time. Whenever a new technology is invented, an array of "services" develops making it accessible to the general public with success depending on product "performance" and the product related "service performance." Whether it is a bulb to make a room bright or a flying machine that sends people around the world faster, the need for developed services attached to new technologies does create jobs.

At the computer, we dial up our Internet "Service" Provider to gain access to the information highway. The instantaneous delivery of sorted out information within seconds is now the norm. Proper navigation "performance" (that word again) allows us to surf the World Wide Web streamlining information at our fingertips. " With improved search engine technology, the return of consumer searches has become more categorically specific. This proves better performance results in better service.

Take a look around, and you will notice service performances touch every part of our daily lives-many of which are taken for granted. As far as the foodservice industry is concerned, if you improve waiter performance, then you improve dining room service.

Customer Service Has Moved Toward Customer Care

As I waited for an answer to my technical question from a stereo company, the recording stated a "customer care" representative would be available shortly. With aging baby boomers, world events, and the additional pressures in today's society, it is "customer care" that must evolve in our economy. We have moved from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. And, if we are smart, we will move towards a "servicecare" economy.

We live in a high tech, button touch environment with decreasing personal contacts which makes customer interaction more important than ever to corporate imagery. For example, if you call for computer tech support, the representative often makes it a point to address you by your first name. If it is the office supply company, they may ask, "How are you doing today?" This makes the customer feel less like a number and more like a human being.

The successful restaurateurs always take it one step further towards "servicecare" because they understand that restaurant customer service literally involves the immediate health of the patron - more so than any other industry except for healthcare industry itself.

A recent survey asked diners why they went out to eat, and the main response was "to feel good." This must be true. After all, the word "restaurant" has French origins meaning "to restore." During my waiter period for many years, I felt my job was to restore humanity, especially to diners arriving from a very stressed out day.

In my past dining room service work experiences, I remember certain actions lifting service to this higher level of "servicecare." One time a customer requested margarine that was not available in the restaurant. The owner walked across the street to the grocery purchased the margarine and brought it tableside. The patron was delighted.

Then, there was a regular customer (diabetic) who always got immediate attention with some kind of bread or crackers to keep from feeling faint before her food arrived. If there was a baby present at a table, our staff ensured their food would come out as soon as possible to pacify them.

Customers remember these kinds of actions as it creates a long lasting positive image for any company or restaurant establishment. The owner truly cared about his guests and it always permeated through the dining room and to the staff - even after he left to open other restaurants for that company.

Restaurant Customer Service involves major three points:

1. Care and Concern for the Customer, 2. Spontaneity, flexibility and creativity of frontline workers which enhances the ability for on-the-spot problem-solving, 3. Recovery-making things right with the customer when the process has gone astray.

These 3 points must be highlighted in every waiter training program: If they are kept in mind, then quality customer service will automatically occur.

Service Equals Performance Equals Service

Restaurant service can be described as a "performance" of some kind involving two parties whereby one party is the benefactor and the other party is the performing party receiving some type of monetary payment. The value of the service depends on the personal experience of the benefactor. When I looked up "service" in Webster's, there it was #11 out of a total 31 definitions. The payment part was not included, but the key word mentioned was "performance."

As I relate this to restaurant's, it is so easy to see waiter service is excellent training for actors, since they are performing all of the time. There might be days when their energy level is low, yet they are still expected to perform on the show stage at night. It is not much different for the waitstaff whose livelihood depends quite a bit on how they look and act before many people per night. Waiter service is essentially a balance between the "look" and functionality. In other words, waiter service is half an art form and half a science. Even the word "performance" makes a lot of sense when relating it to other service fields such as medical, legal, financial and armed. In religion, they are called prayer services.

With increased human knowledge and modern inventions, the term "customer service" has evolved over time. Whenever a new technology is invented, an array of "services" develops making it accessible to the general public with success depending on product "performance" and the product related "service performance." Whether it is a bulb to make a room bright or a flying machine that sends people around the world faster, the need for developed services attached to new technologies does create jobs.

At the computer, we dial up our Internet "Service" Provider to gain access to the information highway. The instantaneous delivery of sorted out information within seconds is now the norm. Proper navigation "performance" (that word again) allows us to surf the World Wide Web streamlining information at our fingertips. " With improved search engine technology, the return of consumer searches has become more categorically specific. This proves better performance results in better service.

Take a look around, and you will notice service performances touch every part of our daily lives-many of which are taken for granted. As far as the foodservice industry is concerned, if you improve waiter performance, then you improve dining room service.