"Being able to reinvent yourself matters, and teamwork is essential. The restaurant director, the head chef and their teams have to work together to think through a new project and put it in place. There is always a risk involved: you cannot please everyone." It can be difficult, emotionally, to disappoint a guest who does or doesn't like your new menu. The maître d'hôtel is the one standing on the front line, facing the guest.
The Maître d'Hôtel, a Guide for Everyone
Being a guide is a key part of the maître d'hôtel's role. As the expert at the table, he has to explain and give meaning to every dish. There is know-how, there is presence, and there is also knowing what to say. When meat has been removed from a restaurant's menu, guests need to be accompanied through the change. When a guest asks for meat and there is none on the menu, you have to explain the restaurant's concept while finding a solution that satisfies him. When you want to make someone happy, it is hard to turn down a request. The maîtres d'hôtel and their director played an essential role in this shift. At first, there was always a guest or two each week asking for meat that wasn't on the menu. After a few months, it became occasional, and today there is no longer any demand for it at all. The persuasive power of the floor teams made a real difference.
This past decade has shown that sharing is one of the keys to a successful life: give, and you shall receive. You only need to look at the rise of social media to see the parallel. The age of sharing has taken over from the previous age of keeping to oneself. At work, isn't it better to share everything rather than keep it all to yourself?
"Deify" to Rule Better: Game Over
When I started out in hospitality, I was struck to see managers who kept information to themselves. It was a belief at the time: by not sharing information, some managers thought they were protecting their so-called power over their teams and avoiding any risk to themselves. Today, that kind of management, which we still come across, no longer fits the new generations. Managing this way can generate a certain level of fear. When an employee doesn't know something, he imagines his own scenarios, depending on his mood; they will be positive or negative. This can create completely unnecessary anxiety and stress. So much energy wasted on negative thoughts! It is far more valuable to be transparent with your teams, to share information and involve them in the general life of the company, especially when the employee is motivated to take part. That is how you create a new energy that gets passed on with every new hire. You have to accept departures, understand them, encourage growth, and prepare employees to take over from those who came before them. That is how a professional life keeps moving forward.
Motivation, the Key to a Company's Success
Motivated teams take pleasure in pushing themselves, in perfecting their work, in delivering a genuinely authentic service through harmonious management. Listening regularly to your teams, sharing good and bad news with them day to day, creating moments where everyone can express how they feel about their role and about the life of the company: these are all keys to a successful guest experience. A restaurant's decor matters, and the quality of what is served is undeniable, but how a service unfolds is essential to living a full culinary experience. Emotion travels above all through the work of people, which is why it matters so much that every employee feels good in their work.
You can find the book Pour vous servir by Denis Courtiade.
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