Siheyuan: Starting as a Chef Apprentice

In the daily operation of the Guadalajara branch, Wang Jianye always pays attention to the innovation and optimization of dishes. After a period of intensive research and development, the chef team carefully launched several new breakfast dishes. Wang Jianye decided to let the waiters conduct a small-scale trial in the restaurant first, while focusing on collecting customer feedback.

A waiter led a customer to a seat and placed the newly launched tortilla breakfast on the table. The customer picked up the cutlery and began to taste it. After a while, the waiter came forward and asked, "Sir, what do you think of this new tortilla breakfast?" The customer nodded slightly and replied, "This tortilla breakfast is quite good. The sauce tastes very special and tastes different. However, the portion is a little small. I didn't feel full in the morning and I still felt a little unsatisfied after eating it." The waiter smiled and responded, "OK, sir, thank you very much for your feedback. We will convey your opinion to the relevant person in charge."

The waiter quickly found Wang Jianye and reported truthfully: "Mr. Wang, some customers said that the new tortilla breakfast tastes good, but the quantity is small, so they can't feel full in the morning." After hearing this, Wang Jianye immediately communicated with the chef team. He found the head of the chef team and said: "A customer just reported that the breakfast quantity is small. Let's see if we can increase the quantity appropriately, or pair it with some other snacks to make the customer more satisfied." The head of the chef team thought for a moment and replied: "Mr. Wang, we can consider increasing the size of the tortilla, or pairing it with a special porridge. What do you think?" Wang Jianye nodded in approval: "Okay, you can try to adjust it first and launch the improved breakfast dishes again as soon as possible."

After some adjustments by the chef team, they launched the improved breakfast dishes again. This time, the size of the corn tortillas was significantly larger, and a small bowl of steaming special porridge was served next to it. The waiter served the improved breakfast to the customer again and asked the customer about his feelings. The customer tasted it and said, "The amount is much more appropriate this time, and the porridge is also delicious. I feel much more comfortable eating breakfast like this." The waiter conveyed the customer's good comments to Wang Jianye, and Wang Jianye showed a satisfied expression on his face after learning about it.

In terms of service, Wang Jianye has always encouraged employees to take the initiative to collect customer opinions. One day, an employee came to Wang Jianye and said, "Mr. Wang, a customer suggested that we set up a children's play area in the restaurant, so that it will be more convenient for customers with children to dine, and the children can also have a place to play." After thinking about it, Wang Jianye said, "This is a good suggestion. We can set aside an area in the corner of the restaurant and simply decorate it as a children's play area. But we must pay attention to safety issues and ensure that children can play happily here. You should communicate with the logistics department to see how to arrange it specifically and purchase some safe children's play facilities."

The staff took the order and, after discussing with the logistics department, quickly began to arrange the children's play area. They fenced off an area in the corner of the restaurant, laid soft mats, and placed colorful children's slides, small swings, and some educational toys. Wang Jianye personally went to the site to check and put forward some detailed requirements for the arrangement work: "The corners of the slide must be checked carefully, there must be no sharp spots, and the ropes of the swing must be made sure they are firm. Toys must be cleaned and disinfected regularly to ensure the hygiene and safety of children playing." The logistics staff recorded them one by one and improved them according to Wang Jianye's requirements.

With the establishment of the children's play area, many customers with children can enjoy playing in the play area when they come to dine, and parents can dine with peace of mind. A mother with a child said to the waiter: "Your children's play area is really well set up. The children have fun playing, and we can eat more peacefully." The waiter smiled and responded: "Thank you for your recognition. This is what we should do. I hope you and your children can come often."

With the gradual implementation of these improvement measures, customer satisfaction at the Guadalajara branch has further improved. However, Wang Jianye was not satisfied with this. He always paid attention to market dynamics and changes in customer needs. Once, when he was participating in a local catering industry exchange event, he talked with a food critic. The food critic said, "Boss Wang, do you know? Guadalajara is about to hold a large-scale cultural festival. It will be very large, and many locals and tourists will participate." Wang Jianye was moved after hearing this, thinking that this was another good opportunity to increase the popularity of the hotel.

After he returned to the hotel, he quickly called a meeting with the team. Wang Jianye said to everyone: "Guadalajara is going to hold a cultural festival. We must seize this opportunity to launch some special activities during the cultural festival. Let's talk about your ideas." Xiao Li from the chef team spoke first: "Mr. Wang, we can launch a special set meal for the cultural festival and incorporate the special elements of the cultural festival into the dishes, such as using ingredients with the theme of the cultural festival to make special dishes." Xiao Zhang, who is in charge of marketing, continued: "I think we can hold theme activities related to the cultural festival in the restaurant, such as inviting local cultural artists to perform to increase the cultural atmosphere." The waiter Xiao Wang also said: "We can set up some decorations related to the cultural festival in the restaurant so that customers can feel the atmosphere of the cultural festival as soon as they come in."

Wang Jianye listened carefully to everyone's suggestions and said, "Everyone's ideas are good, let's combine them. The chef team will be responsible for designing exclusive cultural festival packages that highlight the characteristics of the cultural festival and the style of our hotel. The marketing department will contact local cultural artists to determine the time and content of the performances. The waiters will be responsible for the decoration of the restaurant to create a strong cultural festival atmosphere. Everyone will work together to develop a detailed activity plan as soon as possible."

The team members took quick action. The chef team began to study the special ingredients of the festival and design dishes. They tried to use the flowers commonly seen during the festival to make special sauces and pair them with traditional Mexican barbecue to create a unique flavor. The marketing department actively contacted local cultural artists and, after communication, invited a band that was good at playing traditional Mexican music and several folk dancers. The waiters began to carefully decorate the restaurant. They hung posters of the festival on the wall, placed small ornaments with the theme of the festival on the table, and hung colorful decorative paper strips on the ceiling.

During the Cultural Festival, Wang's All-inclusive Hotel Guadalajara Branch officially launched a set menu with Cultural Festival characteristics, and also held wonderful cultural performances in the restaurant. On the day of the event, the restaurant was very lively, and customers came to experience it one after another. A customer walked into the restaurant and saw the decorations full of Cultural Festival atmosphere, and couldn't help saying: "Wow, I can feel the strong Cultural Festival atmosphere as soon as I came in. You guys really did a great job in decorating it."

The band played cheerful traditional Mexican music, and the dancers danced gracefully. Customers savored the exclusive cultural festival set menu while enjoying the wonderful performances. After experiencing the event, a customer said to the waiter: "This restaurant really knows how to seize opportunities. The cultural festival set menu is very unique. While enjoying the food, we also feel the atmosphere of the cultural festival. The band and dance performances are also great, adding a lot of fun."

Wang Jianye looked at the lively scene in the store and said to the team members around him: "We must keep paying attention to market trends and actively make adjustments to keep the restaurant invincible in the competition. Everyone did a good job in this event. We must continue to maintain this keen market insight and positive attitude in the future." The team members nodded and said they would continue to work hard. After the cultural festival, Wang Jianye organized a summary meeting for the team. He said: "In this cultural festival, we successfully attracted more customers and increased the popularity of the restaurant. But we also need to sum up our experience and see where we can do better. Everyone talk about their opinions." Xiao Li said: "In terms of purchasing ingredients for the exclusive set meal of the cultural festival, we can make better preparations in advance next time to avoid the shortage of individual ingredients." Xiao Zhang said: "When contacting cultural artists, you can prepare a few more alternative plans to prevent emergencies." The waiter Xiao Wang said: "In terms of restaurant decoration, next time we can add some interactive elements to allow customers to participate better."

Wang Jianye carefully recorded everyone's suggestions and said, "Everyone is right. These experiences will be very helpful for us to hold similar events in the future. We must continue to learn and improve to make the hotel's events better and better."

As time went by, the Guadalajara branch continued to grow and develop under the joint efforts of Wang Jianye and his team. Wang Jianye was not satisfied with the current achievements, and he began to think about how to further improve the competitiveness of the restaurant. He noticed that some local restaurants began to provide take-out services, which were welcomed by many customers. So, at a team meeting, Wang Jianye proposed: "The take-out market is developing very fast now. Can we also consider starting a take-out business to expand our service scope?"

The team members discussed this. Xiao Zhao, who was in charge of operations, said, "Mr. Wang, it is indeed a good idea to start a takeaway business, but we have to consider the packaging and delivery of the dishes to ensure that the dishes received by customers are of the same quality as those eaten in the store." The head of the chef team also said, "Yes, some dishes may not be suitable for takeaway delivery. We need to select suitable dishes or develop some special takeaway dishes."

Wang Jianye said, "Everyone has a point. Let's set up a takeaway business preparation team. Xiao Zhao, you will be responsible for overall coordination and communication with the takeaway platform on cooperation matters. The chef team will be responsible for selecting and developing takeaway dishes to ensure the taste and quality of the dishes. In addition, we must also consider the choice of packaging materials, which must be environmentally friendly and practical, and can ensure the temperature and shape of the dishes."

The takeaway business preparation team took quick action. Xiao Zhao negotiated with several takeaway platforms, comparing factors such as the terms of service, commission ratio, and user traffic of each platform. After comprehensive evaluation, he selected two well-known local takeaway platforms and signed cooperation agreements with the platforms. The chef team screened the existing dishes and found that some soup dishes were easy to spill during delivery, and some fried dishes were easy to soften and affect the taste. So, they began to develop special takeaway dishes, such as launching some burritos that are easy to package and deliver, paired with special sauces, which can not only ensure the taste but also be easy to carry.

In terms of the selection of packaging materials, the team members conducted many experiments. They tried lunch boxes made of different materials and tested their heat preservation, sealing and leak-proof properties. Finally, they selected an environmentally friendly lunch box with good heat preservation performance and designed a suitable packaging method for each dish to ensure that the dishes would not be damaged during the delivery process.

After a period of preparation, the takeaway business of Wang's All-in-One Hotel Guadalajara Branch was officially launched. On the day of launch, the number of orders exceeded expectations. After receiving the takeaway, a customer called the restaurant to give feedback: "Your takeaway dishes taste as good as those eaten in the store, and the packaging is also very exquisite. I am very satisfied." After Wang Jianye learned about it, he said to the team members: "Everyone's efforts have paid off, and customer recognition is our greatest motivation. But we can't relax. We must continue to pay attention to the quality of the takeaway business, handle customer feedback in a timely manner, and continuously optimize services."

With the development of the takeaway business, the popularity and influence of the Guadalajara branch have further expanded. Wang Jianye has turned his attention to the surrounding communities. He wants to cooperate with the community and hold some food events to further narrow the distance with local residents.

During a community visit, Wang Jianye talked with the community leader: "Hello, I am Wang Jianye from Wang's All-in-One Hotel. Our hotel would like to cooperate with the community to hold some food events, such as food lectures, cooking competitions, etc. What do you think?" The community leader was very interested and said: "Boss Wang, this is a good idea. Our community residents are also very passionate about food, and such activities will definitely be popular. We can provide the venue for the event, and you will be responsible for the planning and organization of the event."

After Wang Jianye returned to the hotel, he discussed the details of the event with his team. Xiao Liu, who was in charge of planning, said, "Mr. Wang, we can invite our chefs to teach residents some Mexican cooking techniques for the food lecture, and we can set up some interesting prizes for the cooking competition to attract residents to participate." Wang Jianye nodded in agreement, "Okay, you should come up with a detailed event plan as soon as possible. Pay attention to the fun and interactivity of the event so that residents can actively participate."

After careful planning, the food lecture and cooking competition went smoothly. At the food lecture, the chef explained in detail the process of making Mexican tortillas. The residents listened carefully and asked questions from time to time. One resident asked: "Chef, how can we make tortillas fragrant and crispy?" The chef patiently answered: "The key is to master the proportion of corn flour and the baking temperature. You can add some butter to the corn flour to increase the fragrance. The baking temperature should not be too high and the time should be controlled well." (End of this chapter)