Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

Everyone nodded in agreement, thinking this was a feasible approach for now. A supervisor said, "Boss is right. If we start with these aspects, we can alleviate customer dissatisfaction in the short term and buy time for our subsequent decision-making."

As a result, a campaign to improve the hotel's operating efficiency and service quality was quickly launched. The waiters received more rigorous training, and in the training classroom, the trainer carefully explained the skills and procedures for ordering food.

“Everyone should remember to smile when taking orders and communicate with customers in concise and clear language. Record customers’ needs quickly and accurately, and don’t keep them waiting too long,” the trainer emphasized.

“If a customer has special requests or asks about the dishes, we should answer them patiently and demonstrate our professionalism and enthusiasm,” added another trainer.

The waiters listened carefully, took notes from time to time, and practiced imitating ordering.

"What's special about this dish?" asked a waiter pretending to be a customer.

Another waiter immediately replied: "Hello, this dish is one of our restaurant's signature dishes. It uses fresh ingredients and a unique cooking technique. It tastes delicious and is rich in nutrition. You will definitely like it."

In the waiting area for customers, the staff carefully arranged a comfortable corner, with exquisite snacks, sweet pastries, crispy nuts, etc., and steaming hot tea, including fragrant green tea and strong black tea, for customers to choose from.

"Hello, this is the free tea and snacks we have prepared for you. You can enjoy them while you are waiting. We are very sorry to have kept you waiting. We will arrange a seat for you as soon as possible." The waiter said to every waiting customer with a smile.

Customers' reactions have also gradually changed. A woman with a child happily ate snacks while waiting. The woman said to the waiter, "You are so thoughtful. Although I have to wait for a while, with these snacks and tea, I feel that time has passed faster."

However, the implementation process was not smooth sailing. One day, during the peak dining time, the restaurant was still very busy. A waiter was nervous and made some mistakes when taking orders, which caused some dissatisfaction among customers.

"I clearly told you I don't want it spicy, why is this dish still spicy?" the customer said with a frown.

The waiter quickly apologized: "I'm very sorry, sir, it's my fault. I'll replace it for you right away."

Wang Jianye saw this scene from the side. He walked over and said to the customer sincerely: "I am sorry for the inconvenience. We will deal with it immediately. I hope you can understand."

Then he called the waiter aside and whispered, "Don't be nervous. The busier the situation, the calmer you should be. Our training is to enable everyone to cope with such situations. Remember, customer satisfaction is the most important thing."

The waiter nodded, took a deep breath, adjusted his state, and continued to serve the customer.

As time went by, the waiters' order-taking speed increased significantly, and the error rate gradually decreased. The seating arrangement became more reasonable, and the turnover rate increased significantly. Customer complaints gradually decreased, and were replaced by recognition and praise for the hotel's service.

"I've been coming to your restaurant recently and I feel that the waiting time has been significantly shortened and the service is more considerate." An old customer said to the waiter with a smile.

"Yes, we all see your efforts. These snacks and teas are also very good and make people feel warm." said another customer.

Wang Jianye felt a little relieved when he saw these changes, but he knew that this was just the beginning. The catering market was highly competitive and customer needs were constantly changing. He had to remain vigilant and constantly look for opportunities for improvement and advancement.

One day, Wang Jianye was patrolling the restaurant and saw a customer looking thoughtfully at the leftovers on the table after finishing his meal. Wang Jianye walked over and asked politely, "Hello, sir, do you have any comments on our dishes?"

The customer looked up and said hesitantly, "Your dishes taste really good, but the portions are a bit large. I can't finish them all by myself, so it's a bit of a waste."

Wang Jianye was moved when he heard this. He realized that this was not only a customer's feedback, but also a problem that might need to be improved. After returning to the office, he immediately called a meeting with the chef team and management to discuss the issue of adjusting the portion sizes of dishes.

"We cannot ignore this feedback from customers. Now that people's living standards have improved, customers' eating habits are also changing. We have to consider launching some dishes with different portions to meet the needs of different customers," said Wang Jianye.

The chef said with some concern: "But adjusting the portion size may affect our food production process and cost control."

Wang Jianye thought for a moment and said, "We need to consider all aspects. We can first conduct a pilot test on some popular dishes to see how customers react. At the same time, we need to optimize the dish production process and find a balance between satisfying customer needs and controlling costs."

After some discussion and research, the restaurant decided to launch three different sizes of dishes: large, medium and small, and clearly marked them on the menu. In this way, customers can choose according to their appetite, which not only avoids waste but also improves customer satisfaction.

“This improvement is really great. Now I can order small portions when I dine alone, so I can taste the delicious dishes without wasting food,” said a customer who often dine alone.

With the continuous implementation and improvement of these measures, the operating conditions of all Wang's hotels have been getting better and better. But Wang Jianye is not satisfied with this. He knows that market competition is like sailing against the current. If you don't move forward, you will fall behind. He continues to pay attention to the dynamics of the industry and the changes in customer needs, and constantly thinks about how to further improve the competitiveness of the hotel.

During an exchange with his peers, Wang Jianye learned some advanced catering management experiences, such as introducing a customer relationship management system (CRM) to better understand customer preferences and consumption habits through analysis of customer data, thereby providing more personalized services.

On the first day back at the hotel, Wang Jianye could not wait to gather core team members, including managers, supervisors and information technology professionals, in the conference room to discuss the feasibility of introducing a CRM system.

At the beginning of the meeting, Wang Jianye said passionately: "Everyone, during my exchange this time, I discovered a tool with great potential - the CRM system. It can help us better understand our customers and provide more personalized services. I think this is very important for the development of our hotel, so today I would like to discuss with you the feasibility of introducing this system."

Manager Xiao Li was the first to express his opinion: "Boss, the CRM system sounds really good, but we don't know much about it. Can it really adapt to the actual operation of our hotel? Moreover, introducing such a system may require a lot of money and time. We have to weigh the pros and cons carefully." Information technology staff Xiao Zhang continued: "From a technical point of view, introducing a CRM system is feasible. But we need to consider whether our existing hardware equipment and software systems are compatible with it, and the issue of data security cannot be ignored. If we want to introduce it, we may need to upgrade and transform some infrastructure."

Supervisor Xiao Wang also expressed his concerns: "I am worried about the employees' acceptance of the new system. If the operation is too complicated, it will increase their workload and may cause some resistance. In addition, we also need to train employees to familiarize them with the use of the system, which is also a big challenge."

Wang Jianye listened carefully to everyone's opinions, and then said: "The questions raised by everyone are very reasonable. However, I think we can't give up trying just because there are difficulties. The CRM system has great potential to improve our service quality and competitiveness. We can first conduct in-depth research to understand how other hotels have successfully applied this system, what problems they encountered in the process and how they solved them."

Therefore, the team members began to divide the work and cooperate to conduct research on the CRM system. Xiao Li was responsible for contacting other hotels that had already introduced the CRM system to understand their experience and results; Xiao Zhang studied the technical details in depth and evaluated the compatibility with the hotel's existing system; Xiao Wang began to collect employees' expectations and concerns about the new system in order to better respond in subsequent training and promotion.

After a period of intensive research, the team came together again to share their findings.

Xiao Li said excitedly: "I have contacted several restaurants that have used the CRM system to good effect. They all said that this system has been very helpful in improving customer satisfaction and loyalty. By analyzing customer data, they can carry out marketing activities more accurately and launch new dishes that suit customer tastes. Customer feedback is very good."

Xiao Zhang also brought good news: "I have conducted a detailed assessment of our existing system. Although some upgrades and adjustments are needed, overall, there are no major compatibility issues with the CRM system. We can gradually carry out the transformation to ensure smooth data migration and stable system operation."

Xiao Wang reported on the situation of the employees: "I have communicated with some employees. They are still curious about the new system, but they are also worried that it will make their work more difficult. I think we should emphasize the help of the system in their work during training, such as improving ordering efficiency and better understanding customer needs, so that they can see the actual benefits."

Wang Jianye listened to everyone's report, nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very good, it seems that our research is very fruitful. Next, we need to formulate a detailed introduction plan. Xiao Zhang, you are responsible for the technical implementation to ensure the smooth installation and commissioning of the system; Xiao Wang, you are responsible for employee training and need to formulate a comprehensive and easy-to-understand training plan; Xiao Li, you coordinate the work of all parties to ensure that the whole process is carried out in an orderly manner. Do you have confidence?"

"We have confidence!" everyone answered in unison.

In the following preparation phase, the team members performed their respective duties and advanced various tasks in a busy and orderly manner. Xiao Zhang led the technical team to work day and night, working closely with the CRM system supplier to solve one technical problem after another.

"The problem with the data interface has finally been solved. Now we can ensure the accurate transmission of customer information." Xiao Zhang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said excitedly to his colleagues.

Xiao Wang carefully prepared employee training materials. He produced detailed operation manuals and video tutorials based on actual operation scenarios.

“We want our employees to feel the convenience and practicality of the CRM system during training so that they can accept and master it more quickly,” Xiao Wang said to the members of the training team.

At the same time, Xiao Li constantly communicates and coordinates with various departments to ensure that all tasks are completed on time and various problems that arise are resolved in a timely manner.

"Everyone work harder, we are one step closer to successfully introducing the CRM system. During this process, feel free to tell me if you have any questions and we will solve them together." Xiao Li encouraged everyone.

After months of hard work, the hotel finally successfully introduced the CRM system. On the day the system went online, the entire hotel was filled with a tense and excited atmosphere.

Wang Jianye stood in the restaurant and said to the employees: "Today is an important day for our hotel. The CRM system is officially launched. This is a new starting point for us to improve the quality of our service. I hope everyone can make good use of this system to provide better services to customers. Do you have confidence?"

"Yes!" the employees answered in unison, their eyes full of expectation and determination.

However, there were some minor setbacks in the early days of the system. Some waiters encountered operational problems when using the system, such as being unfamiliar with how to query customers' historical orders and preferences.

"Why can't this system find the customer information I want?" a waiter asked anxiously.

Xiao Wang immediately rushed to the scene and patiently instructed: "Don't worry, look here, you need to click this button first, and then select the corresponding query conditions. Try again."

With the help of Xiao Wang, the waiter solved the problem smoothly.

To ensure that employees can use the CRM system proficiently, Xiao Wang increased the intensity of training and increased the time for on-site guidance and answering questions. At the same time, he also set up a special feedback channel so that employees can raise questions and suggestions at any time.

As time went on, employees became more familiar with the CRM system and more skilled in its operation, and they began to feel the benefits of the system.

"With this CRM system, I can now understand customers' preferences more quickly and recommend dishes more specifically. Customers are also more satisfied with my service," said a waiter happily.

Through the CRM system, the restaurant can better manage customer relationships and conduct precision marketing based on customer consumption habits and preferences. For example, for customers who like seafood, the restaurant will regularly push information about seafood specialties; for family customers who often dine on weekends, the restaurant will launch preferential weekend family packages.

"I recently received information about a new seafood dish from the restaurant, which I like, so I brought my family to try it. I didn't expect it to taste so good, and the service was very thoughtful. Knowing that we like light flavors, they even reminded the chef to adjust the cooking method of the dish." said a satisfied customer.

With the help of the CRM system, the customer satisfaction and loyalty of all Wang's hotels have continued to improve, and performance has also grown steadily.

...(End of chapter)