One of the best waiters the world has ever seen passed away tragically several months ago. His name was Esteban, and he was my mentor. He died in a tragic diving accident, when he was eaten whole by an unknown shark-like creature.
He will always be remembered for his dedication to the customer, intimate knowledge of wine, and his indepth and witty food descriptions....
Thanks for everything Esteban, see you on the other side.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Gong Fu Service .... Rule number one: You learn it.
Most waiters think the key to making a customers experience memorable, thus making the payoff optimal, is through upselling and frequent quality checks... sounds logical, right? Well if you believe this your an idiot.
For the rest of you, who are still reading this, you past the test but just barely. It is time that the true artfrom be revealed, so that it may be taught again and thus continued forevermore, forevermore. In the esoteric waitering circles there is a highly skilled tradition know as Gong Fu Service, this roughly translates to artfulness with skill, or the art of knowing by not knowing. The main tenants to this stream of waiterering, are to forget everything you learned in your orientation package. In fact, take the package and through half of it away. Keep the first half and re-write the second. You will reveal through withholding, and sell by not selling. The customer is not always right, in fact the customer is never right, the waiter is always right, but lets the customer think they are right.
The Gong Fu waiter knows what the customer will have, but doesn't order it for them. He lets them decide. He recognizes they are tourists but doesn't offer them any insight to the city, he lets the city discover them. He yeilds to their inherent needs as the trees bark yeilds to the squirrel.
This is Gong Fu Service.
For the rest of you, who are still reading this, you past the test but just barely. It is time that the true artfrom be revealed, so that it may be taught again and thus continued forevermore, forevermore. In the esoteric waitering circles there is a highly skilled tradition know as Gong Fu Service, this roughly translates to artfulness with skill, or the art of knowing by not knowing. The main tenants to this stream of waiterering, are to forget everything you learned in your orientation package. In fact, take the package and through half of it away. Keep the first half and re-write the second. You will reveal through withholding, and sell by not selling. The customer is not always right, in fact the customer is never right, the waiter is always right, but lets the customer think they are right.
The Gong Fu waiter knows what the customer will have, but doesn't order it for them. He lets them decide. He recognizes they are tourists but doesn't offer them any insight to the city, he lets the city discover them. He yeilds to their inherent needs as the trees bark yeilds to the squirrel.
This is Gong Fu Service.
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