Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

Next, there will be some intensive and orderly preparations.

The first thing is to choose a store location, which is a key step in the future development of the branch.

Wang Jianye was fully aware of its importance, so he personally led the team to conduct a detailed investigation in the neighboring city.

They shuttled through the streets and alleys of neighboring cities, not missing any possible location, taking into account many factors such as rent, transportation convenience, and surrounding traffic flow.

One day, the sun was shining brightly but there was a slight chill in the air of early winter. Wang Jianye and his team members set out on a store inspection trip again.

They came to an area near the commercial center, which was bustling with people coming and going, and there were all kinds of shops, demonstrating the commercial vitality of the city.

Wang Jianye stood at the door of a store, scanning the surrounding environment, then turned to ask the team members: "What do you think of this store? The location is good, close to the commercial center, and the flow of people should not be a problem, but the rent is a little high."

Team member Xiao Li carefully looked at the store, then looked at the bustling crowd around it, and after thinking for a moment, he replied: "Boss, I think although the rent is a bit high, the advantages here are also obvious.

It is close to the commercial center, so the customer base is relatively high-end, and the transportation is convenient, making it convenient for customers to dine.

Look around here, there are office buildings and shopping malls everywhere, there are many office workers and people shopping, and the potential customer base is quite abundant.

We can slightly improve the quality of the decoration and the positioning of the dishes, and distribute the rental costs to the prices of the dishes and the quality of the service, which should still be feasible.”

Another team member, Xiao Zhang, also agreed, "Yes, boss. And this location has high exposure, which can quickly attract customers' attention for our new store.

As long as we provide good food and service, we will have repeat customers. Even if the initial cost is higher, in the long run, the benefits may be considerable.”

Wang Jianye listened to everyone's analysis, pondered for a moment, and nodded slightly, saying, "Well, you are right. Let's consider this store as one of the alternatives first, and then we can look at the others. After all, opening a branch store is not a trivial matter, and we have to consider it from all aspects."

So they continued to move forward, inspecting one store after another. Some stores had cheap rents, but were too remote and had little traffic; some stores had large traffic, but the surrounding environment was noisy and not suitable for creating a comfortable dining environment.

When inspecting another store, team member Xiao Wang said hesitantly: "Boss, the location of this store is OK, and the rent is within the budget, but there are only a few small restaurants around, and the competition seems to be a bit too much."

Wang Jianye frowned and said, "Indeed, if the competition is too fierce, we may have to spend more energy to attract customers in the early stage. But this also shows that the demand for catering in this area is strong. It depends on whether we can make a difference and stand out. Let's analyze it carefully and see if there are other advantages that can be used."

After many rounds of inspections and comparisons, the team members constantly discussed and analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of each store. Sometimes, they would even stop at the door of a store for a long time, observing the flow and type of pedestrians passing by, and would also walk into nearby stores to ask about some situations.

Finally, after careful consideration and weighing the pros and cons, they chose a location that was near the commercial center but relatively quiet.

This location has a good flow of people, ensuring there are enough potential customers, but it is not too noisy, providing customers with a relatively comfortable dining environment.

Moreover, the surrounding supporting facilities are also very complete and the transportation is very convenient. It can be easily reached whether by driving or taking public transportation.

Wang Jianye looked at the selected store with a satisfied smile on his face. He said to his team members, "This is the place. I think its conditions in all aspects meet our requirements.

Next, we have to plan how to use this space and turn it into our ideal hotel. ”Decoration design: a fusion of tradition and innovation
After the store is decided, the next step is decoration and design.

Wang Jianye has clear requirements for this aspect. He hopes that the decoration style will not only retain the characteristic elements of all Wang's hotels, but also innovate by combining the local cultural atmosphere and customer preferences of neighboring cities, to create a dining environment that is both familiar and novel, so that local customers can feel the unique charm of the hotel as soon as they walk in.

Wang Jianye gathered the decoration team together and elaborated on his ideas in detail: "We want to create a dining environment that is both familiar and novel, so that local customers can feel the unique charm of our hotel as soon as they walk in.

For example, while retaining our traditional Chinese wood carvings, screens and other elements, we can appropriately incorporate some local characteristic patterns or colors from neighboring cities to make the entire space more regional in character.

I hope that when customers come in, they can not only see the heritage of our Wang's entire family of restaurants, but also feel that this is a dining place tailor-made for them."

Master Li, the head of the decoration team, listened carefully to Wang Jianye's request and nodded from time to time to show his understanding. He said, "Boss, don't worry, we will carefully design it according to your requirements.

However, could you tell us more about which local elements you hope to incorporate? Also, to what extent do you hope to preserve traditional elements such as Chinese wood carvings and screens? "

Wang Jianye thought for a moment and said, “Well, regarding the local characteristic elements, you can learn about the traditional culture and folk customs of the neighboring cities to see if there are any iconic patterns or colors that can be used in the decoration.

For example, I heard that there is a kind of traditional handicraft in the neighboring city with very distinctive patterns. You can consider simplifying the pattern and using it for wall decoration or partition design.

As for traditional elements such as Chinese wood carvings and screens, I hope to retain their essence, such as the craftsmanship details of the wood carvings and the style of the screens, but the quantity and layout can be adjusted according to the actual situation of the store, so as not to make them appear too complicated, and not to let them steal the limelight from the new elements. "

Master Li nodded and said, "Okay, boss, we understand.

We will first do some market research, gain an in-depth understanding of the cultural characteristics of neighboring cities, and then design several plans for you to choose from based on your requirements.”

In the following days, the decoration team began to work intensively. They first shuttled through the streets and alleys of the neighboring city, visited local museums and folk museums, and communicated with some folk artists to collect various materials about local cultural characteristics.

Once, Xiao Zhao, a member of the decoration team, saw an exquisite embroidery work in the Folk Customs Museum. The pattern on it was colorful and full of local characteristics. He excitedly said to his colleagues: "Look at this pattern, how beautiful it is! I think we can simplify it and apply it to the ceiling decoration or curtain design of our hotel, which will definitely add a lot of regional characteristics." Colleagues gathered around to watch and thought it was a good idea.

After a period of research and design, the decoration team finally came up with several preliminary decoration plans.

Master Li took the plan to Wang Jianye and said, "Boss, here are a few plans we designed according to your requirements, please take a look."

Wang Jianye took the plan and read it carefully. The first plan retained traditional elements such as Chinese wood carvings and screens, and incorporated the color style of a traditional local architecture in the neighboring city. The whole space looked solemn yet lively.
The second solution is to apply the characteristic patterns of local handicrafts to wall decoration and partition design, and add Chinese wood carvings to create a unique cultural atmosphere.

The third option is to abstract some local natural landscape elements and apply them to lighting design and floor decoration, echoing with the Chinese screens to create a dreamy effect of light and shadow.

After reading them, Wang Jianye said to Master Li: "These plans are all very good, each with its own characteristics.

However, I think the second plan does a better job of integrating tradition and innovation. It can not only highlight the heritage of our hotel, but also well showcase the local cultural characteristics.

But I have a few suggestions. For example, the density of the wall decoration patterns can be adjusted. Don't make it too dense, otherwise it may make people feel dazzled.

In addition, the positions of the Chinese wood carvings can be optimized so that they are more reasonably distributed and play a better decorative role. "

Master Li carefully recorded Wang Jianye's suggestions and said, "Okay, Boss, we will modify and improve this plan according to your suggestions."

Therefore, the decoration team started to work hard again. According to Wang Jianye's suggestions, they made detailed adjustments to the plan and continuously optimized every detail.

After repeated revisions and improvements, the final decoration effect was finalized. When Wang Jianye saw the final effect, he smiled with satisfaction and said to the decoration team: "Very good, this is the effect I want. You have worked hard, and then we will do the construction according to this effect. I believe that the decoration effect will definitely make the customers shine." Recruitment: Carefully select talents for service
Staff recruitment is also an important part of the preparatory work.

Excellent employees are the key to a hotel's success. Their professional skills and service attitude are directly related to customers' dining experience, which in turn affects the hotel's reputation and operating efficiency.

Therefore, he posted a job advertisement in a neighboring city, attracting many job seekers to apply.

During the recruitment interview process, Wang Jianye personally participated in it and conducted strict examinations on each applicant to ensure that every person recruited met the hotel's requirements and provided quality service to customers.

Once, when interviewing a chef candidate, Wang Jianye sat across the interview table, smiling but with a scrutinizing look in his eyes, and asked, "How long have you been a chef? Do you have any specialties?"

The applicant was a man who looked to be in his thirties. He answered nervously, "I have been a chef for five years. My best dishes are 'Fish-flavored Shredded Pork' and 'Kung Pao Chicken.'"

Wang Jianye then asked, "How much do you know about our Wang's full-line restaurants? If you were allowed to join us, how would you plan to adjust the dishes according to the taste preferences of local customers?"

The applicant thought for a while and replied: "I have heard of Wang's All-Season Restaurant before, and I know that you pay great attention to the quality of food and service. If I join, I will first understand the taste preferences of local customers, such as their preference for spicy food, sweetness, etc.

Then we combine our hotel’s signature dishes and make appropriate adjustments based on the original ones, such as increasing or decreasing the amount of seasoning, changing some ingredients, etc., to make the dishes more in line with the local people’s tastes.”

Wang Jianye listened and nodded with satisfaction: "Well, your thinking is very clear, and you have a certain understanding of cooking. However, in addition to the dishes, our restaurant also pays attention to the quality of service. What do you think of serving customers?"

The applicant quickly replied: "I think serving customers means to feel their needs attentively, respond to their requests in a timely manner, and make them feel warm and comfortable during the meal.

For example, if customers have special dietary needs, we should try our best to meet them; if customers have any opinions about the dishes, we should accept them with an open mind and make timely improvements. In short, we want customers to have a happy meal in our restaurant and leave satisfied. "

Wang Jianye smiled and said, "Okay, I am very satisfied with your answer. We will inform you of the interview results later."

When interviewing a waiter applicant, Wang Jianye also conducted the investigation carefully.

He asked the applicant, "Do you have any previous experience working in the food service industry?"

The applicant, a young woman, responded, “I worked as a waitress in a coffee shop before, so I have some experience in the service industry.”

Wang Jianye then asked: "What do you think is the most important thing in catering services?"

The applicant thought for a moment and replied, “I think the most important thing in catering service is to be patient and careful.

Customers have different needs. We must listen to their requirements patiently, observe their needs carefully, and then provide them with services in a timely manner.

For example, if a customer needs to add more tea or has special requests for dishes, we will respond and handle it immediately.”

Wang Jianye asked again: "If you encounter a picky customer who has many complaints about the food and service, how would you handle it?"

The candidate smiled and said: “I will first listen to the customers’ opinions patiently and let them vent their dissatisfaction. Then, I will sincerely apologize to them and say that we will make improvements immediately.

If it is a problem with the food, I will promptly report it to the kitchen; if it is a problem with the service, I will adjust it immediately. I believe that as long as we serve with our heart, most customers will understand and be satisfied. " (End of this chapter)