Stop. Look. Listen. Are Your Food Servers Up to Higher Standards?

Joe couldn’t wait to go into the world as a young man looking for the adventures that would never come to him in the small mid-western town where he grew up. He traveled the world working on cruise ships, survived his adventures, and never did return to his hometown. Now he was of an age where he wanted to find a retirement community. The contentment of place his parents seemed to have in his childhood home was what he was looking for. Joe set out to find that place to call home. Leaning on his travel experiences he knew he wanted a diverse community, to continue the diversity of people he had met over his years on ships.

He began joining friends for dinner in the communities where they lived and recommended. His livelihood depended on his friendly personality so he knew how critical the dining room performance was. To him this meant quality and variety of food, courteous service, ambiance, and the social skills of residents and staff.  He was a professional, looking for the same quality of service he gave and now expected in return.

Joe would love and praise Kind Dining® trained food servers. Since he was good at his job, he appreciated others who loved and took pride in the work they did by presenting professional service. Not everyone has Joe’s same professional background to compare to the food servers in their community. But everyone does know when they are truly welcomed by staff into the dining room. Everyone appreciates being surrounded by courtesy and feels at home when food servers extend a kind word of consideration showing how much they really care.

Today is always the day to see if your dining room excels with the same service you would want to receive if you were in your resident’s seat at the table. It’s too easy to look the other way if any of your food servers are not up to the higher standards you want for your community. When guests leave your dining room, you want them to take away the best possible memory to share with others who may be looking for a warm, homelike community to move into. Is your community dining room outstanding? Are your food servers leaders always improving their service or could they use some Kind Dining® training?

Our B♥ Kind® Tip: Remember, the service you give has the power to build community.

About Cindy Heilman

Cindy is the founder and owner of Kind Dining®, which she began in 2006. She’s traveled across the country and Canada working with and training senior living communities that want to create an exceptional dining experience for their residents and staff. In addition, she certifies select professionals in her Kind Dining® philosophy and provides tools, now in an eLearning format, that make learning stick and help people put insights into action. As a result of her work, clients often share their staff has a new sense of purpose, get along better and keep their focus and energy on what matters most. In fact, she wrote a book, Hospitality for Boomers on how to attract residents and keep good team members. In her free time, she enjoys walking Oregon trails and cheering on her favorite soccer teams, the Portland Thorns and Timbers.

Comments

Stop. Look. Listen. Are Your Food Servers Up to Higher Standards? — 2 Comments

  1. Heartwarming story! The Kind Dining philosophy provides the community the special treatment they know and deserve!

  2. Thank you Vera, I love your comment and appreciation that bringing warmth into a relationship is sometimes a conscious in-the-moment effort, that has lasting positive impact!

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