Restaurant Service: Service Equals Performance Equals Service

Service can be described as a “performance” of some kind involving two parties, whereby one party is the benefactor and the other party is the performing party receiving some type of monetary payment. The value of the Service depends on the personal experience of the benefactor. When I looked it up in Webster’s, there it was at #11 out of 31 definitions. The payment part was not included, but the key word mentioned was “performance.”

As I relate this to restaurants, it’s so easy to see why dining room service is excellent training for actors, since they’re performing all of the time. There might be days when their energy level is low, yet they are still expected to perform in the show on stage at night. It is not much different for dining room service staff whose livelihood depends quite a bit on how they look and act before many people on any night. The word “performance” makes a lot of sense when relating it to other Service fields such as medical, legal, financial, and armed; even in religion they have prayer services.

With increased human knowledge and modern inventions, the term “Customer Service” has evolved over time. Whenever a new technology is invented, an array of “services” develops making it accessible to the general public. Its success depends upon product "performance" and the product-related “Services performance.” Whether it is a bulb to make a room bright or a flying machine that sends people around the world faster, the need for developed services attached to new technologies does create jobs.

Even at the computer we dial up our Internet “Service” Provider to gain access to the information highway. The instantaneous delivery of sorted out information within seconds is now the norm. Proper navigation “performance” (that word again) allow us to surf the World Wide Web, streamlining information at our fingertips. ” With improved search engine technology, the return of consumer searches has become more categorically specific, proving that better performance results in better Service.

Take a look around and you will notice Service performances touch every part of our daily lives - many of which are taken for granted.

Richard Saporito is a NYC Restaurant Insider with more than 30 years experience. He is currently the President of Topserve Restaurant Consulting, Inc. and the author of "How To Improve Dining Room Service." Discover how to improve your restaurant's dining room service and dramatically increase your profits here.