Spicing Up Customer Services

Imagine our delight at being asked, one day, to help deliver customer service training at one of London’s top new Indian restaurants! Imli, located in the heart of Soho, is something of a departure from the run-of-the mill Indian eatery. Created by the people behind Tamarind (one of the first Indian restaurants ever to be awarded a Michelin star), it offers innovative tapas style food for a casual but sophisticated dining experience.

But of course as anyone who has ever eaten in a restaurant before can testify, the 'eating out' experience isn't just about food. There's the music, the decor, the facilities. And then there’s the most important factor of all; the person who unfurls the napkin, takes the order, brings the food. And therein lies the secret of success in businesses like Imli, which relies as much on word of mouth and repeat custom as on geographical location and the Good Food Guide. For the next time you dine out, you may have a dirty fork and your steak may be slightly too rare, but if the staff are friendly, courteous and professional, you are more likely to go back there and recommend it to a friend.

Imli’s induction programme - for 25 front of house staff and 15 kitchen staff - was designed by PeopleFirst, a human resource and training consultancy, and Food and Beverage Consultants, who, as the name would suggest, specialise in training for the catering industry. The venue was the training area at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington and our role was to support the process and bring the customer service module to life through a series of interactive scenarios aimed at raising the staff's awareness of the customer's point of view. Literally; 'how do I make the customer feel?'

We began with a session on active listening to focus delegates on the importance of self-awareness. In other words, understanding how you can use body language, eye contact, tone of voice, personal space and physical contact, along with the right questions, to handle a difficult situation; how, if you 'listen' in the right way, you can actually control a conversation. The use of an open style of questions and repeating back what the other person has said (to let them know you have understood them) are examples of active listening.

Delegates were then introduced to a ten stage programme, covering all aspects of the front of house role, from meeting and greeting to taking orders and up-selling, ending in serving coffee and presenting the bill.

Each of these steps was then illustrated using CentreStage actors to portray customers in an array of scenarios. These included dealing with diners who are rude, drunk or difficult, as well as handling complaints about food and explaining dishes clearly. The facilitators were then able to draw from the delegates their ideas and opinions about each situation and invite them to 'direct' the scenes to resolve the dilemmas successfully.

Finally, delegates were introduced to one or two theatrical techniques, with the aim of bringing more energy and a touch of theatre to the front of house role. After all, as far as customers are concerned, they are 'the face of Imli'!

All in all, it was an extremely successful and enjoyable two days, and an exciting way of making customer service training memorable and effective. So the next time you're eating out in London, give Imli a go. The food's fantastic and the service ain't bad either!

Imli, 167—169 Waldour Street, London—Tel. 020 7287 4243.