Monocle

On my way to Bar Isabel on College West, I came across an adorable retail concept called Monocle Shop - magazine by Tyler Brule now global brand - a 300 square foot store with an office space or "bureau" in the back for their global writers/journalists to complete work or hold meetings. The store attendant Michael is a young man from Vancouver, incredibly gracious with his welcome and engaging in conversation. One-by-one customers walk into the store where Michael holds conversation long enough so they feel comfortable enough to browse. Every piece you touch comes with a story, not rehearsed but genuinely interested, and a suggestion of another item worth exploring.

My pop-in turned into an half-an-hour stay, chatting and shopping - I bought items for myself and friend who I was meeting for dinner. Talk about making the best of a captive audience. It turns out, Michael is in Toronto exploring his many creative talents in fashion, photography and industrial design by way of Vancouver and Montreal. His excitement about the city, the shop, his life and goals is incredibly contagious, which explains why so many people - probably customers turned clients - pop in to say hello as they are walking by.

Another favourite store of mine called Nomad on Queen West employs the same passionate and caring individuals. They extend their knowledge of the garments into a delightful story making the shopping less about the items but more about the experience.

The similarity between Monocle and Nomad is that the store owners are generous with their passion and purpose to attract the right people to carry out their vision.

Michael recognizes that we as people are truly one-of-a-kind, and honours that mindset by celebrating with everyone who enters into his world of Monocle. Thank you Michael and we'll pop in soon to say hello.

By Design

Recently my friend Michael shared with me, to manage stress you need to manage your expectations first. For example driving to work, anticipate that traffic may occur, unexpected road closures will happen, selfish and angry drivers are ubiquitous, possible car troubles are inevitable, then you'd anticipate these problems by leaving home 1/2 hour early. This way, you'd eliminate the stress of being late.

Successful people achieve their goals by design not by default.

If you focus on delivering hospitality excellence upon your guest's arrival, the proper welcome is all you'd painstakingly lament over for weeks before opening your doors. This includes training your FOH team properly to deal with objections, late reservations, varying personalities and high expectations. A prepared team is a more sustainable culture then them reacting by emotional impulse.

Places like Trump Hotel, Nomad Hotel, Richmond Station, Canoe, Jean George in NYC - to name a few - take pride in setting an everlasting first impression.

This didn't cost them more money just more commitment.

Grover the Waiter

Watch video first: http://youtu.be/IIzRHlxXgzY

I loved watching Grover the Waiter on Sesame Street as a child and it still makes me laugh today.

As this blog is about outstanding service, I realize now that Grover does not apply - as much as I wanted him to be the mascot - but I enjoy the witty customer-server dynamic portrayed.

While not listening to a customer's order is problematic, bringing two strings of spaghetti carbonara from Chef Alfredo is ludicrous, or being out of everything on the menu aside from milk - which can be served in every vessel (dish, spoon, pocket, doggie bag) but not in a glass - is laughable, the underlining theme of each skit was Grover making an overwhelming effort to please his regular.

Oddly, we've all dealt with a waiter's memory to varying degrees but watching this is really funny.

On a side note: clearly Grover was a favourite with the BOH team as he always got his orders fulfilled incredibly fast and the Chef was never put out with all his errors - can you imagine the food cost in that restaurant!

It's Saturday, go eat brunch and dinner at your local restaurant and just have fun!

The Pro (totype)

Adly Gawad is a professional waiter, he is a prototype that our industry no longer produces, for better or for worst. As he is incredibly google-able, I don't need to tell you who he is. However, the only way I can describe why he is remarkable is with the following words:

Confident
Caring
Accommodating
Anticipatory
Creative
Pro-active
Charming
Descriptive
Observant
Cheerful
Communicative
Chameleon

Of course, it helps when everyone is smiling and enjoying what they're doing to complement his craft.

The ability to have the mindset & skill set to act professional at whatever you decide to do, as a waiter or barista, is a reflection of who you are as a person not because you were tasked, and this ability only attracts those who would invest in your true passions.

If your organization breeds this type of culture as a fundamental premise, would your service scores increase?

Thanks Adly for years of uplifting service, showing us that there is a better way.

Revolutionary not evolutionary

I was at an Apple store recently, before the store opened, so my wife could fix her MacBook Air, when I noticed 15 blue shirts around the iPod bar for their morning huddle. What really caught my attention was the inability to identify the manager(s) from the staff.

In the first fifteen minutes of this meeting, each blue shirt took turn recognizing each other by identifying what the other did well the day before, followed by cheers from their peers. How novel to catch each other doing something right as opposed to doing something wrong. We know that recognition by your peers can be more effective, especially among Gen Yer's, than by your superiors.

The next fifteen minutes, techies had their chance to announce unique features including new accessories while, once again, more cheerful support by team members.

I'd just witnessed the most effective staff meeting conducted, seemingly, by the staff members themselves. Isn't this a novel idea!

What is our industry doing to inspire a service culture, aside from barking orders at a pre-shift meeting? Who is doing it differently?

My client Momofuku is daring to be different in the way they inspire their team, which was very evident on my recent trip to their shops in NYC including Booker & Dax.

Congrats to the new thinkers, they're definitely onto something.

End to Beginning

-END-

Merci Maison Premiere, we'll be back soon.

Finally, the hostess who just started her shift is eager to order us a cab back to Manhattan - ability to order a cab is rare in NY - updates us with driver's arrival as we stand outside waiting, and opens the cab door and say goodbye.

As we paid the bill, they gave us a tour of the beautiful soon-to-open backyard, showed us the dinner menu and invited us to join them for a 10-course tasting menu in the near future. The way everyone took such pride in operating this 60-seat restaurant, especially when it was quiet, was incredibly memorable.

Side note, best seaweed butter ever!

We sit at the oyster bar to enjoy their La Petit Maison Plateau (oysters, lobsters, shrimps, clams & crabs) with a glass of Charlogne-Taillet Champagne - that turned into multiple glasses - our shucker Diego - who has Sous'ed in high-end kitchens was shucking here to learn a new skill - entertains us all afternoon telling us wonderful kitchen stories with vigor and passion, complemented by steady and competent service from the floor staff.

At a much anticipated restaurant in Brooklyn, two happy bartenders dressed in 20's style attire with a bow-tie greeted us as we entered. To be clear, I don't care what staff wears, as it doesn't change how the food taste or delivery of service, but in this case it underscores their attention to detail and overall experience. Walking through the restaurant, we noticed three other tables. Typically when the restaurant is slow, staff is usually inattentive and service is underwhelming. NOT AT MAISON PREMIERE.

-BEGINNING-

Surprise!

Do you remember the excitement of finding a toy inside a cracker jack box? The thrill of walking into a room where your friends and family are anxiously waiting to scream "surprise"?

The Library Bar at Nomad Hotel has inserted a surprise for you to find, five flasks filled with rye are hidden inside books on the shelf, that you can consume and take home if found. For most people, the thrill of "being in the know" is enough but for others like myself, I searched the library for the hidden treasure for finding a flask would be a better story to spread. I assure you, everyone in the library who watched me climb the winding staircase searching the second floor shelves have an exciting story to tell too.

In my first restaurant kubo, the bathrooms did not have a M or W to distinguish them apart.  Instead, a sign hanging above and between both doors that read "woman are always right". The buzz we created amongst our guests and media was priceless.

Remember it didn't cost much for the hotel to implement this strategy but the ROI with your customers are huge and impression ever lasting.

When an experience is beyond our expectation, not only is it memorable and engaging, but is it worth talking about. In a mobile world where news spread quickly to networks that you couldn't otherwise reach, don't you want to provide a surprise worth sharing?

Just do it.

I love seeing people who just do it, start an initiative with a clear purpose, not worry about perfection but act with passion, influence many others to join, and put their money where there mouth is by leading the way.

One of the greatest things about Toronto is we have more than a few people that fits this description; TIFF, Fashion Cares, IDS, Nuit Blanche, Luminato, and now Terroir.

Terroir is a one-day symposium for everyone in the food industry - chefs, restaurateurs, writers & photographers - to share big ideas, and in their 7th year, speakers from all over the world came to speak about what makes them get up every morning to just do it. All the "bigs" in the food world - Trevor Gulliver CEO of St.John London, Kate Krader of Food & Wine Magazine, Rene Redzepi Chef/Co-Owner of Noma Copenhagen - were recently in Toronto making Terroir 7 incredibly inspiring. Being a humble audience member for the past three years, I believe this year was the tipping point for the festival to attract bigger sponsors and larger crowds.

Of course all leaders require a team to make it happen, Arlene Stein Founder of Terroir is no different, but it is her big dream and continued drive that keeps the engine running. Plus, who else do you know that puts their "money where there mouth is" by reaching into their own pocket for a shortfall in order to keep it going, like Elon Musk and Peter Diamandis?

What is admirable about Terroir is they dare to make a difference, care to improve on mistakes and fail forward, and provide a platform for Toronto hospitality to shine on a world stage.

Thank you Arlene and team for all your hard work and the world will benefit as you keep doing it.

Raise the bar

Do you notice that it only takes a little bit more to stand out from the crowd?

When we are in an industry that is working on averages as the benchmark and content with customers that don't complain or when their response to "how was it?" is "wasn't bad", you really have an opportunity to shine.

It doesn't take more money to move the needle, just more intent.

Porter airlines was the first to understand and seize this opportunity, enough to wow their audience and attract people that care. Of course, when you capture this audience, you need to continue the culture of delivering excellent service and, more importantly, raise the bar of your own expectations.

This service culture must be broadcasted to your team everyday so they can do excellent work. Recently, the check-in attendant upgraded my seat so my friend and I could sit together, and we didn't have to ask. She did it automatically because she cared.

Congratulations Porter for noticing that we care too.

This is what it takes to shake an industry up-side down.

Stock Restaurant - Trump Toronto

My love affair for this property started when my wife and I spent a weekend during the last Toronto Film Festival. We were immediately floored by the level of hospitality excellence, from curbside to the 31st floor of the hotel.

Upon our arrival, the doormen greeted us with sincerity by warmly welcoming us to the hotel, “Hello sir, are you checking into the hotel?” Followed by, “What is your name sir?” Then as he safely harnessed our overnight bag,; “Welcome Mr. Ng to the Trump Hotel”

As we entered through the revolving doors, another gentleman greeted us by our last name. This second gentleman escorted us to the front desk introducing us to Roger – the Front Desk Attendant – who automatically greeted us by Mr. and Mrs. Ng. At this point, we were already impressed with the attentive service, until Roger walked around the desk and took us personally to our room. Come on!

Needless to say that our two-night visit was bookend with the same level of excellence.

Fast-forward six months later, we went to dinner at Stock Restaurant for my dad’s 73rd birthday. We were confident that the experience would be memorable for such an occasion. Like routine, the valet joyfully opened my dad’s door welcoming him with birthday greetings, followed by two others extending the same happy greeting. Keep in mind, my dad is a very quiet but deliberate person, who doesn't fancy the attention. Even he was impressed with the level of service and genuine interaction that he smiled contently during the elevator ride to the 31st floor.

Trump team, thank you for the outstanding experience every time and commitment to excellence, truly remarkable.

Start with why

I love the hospitality industry and have since I was a child.  My earliest memory was watching futuristic movies like Blade Runner and Star Wars where I noticed a restaurant scene in both, and thinking restaurants would never become obsolete - an industry of the future. Then my parents who taught us the importance of family around the dinner table (read "A Table comes First" by Adam Gopnik) and trying ethnic foods available in Toronto in the mid seventies. That was an eye-opening experience.

The purpose of this blog is to report remarkable service within the hospitality industry, as I feel that Canada has much to gain by improving in this area. There are lots of restaurants and hotels that have opened across the country but only a few that have truly differentiated themselves by focusing on hospitality excellence.  By highlighting these exemplary establishments and people, I hope to inspire others to make service an important part of their culture.

As more global travellers visit our beautiful country to experience the vibrant hospitality we have to offer, the lethargic acceptance of "it's good" is just not good enough. We need to dazzle our guests, exude passion and care, and be proud of our work. But this starts with a systemic awareness for change in our service philosophy.  Service starts with treating your staff as VIP first and creating a sustainable environment for a career, that is, work/life integration and a decent salary plus benefits (not just medical).

Please feel free to contribute to my cause by reporting those who do things differently by providing remarkable service.

Thank you.