How To Grow Your Hospitality Business
Excerpt 1
A Quality Experience

Quality is essential for a good hospitality experience not just in food but in service. There is food and then there is excellent food. In producing excellent food there are some basic assumptions that underlie what it takes to make it good.

Characteristics of Quality/Excellent Food
The list below discusses issues that are important to ensure quality food.

• Produce. This should be fresh, seasonal and of good quality.
• Safety. Food must be safe. Diners do not expect to suffer from food poisoning!
• Look. Food should look visually exciting, making use of interesting combinations of ingredients for colour and texture.
• Taste. Food is flavoursome. The taste should make a diner want to eat another mouthful.
• Finished. Food is finished when it leaves the kitchen. A diner should not have to season a meal.
• Consistent. The quality of the meal must be consistent. If a diner returns next week and orders the same meal, it should be of a similar standard.

Characteristics of Quality Service
Like food, there are some fundamental assumptions that determine whether or not you are receiving quality service. The list below discusses issues that are important to ensure quality service.

• Tangibles. The appearance of physical facilities, décor, ambience and how the staff look.
• Reliability. The ability to perform and deliver what the business has said that it is going to do.
• Responsiveness. To actively listen to customer requests and respond efficiently, e.g. special dietary requirements.
• Competence. Staff that display skill and knowledge.
• Empathy. Individualised attention by staff who care about what the diner thinks.

Signals of High Quality
Beyond the classifications set out above, are a series of customer perceptions that influence whether or not a product is perceived as being of good quality. These perceptions are often linked to the image of the brand. "It's from Harrod's so it must be of good quality." The quality of the experience of eating chocolates from Fortnam and Mason will only be enhanced if the consumer identifies with the brand. For someone who has never heard of Fortnam and Mason, the specialness and therefore the perception of quality, will be lost.

Perceptions of High Quality

• Salmon. The pinker the salmon the better the flavour.
• Tomato juice. The thicker the juice the higher the quality.
• Orange juice. Fresh is better than refrigerated, which is superior to bottled.
• Wine. The higher the price the better the quality.
• Flowers. Fresh flowers are better than dried.
• Hand towels. Presentation of warmed hand towels to diners displays higher quality than paper towels.
• Tablecloths. Starched white linen tablecloths are superior to no table clothes.

Denotes Lower Quality

• Formica tables
• Plastic wine corks
• Cask wine
• Instant coffee
• Paper napkins
• Substitute cream

When we dine out there are often a number of reasons. We may feel that all we want is something fast, cheap and cheerful. On a special occasion we may feel that we need a culinary challenge. Satisfaction is about meeting whatever that need may be. If you wish to take a couple of American gourmands out for dinner in Christchurch where do you take them? If you wish to impress your nephew on his 21st birthday, you will choose another location. What is great is that there are a variety of choices to meet those needs. Ten years ago, the choice did not exist!

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