If you really want to impress our rugby-mad global guests next year, throw in a shot of friendliness, a squirt of professionalism and a dash of finely tuned people skills, then mix and serve. That’s just some of the ingredients some of our front-of-house stars say you need to make customers come back.

By Veronica Johnston

Knowing how to be a star in the bar and on the floor takes time as you watch and learn from the people you look up to before you have a go and naturally, make a few mistakes along the way. But with the RWC 2011 just round the corner, there’s no time for mistakes. We’ve got to get it right. So this month Hospitality asks four award-winning service professionals what it takes to be the best.

Outstanding waiter
Scott Campbell accidentally put a cork screw through a screw cap on a wine bottle once. He did it just as screw caps started popping up here for the first time – and doesn’t recommend it by the way.
The senior waiter, who works the floor at Auckland’s Wine Chambers nowadays, also doesn’t recommend standing looking bored on the job.
“Always find something to do because otherwise if people need their water topped up and you haven’t noticed, they’ll say ‘well why he is just standing there?’ That’s bad service.”
Ask Campbell what good service is and he’ll tell you what else he’s learned along the way.
But probe a little deeper and you’ll find someone who obviously goes the extra mile to look after his customers.
It’s the little things, he says, like making an item from a past menu if a customer requests it, opening wine bottles set up by the glass, prioritising orders if customers are rushing, and smiling at them when they walk in.
“I think smiling goes a long way. I know it’s hard for people to smile (and I don’t) all the time but definitely just greeting the customer, making sure they feel welcome and comfortable…nothing can ever appear to be too much when you’re dealing with them.”
Call him old-fashioned perhaps but this year’s Lewisham Outstanding Waiter award winner says we don’t always look after people “properly” anymore.
“I think we’re quite friendly in general…but I also think sometimes there’s not a lot of catering to individual customers needs.”
He says it helps to know how to “read your customers” and interpret what kind of experiences they’re after as this can be “one of the differences between being okay and being good or very good at your job.”
Campbell says he adjusts his approach if he’s dealing with people who only eat out one night a year or his regulars who come in every day.
“We like to have a lot of fun with our customers but at the same time we know they’re not here to see us, they’re here to enjoy themselves so we play that part.”
But it’s our friendly style of service that sets us apart from the world that will also be on show during the rugby tournament next year.
And as Campbell says, it’s better to be friendlier than technically perfect.
“The people who have the personality tend to have the skills as well, they may just not be as proficient as some, but at least they know what they’re doing and can serve a customer properly.”
“Tourists always say they love that. It’s just that the skills need to go along with it because you’ve got to be able to look after them.”
Or they won’t come back. It’s that simple.

Outstanding bartender
Chase Bickerton constantly thinks about drinks. If he’s not making them he’s experimenting with them and if he’s not sampling them, he’s probably talking about them. So it’s no wonder The Corner Store bartender just won a Lewisham Award for the skills he says he’s spent years fine-tuning.
“Every time a customer comes in and says, ‘oh, I’m not too sure what I want – maybe something a little sweet’…straight away, I’ll have about seven or eight cocktails that I’ve been working on that I can start going, ‘oh, would like something with a little bit of this in it as well or a little bit of that?”
“I usually have a few drinks that I can sort of tailor make to their needs, give them and get a little bit of feedback on,” he says.
So how come he usually has so many drink options on the go?
He meets with as many reps and brand ambassadors as he can to learn about their products.
“When you get the chance to sit down with these guys, you do get a little bit more than you would from just reading it off a piece of paper. Speaking with them and being able to quiz them, means you can also pick up more of their passion – and they do from you as well and that sort of transfers onto you I guess.”
The creative exploring comes next.
“The first thing you do is look at it and everything else you’ve got and go ‘oh, I wonder if I can put this with this and take a classic cocktail and mix it with a little bit of this.’”
He also learns from the chefs who frequent the bar and tell him what the latest food trends and ingredients are including how to prepare, subtly change and reduce them if need be.
Right now he is learning how to play with pomegranate molasses, homemade bitters and techniques used in molecular gastronomy thanks to some fresh inspiration from the culinary world.
But it’s not just about the drinks.
“When somebody walks through the door and you start speaking to them; you greet them, give them a wine list and start discussing what they’re looking for and what they want.”
“Not only are you looking for the physical drinks and food they want but you’re also trying to find out what sort of experience they want,” says Bickerton.
Whether it’s a couple who wants a quick chat then to sit in the corner and be left alone or a group of girls who come in on a hen’s night and want a bit of entertainment “and a bit of flirtation” or lads who just want to come in and hear a rugby story – he says he’s learnt how to read the signs and just go with it.
“I might have a bit of a talent there but it’s been worked on for years and years of just watching people and just reading body language as you see similar scenarios all the time.”
“You’re not just looking at the products you serve but also the experience you provide and in a small environment, it really does come down to one or two guys behind the bar so it puts the pressure on you to really create it.”
“It’s the experience they’re really gaining and you can’t really put a dollar value on that.”

Outstanding maître d'
Melissa Morrow leads by an example yet this rather modest maître d' says she has no idea why she won this year’s Lewisham Award. She nearly fell off her chair when her name was read out as the winner.
Watch her in action at the Ponsonby Rd Bistro and you’ll soon see why though.
She steers the ship, she says, with a positive attitude and strong presence that can quickly diffuse any situation.
“You can’t afford not to be [positive] because as maître d' everyone is going to turn to you, you set the tone and it really does filter down from the top.
“So I am such a firm believer if there’s a mantra to be had – to lead by example.
“You have to have incredibly fine-tuned people skills because not only are you keeping the customers happy, you’re keeping the staff happy and you’re dealing with situations that arise with zero notice.”
“You’re really keeping the boat afloat, so yeah, I think it is an ability to stay calm and handle anything that’s thrown at you.”
She says it’s important everybody feels happy that you’re there so they know it’s all going to be okay – which obviously means always being there.
“That’s the other thing – you can’t be an absent maître d' as your presence has to be known.”
Especially to your regulars, she says, who’ll come to your restaurant because they know you’ll look after them and your staff members, who if anything happens, “will come to you and know you’re actually there to sort that out for them.”
But then she often pre-empts things before they get bad. If she sees a little tension on the floor for example, she’ll pull somebody aside and dissolve the issue before it becomes a big problem.
“Maintaining a really happy relationship between the floor and the kitchen; that to me is the merit of a successful restaurant. Imperative”
She also trains staff to let her know every single thing that’s happening in the restaurant.
“I often have three people sort of murmuring things in my ear as I’m cashing off or printing a bill.”
“They will keep me up to speed…so even if something tiny has gone wrong, I know about it.
 “Chances are that if one thing goes wrong with a table, at least one other mishap may occur – call it sod’s law. So I always make sure that I personally look after the customers from then on to ensure a smooth and hiccup-free experience, and to support the waiter who may be feeling intimidated by the customer.”
And that’s where it helps to have a cool, calm head.
“I am by nature quite positive…and find that putting a positive slant on problem-resolving has the best outcome.”
She also ensures her team is up-to-date to avoid any tricky situations.
“Some customers have strong opinions so again it’s really important for the staff to be really well-trained in menu and wine knowledge so they’re not caught on the unawares and they are also quietly confident.”
And when the staff pitches in and helps each other at the end of the night, laughing and genuinely having a good time, “then your job is done” she says with a modesty and pride that isn’t hard to miss. 

Outstanding sommelier
Brad Sullivan is a self-confessed habit-breaker. While his shifts at Auckland’s Wine Chambers tend to begin with a routine glass of bubbles every night, which is his “energy” as he affectionately calls it, he also likes to pour “a little complimentary taster” for his guests as they are being seated.
“Just for them to have a taste of something a little bit different – something they wouldn’t necessarily try while they’re having a look at the menu and deciding what they’re going to do; it’s nice to have something to sip,” he says.
That’s where the habit breaking occurs.
After recently giving one beer-drinking regular a teaser glass of wine, the customer enjoyed the wine so much he ended up ordering a bottle of it.
“It’s great – it opens up some opportunities.”
Sullivan also extends his wine teasers to staff at the end of the night so they can describe the taste of the wine to customers.
 “If they happen to be at a table where a certain customer asks about a certain wine rather than going ‘oh hang on, I don’t know’ and looking like an idiot, they can talk about the wine as well, which I think is very important.”
Lining his wine list are predominantly New Zealand wines which he says customer demand has mostly dictated.
That’s because the restaurant’s location is right “in the middle of corporate land” and lunch service usually consist of lots of suits in business meetings.
So it helps if Sullivan has wines his corporate customers know and trust so they can recommend them to their clients “without us having to talk too much so they can get on with the business they’re doing.”
 “But then dinner service tends to not be as corporate and you get couples coming along that do want to talk to you about the wines so it’s quite nice having both sides of that kind of service,” he says.
Sullivan also regularly changes his wine lists especially “if something absolutely gorgeous comes along.”
He simply slots it into the wine list which he then prints off at work.
“I like that flexibility as well – being able to chop and change things around. You know if you get bored with something, you can put something new on. It keeps it fresh for the customers I think. There’s always something new.”
It also helps that wineries have been dropping their wine prices lately which lets him pass that saving onto the customers – something he’s big on doing.
“It’s important to look after your customers, they’re the reason we’re here not the other way round.”