When a Word Salad Becomes the Most Delicious Special of the Day!

So many choices, so little time! How does one decide when everything on the menu looks intriguing, delicious, and unusual?

On a recent evening outing to an oceanfront restaurant, serving Japanese Korean fusion, our dining desires would hinge on how the choices were presented. Alex, our waiter, showed up with a knowing twinkle in his eye and an eagerness to please. Sensing our own excitement for the culinary journey we had heard about, his words launched us into the worlds from which the dishes came.

For one type of sashimi, he told us what ocean the fish came from, the temperature of the water and what texture to expect. For one of the meat dishes, he was able to describe the chef’s intentions and selection of spices to ensure his words and the emotions behind them transported us to our food’s beginnings and gave us depth and appreciation for the appetizer we soon would be served.

Our meal was exciting, and we had not even seen it yet! Alex had spent time with the chef and was curious enough to find out all the background he could on each dish so that he could authentically present a story behind each menu item.

By the time our sashimi arrived, we were primed to experience the culture along with the tastes of our fresh dish. Alex had served us a delicious word salad before even one bit of food had actually been served.

And that’s when Lisa showed up with our sashimi platter. Unlike Alex, she had a frown and was wearing bright blue rubber gloves. She abruptly set the plate down and was ready to walk away. I stopped her to ask her what one of the pieces of sashimi was as we had quite a selection. Her answer was “fish!” At first, I thought she was joking but every bit of her body language was that I had asked a rather clueless question and that she needed to move on. Now, I was agitated and repeated my question with more emphasis on exactly which piece was unknown to me. She did not know and abruptly left to send someone more patient over to answer my fishy questions.

What a ‘bait and switch’ using real fish bait!!!! We were so delighted with the salad of words from Alex that ‘baited’ our anticipation. Lisa gave us the switch-the abrupt shift in mood and expectations which took us down from the positive foundation Alex created.

Delivering on the Entire Experience

Words, style, behaviors, body language are all key to the guest experience from moment one and then each moment thereafter. How are employees being trained and then held accountable for their role in the ENTIRE experience delivery? And how well do they relate to and understand guest expectations, so reviews are high and not low. It is not just one “Alex’s” job to set the stage and reel the guest in. It is the entire team, whether a helper, busser, server, host, or anyone that is part of the restaurant or hospitality venue to not only continue but build upon the experience being delivered.

Both Alex and Lisa need to understand their roles not only with the guest but with each other and how they effectively pass the baton back and forth and ensure their backstage communications are as effective as their onstage presence with the guests. Creating a feeling that each phase of the meal matters, beyond deciding and ordering, is essential to keep the guest experience momentum going. Evaluate what might interrupt the experience like the blue rubber gloves or the indifferent and seemingly uncaring attitude. And, recognize how important consistency is in managing the expectation flow.

During another evening experience, we were in the mood for ice cream and were completely surprised by another version of a word salad. In our small beachside community, there are five ice cream shops within a few blocks of each other. We decided to check out one we had never been to and compare ice cream quality and experience. As we perused the various ice cream flavors, I asked where the ice cream was made and how it differed from the ice cream shop across the street that we usually go to, still not sure we would try a scoop here. Angie, a young employee, shrugged her shoulders and said she thought it might be made somewhere locally but was not sure and could not really say what ingredients were in the ice cream. Those kinds of answers always fire me up to uncover more as I am always surprised when an employee is not trained to answer simple basic questions.

That is when Sarah, the manager, came out from the back. She gave us the ‘flavor of the day’ with her words and gave us the ‘factory tour’ of the company’s history, the ice cream’s ingredients and where they were sourced, where it was made and EXACTLY how it differed from the spot across the street. WOW! With those flavorful words, we ordered up two scoops immediately and became new fans. The time between those two conversations was so small but the impact was so big. Sarah rescued my inquisitive moment, yet her lesson as a manager would be to make sure her employees are as well-versed as she is. Her words added the flavor we needed to make a purchase, and her store enjoyed the sweetness and profitability of new customers.

Words as Meaningful Impacts

And words from diverse cultures also add a delightful flavor to the emotions of service in any setting. We recently returned from Tahiti and other French Polynesian islands. La Ora Na, in Tahitian, (pronounced yo-rah-nah), is the way to say ‘Hello,’ even though French is the official language. Everywhere we went this short phrase was shared with such warmth, with smiles, with genuine interest and with almost a song-like lilt. Even though we heard it over and over again, it made us feel so welcome, so appreciated and so recognized.

Similar to the word ‘Aloha’ in Hawaii, it is a phrase that yields much more than a simple meaning; it is a whole menu of delightful reactions and interactions, lasting only seconds but inspiring positive feelings that linger. It is amazing when one word, or one mini word salad, can produce such meaningful impacts. The key is these words were expressed with authentic, genuine interest and feeling. So simple yet so powerful. Words, especially greetings, in any language can adopt this power and integrate more feeling into guest interactions.

Word Salad in All Communications

And word salads are not limited to in person interactions. Communicating over the phone can also cause ’service indigestion" when words and phrases are rushed, unclear and indifferent. With the frenzy of the holiday season, many phone calls feature ordering gifts, problem solving and making plans. Everyone feels more stress, pressure and deadlines to get what they need. Guest Service representatives and agents need to have extra sensitive radar and training to handle the ’menu’ of requests. Pace of speech and tone of voice are the added ingredients to create a positive service experience.

On a recent call to order holiday cards, we had to interact with a variety of agents by phone, to solve a frustrating problem with pricing and design. Each agent was based in a different country and had unique accents and styles of speech. Of the five agents we spoke to, three were serving up responsive service that addressed our needs. The other two were ’dishes’ we wanted to send back. Why the difference? Even though many of the words and phrases were similar to solve our problem, they were pronounced with care, even with accents with the three responsive agents. Their tones communicated caring and interest beyond the words they used. They added the ’dressing’ of service excellence to their word salads to reassure us a solution was underway. The less than positive agents rushed their words, were procedural in their styles and had indifferent tones.

They all worked for the same company, probably had the same training programs and script guidance, yet there was frustrating disparity in the delivery. Managers need to ensure and role model consistency and accountability for not just using words but adding feeling and empathy to those words, so customers feel like their issues really matter. Employees who are mostly communicating by phone have the additional challenge of not seeing their customer so their voice and the word salads they present take on extra importance.

In each of the examples above, consider how powerful words, the right words, can be when presenting or delivering any service. And, those words cannot be served plain. The intention behind the words comes through whether by body language, tone of voice or even style. Guests can taste the difference when service excellence is served. Word salads dressed with emotional connection, interest and passion can add the spice, the sweetness, the flavor and the story to whatever product or service is being delivered. Train teams to explore how best to describe what they are offering with words that will wet appetites for even better experiences and stronger emotional engagement.

Thoughtful, authentic, sincere word salads which support meaningful service delivery may be the special of the day no one was expecting. And loyal customers, great reviews and more revenue can be even more special!

Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from www.HotelExecutive.com.