Al's coaching tips: knowledge is power

By Alastair Scott

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Steak

Grin bonus: a smile and enthusiasm about your menu will go down well with punters
Grin bonus: a smile and enthusiasm about your menu will go down well with punters
This month Alastair Scott looks at how staff expertise is vital to help your pub prosper in terms of food service.

This month Alastair Scott looks at how staff expertise is vital to help your pub prosper.

I love it when I can start an article with some amazing experiences, and I have had two in the past week. The first was at Dehesa, the sister restaurant of Salt Yard.

We ordered the food and drink, and it all arrived in good time and looked, as usual, amazing.

I commented on how lovely the polenta cake was, and the waiter, called Matthew, explained where they buy the polenta, how they soak it in rosemary-infused water, and adopt a slow cooking process. I marvelled at his knowledge, and enquired how long he'd worked there. Six weeks was the answer. All that know-ledge in six weeks, and transferred to the customer in an enthusiastic, informative way. Superb.

And more recently I went to a local pub for their steak night (two steaks and a bottle of wine for £25). When I ordered the steaks, they told me the farm they were from, and even identified the wood the cows graze in to make the meat so tasty. I was enjoying my steak already.

On the downside, however, I then discussed the bottle of wine that was best to have with my steak. Zero knowledge, with the Rioja that I eventually plumped for, being thought of as a grape rather than a region. Nevertheless, full marks for a beautifully-sold rump steak.

So how important is the know-ledge of the team that sells or delivers your food? At one level it is es-sential to be able to impart the knowledge of what's in each dish, so those with dislikes, allergies, or intolerances can choose.

If the question: "Is there any monosodium glutamate in my gravy?" comes back with the answer: "I don't know, it doesn't say on the packet," you are left with a certain impression. For example, my daughter is allergic to wheat, so we need to know.

Sell, sell, sell

We next move onto the salesmanship. Being able to wax lyrical about the vineyard, or the grape, or the steak, sells the product and enhances the value to the customer. Just imagine upselling the Rioja, not only talking about the product, but how well it goes with the steak. It helps justify a wine with a £16 price tag that can be bought for £5 at Majestic.

When you are eating or drinking, good service enhances your whole experience.

Many of our younger staff feel uncomfortable engaging in conversation with guests, because they simply don't know what to say.

Teach them about the product, and give them the "one fact knowledge" about each item on the menu. The service interaction is vital and it starts conversation. Knowledge may not be about the product, it might be about how it is cooked. For example, if a piece of fish is pan-fried in butter then it adds to the experience, and helps customers know what care and attention you are paying to food.

Impart insights

So many of us are fearful of discussing products and improving knowledge among staff because we have such high turnover in our industry. But I don't think it takes long, witness the team member I have mentioned who was there in six weeks.

And while we might well have a high level of staff turnover, we also have a few staff who hang around

a long time. And they need training in knowledge.

We have a huge advantage in our business. We have time for one-to-one interaction with guests, so after giving them a great welcome and smiling to make them happy, it makes sense to tell them more about what they are going to eat or drink.

Supermarkets can't do that, but if you do it, it adds to the price you can charge, the enjoyment of the customer, and you may even get them to trade up too.

So go for it, and try to impart more and more knowledge to your guests. It makes a difference.

Alastair Scott runs Catton Consulting, a specialist consultancy in retail operations and service improvement, and has recently launched an industry-leading productivity tool.

Related topics Training

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