Reference no: EM132701406
Banquet Ballyhoo at the Brunswick
The annual member's meeting and banquet at the Brunswick Club was only three days away, and dining room manager Alex King was a little worried. He had just hired five new servers, but he wasn't completely convinced they could handle the job. The selection process had been dismal: the applicants with experience didn't want to work for the hourly wage the club was offering, and the five applicants who would accept $7 an hour had less-than-stellar work histories. But he had been forced to hire all five of these latter applicants, despite his misgivings. One had been fired from a previous job, one had only quick-service restaurant experience and another seemed to move from job to job. Still, warm bodies were better than no bodies at all, he figured.
Alex was swamped with the final preparations for the banquet and was counting on his experienced servers to give the new staff members enough of an orientation to get them through this first big affair. Then he could take the time to train them thoroughly. For now, he planned to quickly review the employee manual with the new servers, go over some basic club procedures, and have them shadow the veteran servers during the lunch and dinner shifts between now and the banquet. It was only days. Alex crossed his fingers and hoped for the best.
On Saturday evening, the dining room gleamed with crystal and candlelight. Alex strode through the room, straightening a centerpiece here, pushing in a chair there. At the back of the dining room he found the club's senior servers-Charlotte, Margie, and Alfred- giving the five new servers some final instructions. Wait, there were only four new servers.
"Where's Tammy?" asked Alex. He turned as the young woman rushed in hair billowing around her shoulders. As she brushed her hair out of her face, her bright red fingernails caught Alex's eye. When he explained that her hair would need to be pulled back and that bold nail polish was not part of the server's uniform, she said sullenly, "No one told me." "Well, you've been told now," he replied. Alex hoped this incident wouldn't set the tone for the evening.
For a while, things seemed to progress without a hitch. Then Alex spotted Miranda, another new server, pop a canapé into her mouth as she mingled among the club members with her tray. I hope nobody else saw that, he thought, scanning the faces of nearby members. Then he saw Phil, the bartender, apologizing as he handed over a drink to Mr. Finley, who was obviously perturbed. Alex hurried over to see if he could help.
Phil explained that Mr. Finley was the fourth member who had complained about a botched drink order. "Didn't anyone tell these new kids how to place drink orders?" he asked. "Mr. Finley only drinks Dewar's scotch, but I didn't know it was his order and made the drink with our house scotch. If I'd known we had so many new servers, I would've given them a crash course in member service and bar procedures. They sure need it."
Kevin, another of the new servers, approach the bar. Phil pointed him out as the server who had messed up the drink orders. When Alex asked Kevin why he didn't specify the brand of liquor the member had requested, Kevin looked amazed. "Scotch is scotch, right?" he shrugged. Phil groaned and rolled his eyes.
Alex turned from the bar just in time to see a disaster- Tammy and Miranda colliding with full trays of salad. After a stunned silence, the young women began giggling as they grabbed for the scattered plates. Two busboys came over to help them get the mess cleaned up. Charlotte and Margie had witnessed the disaster and, veterans that they were, had hurried back to the kitchen to get more salads so that the club members seated at Tammy and Miranda's tables wouldn't go hungry.
The beleaguered dining room manager continued to "put of fires" throughout the evening. He brought the board president and his wife a new bottle of merlot when they pointed out to him that their server, Kelsey, had brought their first bottle in an ice bucket. "When we asked about the wine, she told us there was a red and white- and she called me "sweetie," the president harrumphed. At the muffled sounds of arguing from the kitchen, Alex excused himself from the president's table and entered the kitchen, where he found the chef shouting at Alfred.
"What's the problem here?" asked Alex, surprised that two veteran staff members would be arguing where members might hear them.
The chef was upset because entrees hadn't been picked up and delivered to tables. Alfred was upset because he was working as fast as he could- serving his tables and Kevin's tables.
"Where's Kevin?" asked Alex. His questions was answered by a furious Charlotte, who explained that she was scrambling to cover for two other new servers-Kelsey and Dakota. "They're all outside having a cigarette break!" she fumed. "It's not fair-we're having all the work. Don't they know what kind of service we give at the Brunswick Club?"
"Well, they've been shadowing you for the past two days. Didn't you tell them that our members expect superb service?" Alex retorted. "Don't they know better than to take a break now?"
"That's right blame me!" Charlotte exclaimed. "I've tried to teach those kids but I can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, not in two days. That Dakota thinks every meal ought to come with fries and a prize, and the rest of them aren't much better. It's not my job to turn burger-flippers into club servers. Come to think of it, it's your job!"
Alex knew she was right. As he headed outside to haul in the smoking servers he caught sight of the general manager headed his way. He knew the look on her face. Looks like I'd better make some time in my schedule for a meeting tomorrow. A long meeting, he though ruefully.
Discussion Questions
- What did the new servers do wrong at the member's banquet?
- What five training topics should Alex have covered with the new servers in the two days before the banquet?
- What should Alex acknowledge as his mistakes when he meets with the general manager?
- What steps should Alex take after the meeting?
- What are some advantages of holding banquets or special events in a restaurant, hotel, or club?