A café in Sydney has been awarded the title of Australia’s best customer service provider in the dining and hospitality industry. The national competition was conducted by American Express and found Village Store Café at Darling Point to be the top of its industry.
Read this insert by Hospitalitymagazine.com.au which provides more information:

Richard Goldman who runs the Village Store cafe at Darling Point was nominated by one of his customers who said he goes “above and beyond to ensure each customer is treated with respect and welcomed”.

 The program called Great Service Quest which attracted hundreds of nominations from the customers of businesses around the country was launched by American Express following its research that revealed service standards were in decline.

 As well as the dining and hospitality category it also looked for examples of great service providers in the Retail, Home Services, and the Health and Wellbeing industries.

 

 A humble Goldman (pictured) said that providing good customer service was just part of his job.

 

 “You’re in hospitality for a reason – to give good service,” he said.

 

 “It’s a challenging job and every day brings something different.”

 

 American Express managing director Lisa Vehrenkamp said she was impressed by the numbers of people who were so focused on delivering outstanding service.

 

Source: http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au/food/news/sydney-cafe-owner-delivers-best-service-to-custome

The competition which is designed to recognise excellence in customer service provision has revealed that although there are a number of service providers who provide excellent service, national standards are generally on the decline. That is why competitions of this nature are so important to foster a culture of good customer service, after all customers are the bread and butter of the business.

The search was conducted across 11 countries and found that a number of Australian consumers are not too satisfied with the service they are receiving at restaurants. Four out of ten Australians are dissatisfied with the service they receive and record beaten only by the dissatisfaction of the French.

The number one customer service faux paux is a bad attitude. Whether or not you are having a bad day, it’s not the customer’s fault and they shouldn’t have to pay for it. Smile, be pleasant and greet each one. Try to assist them as much as possible and do so politely.

Also use age-appropriate greetings. That implies avoiding referring to older customers and women as “guys” it can come across as rude.

Be proactive and ask how you may be of service, always stay visible so that you can be of service but don’t hover around them and interrupt their conversation.

You should give customers standing in front of you precedence over someone who calls on the phone and never judge customers, treat everyone equally regardless of age.

When asked a question don’t ever say you don’t know, rather say, “I don’t know but I can find out”.

Smile as you are saying goodbye and encourage the customer to come again, the last impression is just as important as the first. Always consider how you would like to be treated if you were the customer and you will soon realise that your attitude has a lot to do with your customer’s satisfaction.