On the Front Lines of Service-By Jackie Yudd

Developing Service Leaders in Your Operation: First in a series on designating key roles of service leadership. Every staff member should be taught from the very beginning of their employment about the various roles that they need to play in the delivery of great service. Learning these different roles is not only critical to their development as a team member but also in their success as the key person on the front lines of service. Here are the first three roles to work on with staff:   

• The Money Maker is in charge of any cost saving or profit building areas. He or she recognizes things like “customer favorites” as far as menu items or beverage pairings and suggests their sales to other servers.  They also encourage fellow servers to double check the guest check for any missing items before being presented. A few items here and there that do not require being rung in through a POS system can add up to a large amount of lost revenue very quickly.  
• The Bridge Builder acts as your establishment’s personal relationship expert.  They recognize VIP’s and special events.  They work hand in hand with your....... 
• Mind Reader who makes the effort to interpret guest’s verbal and non-verbal ways of expressing themselves. The Mind Reader brings attention to tables with greeting cards, gifts, or flowers and responds accordingly, perhaps with “a special appetizer for the birthday celebrant”, etc.  

Teaching Tip: Set up mini-dining room or service scenarios where these roles would be important to the positive outcome of the service. Use these as part of a weekly session that focuses on one specific service leader's role that you want wait staff to learn! 

This month's Point of Profit-"Walking the Path" that your items take through the house. We've talked about the importance of this exercise to help you identify pitfalls along the way that have a direct impact on profitability. As you get ready to gear up for the Fall select the five most expensive center of the plate items and follow them from purchasing through receiving through production and then through finishing. Take a look at the path these items take through the house. Questions to ask: 

• Did you pay the best price for the quality that you specified?
• Were the items properly handled during receiving and storage?  
• Where was the item vulnerable? (food safety/security)  
• Where could your staff be doing a better job at handling? 
• How did you reconcile consumed vs. sold during that shift? 

These are the basic questions--we're sure you'll come up with even better ones as you begin this periodic exercise in your operation.   

Annual MentorCares™ Leadership Conference-Will be held on Friday October 28th in D.C. area. If you are interested in becoming a trained adult mentor or would like to attend and learn more about our 12 Leadership Skills and 12 Life Skills just drop us an email at ron@leadershipcares.org. Our adult mentors are making a huge difference in the lives of D.C. area young people!    

ThanksgivingCares™ It's never too early to think about joining our young leaders for their annual hunger relief effort. Last year we fed over 700 families. Let us know how you and your team would like to become involved. We'll even help you start a chapter in your area! Read the 2004 Thanksgiving Press Release                                

Developing Your Personal Brand   

Career Building Plan-How are you doing on your career building goals? Review the Seven Things you can do to enhance your career that we laid out in January. Click: http://www.ronyudd.com/popn050126.htm. Putting in place a plan to accomplish the 7 things is the real test of success. 

This month's suggestion-Write the resume you want to have two years from now.  We find that when you create a picture of what you want it's opens up the path to get there. Think about where you really want to be in two years. What is your title? What company could you be working for? How much will you be making? Take your time with this--set yourself up for success by really thinking this through. Here are four things that will help you complete this exercise:  

• List several places where you new position may be. Identify the company or geographic location.
• Identify the specific skills you'll need to be qualified for this new position. 
• List three things you'll accomplish over the next two years that will better prepare you for this new title.
• Identify three people inside + outside your current organization that could give you advice on these goals.

Next Step: Get to work on making your resume come true!

This month's website of the month is www.cheftalk.com. This is a great resource site run by CIA alum Nicko Sahlas. Their discussion forum at www.cheftalkcafe.com/forums is also a great place to visit. Enjoy!