CindyHeilman
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Aug 4, 2010, 7:15 AM
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Scripting your Playbook for Winning with Dining Best practices
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By Cindy Heilman, MS, DTR
Have you seen this scenario in your community? A resident complains that their food is cold and then the server immediately points to a problem inside the kitchen.
Let’s debunk that common food service myth right now.
My experience in senior living communities tells me something much different. The delivery of cold food is almost always related to slow service, lack of organization, missed timing – or all three.
In a word, it’s “logistics,” or a lack thereof.
Mealtime service should never reveal a disjointed effort from your staff no matter how many dining rooms you serve within, the level of care you provide, or in which department your servers work.
My third best practice for dining success is all about winning daily victories by taking the time to plot logistics and strategies that ensure the service your staff delivers is easy for them to maintain, is consistent and operates like a trusted well-oiled machine every time. (See Changing From The Inside Out for details about Best Practice No. 2).
Number Three. Dining Service is organized so the logistics of serving are conducive to a pleasant dining atmosphere for residents and servers.
We all know the goal. Mealtimes are the best chance your organization has each day to make an impression on the community of people that you serve. The experience should demonstrate all the best of what you offer. It should be enjoyable for residents and servers alike.
It has to be. Current research shows that the dining experience directly affects your residents’ quality of life and is a leading factor in their perception of the care you provide. The latest findings were recently shared with me by Sandra F. Simmons, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Your servers have to know their importance as the face of your company, and the crucial role they play as they interact with residents. They must never lose sight of it. It is what helps you win in a competitive marketplace.
As a community leader, the best way to drive that point home is to establish a set of logistics that support server success. And once in place, these rules must be followed.
1. Develop a common goal: Communication
Service will shine when the objective is clear and all servers support it. In order to create the mealtime ambiance you are striving for, make sure that each server knows their job and doesn’t begin a shift with unanswered questions. Encourage the members of your staff to assess service at each meal and share ideas for making the process go even smoother. I suggest the lunch/dinner menu, the daily special or featured soup, be shared at the morning/afternoon stand up meetings. This allows dietary and nursing staff to communicate critical information to help whet the appetites of both residents and servers.
2. Be relaxed and ready: Start on time
Your plan of attack has got to be coordinated with a consistent schedule. Impeccable timing goes a long way in raising the level of service, but the first mark might just be the most important so make sure to hit it.
Before that start time arrives, all hands should be ready to go. If there is a problem with staffing, address it and ask for extra help far ahead of the meal. Get that extra person, or persons, in place, and up to speed, so that you remain on schedule and nobody is surprised or caught off-guard.
3. Anticipate questions: Know the menu
Residents deserve to know exactly what it is, where it came from, how it was prepared – and more. Surprise them with having smart servers who care to share your menu’s virtues. These questions normally arise not only from curiosity, but also may be related to health issues such as food allergies or diabetes.
It’s a good idea for servers to have a daily briefing from the cook or department manager, so that they can memorize the specials or any other changes to the menu. It is also helpful to go a little deeper, to understand something about the recipe of a dish, or where it came from, or any other relevant tidbit that might lead to an opening for good conversation at the table, or while delivering a tray.
When your servers are prepared with information about the food on the plate, it will not be wasted. Your staff will work with more confidence. And the residents will appreciate their intellect and feel more secure about what they are eating.
4. Handle challenges: Understand key service principles
Servers must be trained to deal with problems as they arise, and solve them quickly and efficiently without any signs of panic or frustration.
Senior living communities include people with a vast array of capabilities and service expectations. Some residents may require help that others don’t. Resident service expectations may be different in a short-stay rehabilitation dining room versus a memory care dining room. Regardless, the quality of the service delivered must meet the highest standard in every dining room.
Think of the problems that are likely to arise and work through the most effective ways to deal with them. Have an answer for everything, and practice as many of the possible scenarios as you can.
What does it look like when it’s done right?
Service at mealtime should flow seamlessly. Your servers should demonstrate collective ownership of the process and the residents’ experience. And perhaps most importantly, they should work as a team that is dedicated to extending its winning streak day by day by day without end.
No matter your dining style, family style to wait-service, establishing the standards and routines – your playbook – will lighten the burden you place on your staff and clear some of the stumbling blocks that may prevent a smooth running mealtime experience.
As legendary UCLA coach John Wooden once famously said, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
Cindy Heilman, MS, DTR, is the CEO of Higher Standards, an Oregon-based hospitality company. Born from her vision to transform residential meal priorities and dining for senior residents, Cindy has created her experiential training program Kind Dining ®.
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(This post was edited by CindyHeilman on Aug 6, 2010, 12:22 PM)
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