Providing the best guest experience entails a large number, and a wide variety, of details – and, touchpoints. Our focus at TabletopJournal is on the details involving what the food is served on, the utensils used to eat the food, how the beverage is served and what is drunk from, the overall lighting ambiance, and even what might be used on the table for linens or napkins (admittedly, this final one is area we’d like to improve on.) Tabletop – and its role in the guest experience – is where we try to maintain our focus. After all, few guest touchpoints are as intimate as the things you might bring to your lips when you eat or what is on your table when you dine.
That culture of delivering the best guest experience possible also means a thoughtful selection process when choosing the items you use on your tabletop. Rather than viewing tabletop as a P&L line item where you can look to save money, a good starting point is to view tabletop as an easy way to enhance your guests’ dining experience and reinforce your overall branding. After all, few of the physical aspects to your hotel or restaurant will be utilized in such an tactile, close up way as glassware, flatware, and the other items on your tabletop.
And, certainly within that thoughtful tabletop selection process, you can choose a cost-effective option whether its glassware, dinnerware, or other tabletop items. But, when narrowing your tabletop choices, spend more time asking yourself questions like “What effect will these forks, knives, and spoons have on my guests’ experience?” rather than “How can we save money on flatware?”
Creating a thoughtful company culture of providing the best possible guest experience is a great start on the road to long-term success in the hospitality business. Just make sure that thoughtfulness extends into the tabletop items you select and their impact on the overall guest dining experience.
