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I read an article today http://bit.ly/14mB6u5 discussing the current state of restaurant wait staff.

The article bemoaned that so many wait staff in Australian restaurants consider restaurant service as not a real job.

Although basic wage conditions and tipping practices are different in Australia to those in the USA, there are some interesting universal principles of performance that can be drawn from this article.

The article highlighted the story of a young waitress, Sonia Bandera, who at twenty seven years of age, had fought off a strong list of competitors from some of the best restaurants in Australia to win the title of ‘Best Young Waiter 2013’.

The article pointed out, quite rightly, that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to the hospitality industry to reach the levels of skill required to be considered for such a prestigious award.

The article talks about how Sonia revealed several key points of note during a recent radio interview with Kelli Brett on ABC radio.

Sonia revealed three very key points which I believe are applicable to all jobs and professions.

• Firstly, she loves going to work each day, and is very serious about her career path and chosen profession. She is not doing wait work while she waits for another job to come up. This is her career!
• Secondly, Sonia speaks highly of her boss, head chef Neil Perry and his passion for his work. She also loves being a part of, and being able to contribute to the restaurant *experience* of the many diners she gets to serve.
• Thirdly, Sonia likens her role in service at the restaurant to being similar to that of a professional therapist, in that she needs to be able to recognise customers’ moods, tones of voice, and the body language they use.

Recently, one of my dental office clients was hiring and interviewing for a Front Office Position. Their policy, as suggested by me at The Ultimate Patient Experience, is that the Front Office Receptionist is the Face of the Dental Practice.

They were horrified to have a recently graduated hygienist contact the office and say, “Oh it’s just a receptionist position.”

Similarly, in interviewing for this highly specialized and important role, there have been applicants with Dental Assisting experience who feel “it’s time” for them to move to the front desk because they’ve worn out their interest in the clinical situation.

As a Career Dental Person, all dental employees can learn considerably and advance their careers in leaps and bounds by following the three key principles expressed above by Sonia Bandera.

1. Love your work! Do it with passion! If it’s not motivating you, then you are not giving one hundred percent to your employer and your valuable clients, customers and patients!
2. Speak highly of your boss, and respect their work ethic and passion. Your boss is on board. You need to be on board with your boss, and show it!
3. Love your clients and customers. Take an interest in them as people, and remember, they are all different; they are all individuals. Also remember, it’s the customer who pays your wages, not your employer.

An employee who loves their work, loves their customers and outwardly expresses their respect for their employer is a valuable asset essential in providing a World Class Customer Experience.

Essential in providing an Ultimate Patient Experience.

Correct hiring is just one of the  many straight forward and easy to implement modules that make up The Ultimate Patient Experience, a simple to build system in itself that I developed that allowed me to create an extraordinary dental office in an ordinary Sydney suburb. If you’d like to know more, ask me about my free special report.

Email me at david@theupe.com

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