What is qualities required for service staff???

 QUALITIES REQUIRED FOR FOOD SERVICE STAFF

The success of any food service business depends to a great extent on the quality and behaviour of the staff working there. 

The important qualities required for food service staff are as follows:

Personal hygiene 

This is most important for the service staff as they are constantly handling food and beverages, and often go near the guests. No guests will come  a restaurant if the food and drinks are handled by staff who are unhygienic or with bad breath and body odour. The efforts gone into making good quality dishes will certainly not be appreciated by guests if served by staff with poor personal hygiene.

Bathe twice a day or at least once, to avoid body odour

Brush teeth and use mouth wash daily

Have regular dental check up for good dental care

Wash hands frequently, especially after the use of toilet 

Not touch any of the facial parts or touch the blemishes as our skin carries disease causing bacteria

Not sneeze, cough, or blow nose near food and in the work area

Not bite nails

Not use handkerchief in the restaurant

Keep shoes well polished

Wear clean and well-laundered uniform 

For male staff:

Should shave daily

Hair must be short and well groomed 

Nails should be clean and well trimmed

Beard and moustache should be trimmed

Should not use excessive or strong body spray or perfume

For female staff

Hair should be short or tied up

Excessive make up should be avoided

Nails should be clean and well trimmed

Jewellery should not be worn, however, wedding or engagement ring and simple ear stud is allowed

Stockings should be clean

Sandals, high heels, slippers open-back shoes, and slip on are not acceptable and are unsafe.

 Shoes with laces should be worn. 

A high level of stamina and good health is required for both male and female food and beverage 

Checking the personal hygiene is important and it starts from oneself. It is the responsibility of the head waiter to check personal appearance and health condition of staff during briefing.

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Punctuality 

Staff must report to work on time with proper uniform and good personal appearance. Punctuality reflects the interest the staff have towards their work If the staff does not report to duty on time on regular basis, it shows lack of interest in the job.

Honesty

It is of paramount importance as it reflects the character of a person. The service staff may be tempted to eat guests' food, steal establishments and guests" property, tell lies to his colleagues and guests, pass on vital information to competitors, and so on. But it is important to remain honest in the face of such temptations

Loyalty

 The staff should be loyal to the organization in which they are working. They should not bad mouth the organization or colleagues to anyone or promote the competitors business

Conduct 

The conduct of the staff is very important, especially in front of guests. Rude behaviour towards guests or arguing will damage very quickly the reputation of the establishment that has been built over the years.

Personality

The staff should be diplomatic, tactful, courteous, even tempered, and not controlled by emotions. During service, wait staff comes across various challenging and demanding situations that should be handied diplomatically, satisfying both customers and management. 

Attitude towards the guests 

The attitude of person determines whether he is successful or is a failure.

The staff with good attitude will,

Anticipate the guests needs and wishes

Be attentive to guests at all times during service 

Not argue with guests

Not ignore guests' requests

Listen to guest complaints carefully and immediately solve whatever he can or refer to superior in authority

Be proud of his work

Take up additional responsibility 

Show interest in learning new ideas and developments relevant to his field

Not indulge in preferential treatment of customers according to the amount of tips he receives  

Extend all possible help to his colleagues

Report for duty on time regularly, stay back till all the guests leave the restaurant, and obey the instructions of seniors

Sense of urgency

 It is very important to increase seat turnover and revenue during business hours. Slow service will lead to low seat turnover and lower revenue. The wait staff should be quick in getting food from kitchen, serving dish, presenting bill when completed and re-laying cover for the next arrival. All these must be done quickly.

Product knowledge 

The service staff are salespersons in restaurants and must know the products they are selling to customers. It is not possible to sell a product without having adequate knowledge of it.

 The waiters must know how each dish is prepared, portion size, taste, colour of the dish. garnish waiting time required in the case of à la carte menu, accompaniments, correct cover service procedure, various types of drinks on offer, drink size, correct glassware to be used, temperature at which served, and so on.

Local knowledge

 The service staff must have sound knowledge of the area where they work. This will enable them to answer any queries of guests on entertainment places of interest, shopping area. transport facilities, and so on.

Memory

Good memory is an essential asset for service staff They should be able to remember who has ordered what, who is sitting in which table number, which room number a guest is staying in the likes and dislikes of guests, where they like to sit, what type of food they prefer, what type of drinks they take smoker or non-smoker, name of guests, and so on. 

Team spirit

 Almost all activities in the food and beverage service areas are carried out by a team of staff. 

No staff member can think of doing all the activities by herself himself and be successful in his/her job without the support of other members of staff.

 Therefore, it is necessary that the wait staff have the ability to get along with every one.

Communication skills

 Very good communication skills is necessary for the service staff not only to suggest, explain, and serve the dishes to customers but also to have good inter-personal relationships. 

It is always an added advantage to know the local language and any foreign language to interact effectively with guests Talking to guests in their own language instead of just English is very effective and builds good relationship.

Conclusion

This is the basic qualities required for service staff. you have to improve your skills and personality development.

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