So, you’re the chef or a cook at a hot spot tourism destination restaurant. You know, the type of place that is crazy busy for five -six months a year, people line up out the door, vendors try to find a place to unload with all the traffic clogging streets and parking lots, there’s never enough help and almost none who have worked for you before this season. There’s hardly any time to train – they’ll need to learn on the job. There are more restaurants per block than you might find in a large metropolitan area and the menus rarely vary from operation to operation. Everyone is impatient and expectations are not very high. If it’s New England, everybody wants lobster, if the southeast – the expectation is for shrimp and grits. Louisiana – gumbo and etouffee and don’t forget the chicory coffee. Kansas City or Texas requires barbeque. Buffalo is not Buffalo without wings or beef on weck, and the southwest must be overflowing with tacos and anything with roasted peppers. The list goes on and on and for those who work in these areas, there is always an underlying thought: why am I doing this?

So, here’s a different twist – why not break the mold and be the alternative, do it exceptionally well, knock people’s socks off, and view your role as the REASON for people to visit rather than fulfilling a basic human need to fill their stomachs. Think about this….

Those tourists who visit, for the most part, may be hardworking individuals who have planned this trip for months. This is their chance to break away from a routine, find a place where life’s challenges can be put aside for a short period of time, a chance to treat themselves and relax, feel good, and create a few memories along the way. Maybe if we stop counting the number of dining room turns and viewing guests as “covers”, we might actually feel good about what we do. We might truly step into the role of hospitality and making a difference in people’s lives for a few days. Of course, there will always be disgruntled people who thrive on sharing their misery with others, but although they may be the most vocal, they are not the majority. We find ways to tolerate the miserable and build special connections with the majority – that’s what we do. Tourism gives us a chance to practice this in some of the most challenging environments. The best restaurants, chefs, cooks, and service staff understand this and step up their game to make sure hospitality is seen, felt, heard, and tasted.

Be the reason why people choose your restaurant, not because it fits the model of least resistance, not just because you have a convenient location, not because the line isn’t quite as long as others, or not because the name seems to fit the part of the country where the restaurant sits (Jenny’s Maine Lobster House, Ralph’s Authentic Texas BBQ, The Gumbo Factory, Annabelle’s Charleston Shrimp and Grits). The reason why you are busy is because the food is original, delicious, and consistent and the staff are sincerely happy that guests choose them. Make the guest’s vacation – one to remember. Help them understand that there are loads of restaurant choices but if great food and caring hospitality is what they seek – then yours is the only real choice.

It’s no different than any other great restaurant’s approach in a city, town, or village; it just happens to be in a tourist destination where expectations are not always that high because they may not have to be. Break the tradition of “less than stellar” and set the tone for other restaurants to follow. Excellence is contagious, you know.

PLAN BETTER – TRAIN HARDER

Harvest America Ventures, LLC

Restaurant Consulting

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