“Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel. It’s that simple, and it’s that hard.” – Danny Meyer, Setting the Table
Guest experience is at the heart of every great hospitality business. You could be serving some of the world’s most innovative food, in a dining room pulled from the pages of ‘The Modern House’, yet if the guest experience is lacking your business will struggle to thrive.
Equally, you could be serving hearty fish and chips in a village pub and offer one of the best dining experiences your guests will ever have. Ultimately, it’s all about how your team makes people feel.
It's that simple, but it doesn’t have to be hard.
So how do you create a better guest experience? The answer lies in how you train your team and at Liberty Wines, we consistently aim to provide customers with the tools to do this effectively. We understand that a mix of Brexit, the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis has made hiring new staff tougher than ever. Alongside enhancing your guest’s experience, investing in your team, with support from suppliers, is a great way to train, and retain talented staff while attracting new members to your team.
1. Understanding the ‘why’
The first step to enhancing your guest's experience is ensuring your team understands what they’re offering and why. For example, this isn’t simply the wine list at face value, but the story behind each listing.
Why is a wine on the list?
Why does a certain wine pair well with a particular dish?
Why should your guest choose one option over another?
Once your team understands the ‘why’, it’s easier for them to convey that to your guests.
The best way to keep your team updated on the ‘why’ is through daily, pre-service briefings. Utilise information your suppliers have on hand. For example, at Liberty Wines our website is constantly updated with everything you need to know about the wines you sell, from the people who make them to what they taste like. You can use this to help explain to your team ‘why’ each wine is on your list.
2. In-house training
Internal skill sharing is a great approach to in-house training. It involves each team member running a short session, in which they share a skill. This could be as straightforward as how best to fold napkins or polish wine glasses. Equally, it could involve sommeliers running wine tastings. This approach to in-house training is why we offer a ‘train the trainer’ option through the Liberty Wines education team. Our award-winning educators are on hand to equip you with the tools needed to effectively share your wine knowledge with your team.
This extra knowledge helps empower your team in how they work, from commis waiters to management staff. It also helps identify skill sets within your team that you may have been unaware of. All of this ultimately creates a better guest experience.
3. External training
Internal staff training is brilliant but time-consuming and running regular in-house training sessions may not suit your business. This is where external training options come in.
At Liberty Wines, we offer award-winning wine education and training options for our customers. The Liberty Wine Academy is designed around your business needs, ensuring your team gains a relevant understanding of the wines they sell. Training topics range from ‘how to taste’ and ‘wine list navigation’ to ‘maximising sales’ and ‘the art of good service and communication’. The Academy training is arranged to suit your team, whether online, through our app, or in person at our Clapham offices. We also offer WSET courses and ‘train the trainer’ sessions, which support you in coaching your team in-house.
Your team's education is key to creating the best experience for your guests. Educating your team shouldn’t be hard, which is why we are dedicated to providing training options that make things easy. Ask and you shall receive.
4. Hospitality doesn’t cost a thing.
Finally, when it comes to enhancing your guest’s experience, many effective tools at your disposal are often free. Providing genuine, warm hospitality doesn’t cost a thing. Ask yourself what more you could be doing for your guest.
For example, take advantage of the ‘notes’ section in your reservation system to record guest information. Note down each guest's food and drink preferences, maybe they liked their red wine chilled, their white wine with ice or have a particular love of Riesling. All this information can be used when they return, even if it’s years down the line, to ensure their next experience is even better than the last.
To offer a great guest experience, you must first train your team to offer great service. It’s that simple and with help from us at Liberty Wines, it doesn’t have to be hard.
Content provided by Liberty Wines. For more information on the Liberty Wines Academy and their award-winning training options, click here.
