“Hostess with the Mostess”
How Important Are They to Your Restaurant?
The host is the first contact person a patron meets when they walk into your Restaurant. They are the first impression of your restaurant and should look the part.
They Are The Middleman Between Customers And The Kitchen
They can prevent a busy shift from turning into a disaster.
The host deals with people with a lot of potentially difficult questions.
How long until our table is open?
Why isn’t my to-go order ready?
I have two last-minute additions to my reservation — can they join us?
Will they be able to handle the occasionally stressed-out guest with professionalism and grace?
That’s not a trait you’ll be able to teach somebody, either they either have it or they don’t!
You can’t teach them to have a positive attitude when a patron is screaming at them because they’ve had to wait ten minutes longer than promised. It’s not a skill like training them to use the computer’s PPO System.
Can they go the extra mile to ensure every need of the customer is met?
It may seem to be an awkward job description/personality trait but ideally, they need to be the kind person who anticipates problems before the customer has the chance to mention them.
Sometimes you’re better off hiring somebody with no experience, who seems unfazed by stress than you are hiring someone with experience who may be burned out.
At least you can be assured of starting with a clean slate no past experience or bad habits too (set in their way personalities) deal with.
Seek out the right personality and they may just fall into place as a great member of your restaurant team.
Though they don’t have the role of a chef, bartender, server or cook, hosts are quite a bit more important than you might think.
Top 10 Qualities To Look For When Hiring A Host
Friendly– Have the ability to make customers feel important and comfortable at the same time
Confident– A Host needs to speak with conviction! They need to assure guests throughout their experience. A host that’s confident won’t take things personally in difficult situations.
Sharp– The host controls the flow of the restaurant and needs to know what is going on in the restaurant at all times. Decisions must be made under pressure to accommodate each guest. Being able to remember return guests by name and even recall their favorite table and server.
Personable– Look for a host or hostess that is sincere and will leave a good and lasting impression.
Composed- There is a lot of constant change in seating arrangements, so a host needs to be able to adapt while staying calm and collected. They need to stay composed at all times – both in the face of stressed out waiters and unruly guests.
Well spoken– The way a host speaks is crucial. A host should always come off as knowledgeable and polite at all times. Even if flustered, a host should never show it. This kind of interviewing tactic is becoming a normal procedure- a phone interview prior to an in-person in order to test a candidate’s phone voice, as taking calls is a very important part of being a hostess.
Compassionate- The hospitality industry is about emotion, and connecting with people’s emotions. When you make someone else happy it’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.
Enthusiasm-Great hosts truly want to come to work each day and give their customers the best experience possible. When a host is excited and proud of their work, it shows in the service guests receive. Even if a host displays all of these other traits, if they’re apathetic and don’t get enjoyment out of their work it will be detrimental to your business down the line.
Team Player- A host is much more than just a host – they could get called on to serve tables, bar tend, manage, bus or wash dishes. They should be ready to sacrifice for the good of the team. Look for candidates who thrives on multi-tasking. If a server is running thin, a hostess should be able to make guests wait even if it means dealing with their resulting anger.
A good host is eager to contribute to the overall success of a restaurant; no matter what role they end up playing.
Polished– A host should always sharp, neat and clean. Hosts should be well-manicured and presentable.
As I’ve been told by many times in my life “There is never a second chance to make a first impression.”
“Hostess with the Mostess”
How Important Are They to Your Restaurant?
A Good hostess helps keep customers happy and so much more…
Leave A Comment