The Power of Warm Hospitality

Benjamin Franklin famously said, “the handshake of the host affects the quality of the roast”.

In other words, a warm greeting and exceptional service in a dining room is inextricably linked to the quality of food made in a kitchen.

What if I told you I had the connections and the know-how to serve you the most delicious meal on earth? Not just the best, in my opinion. Objectively the best. If I gave you the date, time, and location, would you jump at the chance? Of course, you would!

The big day would finally come around, and you’d show up at the right place at the right time, buzzing with excitement. But things aren’t quite what you expected. When you enter the dining venue, you’re greeted by a rude host who refuses to look up from her phone when she takes your name and then waves vaguely in the direction of your table. When you sit down, you notice there are crumbs on your chair and a stain in the middle of the tablecloth.

Things don’t improve from there – the serving staff are rude and slow. Sure, the meal itself is absolutely delicious, but you didn’t actually get what you ordered, and it’s hard to enjoy yourself when the staff did not take care of you.

At Fresh Ideas, we pride ourselves on ensuring no customer ever has this experience.

How do we provide warm hospitality?

Fresh Ideas is committed to providing great food and great service to our guests.

Here’s how:

1. Health and Safety

Ensuring the health and safety of team members and customers is the number one ingredient for any food service business committed to delivering world-class hospitality.

Health and safety encompasses everything from clean dishes to storing and serving food at the correct temperatures to identifying kitchen hazards and carefully looking after customers with food allergies.  

At Fresh Ideas, the implementation of stringent health and safety measures ensures that anyone who steps into one of our dining venues leaves feeling happy, healthy, and well served.

2. Quality

At Fresh Ideas, we pride ourselves on delivering a wide range of nutritious and delicious foods – including options that cater to different dietary requirements. But the meaning of “quality” extends far beyond the delivery of tasty meals.

Is the food nicely presented? Does it look appetizing? Can people find what they need? Is the hot food hot and the cold food cold? Are self-service stations being restocked efficiently? Is there enough food for everyone?

A warm ambiance further enhances the quality of our customers’ dining experience. Simple additions like background music or clear signage detailing food information can mean the difference between a good experience and a great one.

It’s also important that our team members are knowledgeable and professional. If a customer has a question about our food, for example, our servers will know the answer.

3. Personalization

Hospitality and personalization go hand in hand.

We work to continually expand our dining options in ways that give customers more choice. This includes self-service food bars, a customizable pizza robot, and made-to-order meals.

But perhaps the most important part of personalized service is the human touch. The same people visit our dining halls every day, and we want them to feel comfortable and cared for.

In our college campus dining halls, for example, our friendly and attentive staff have the time to engage in conversations and often know students by name. They’ll make an effort to celebrate students’ birthdays, ask about their day or arrange special post-game meals for the athletic teams.

What are the benefits of offering warm hospitality?

Why do we go the extra mile?

For starters, warm hospitality improves the relationship between client and customer.  The better we know the people we serve, the better we can meet and exceed their needs.

Secondly, happier customers mean happier staff members. We want our team members to feel secure, fulfilled, and happy when they come to work. By fostering a friendly and supportive environment in which everyone is having fun, the well-being of everyone improves.

Then there’s the fact that we feel an enormous responsibility to look after our customers. On a college campus, students choose to interact with lots of different people – professors, coaches, and fellow students. But they have to eat every day. That means we typically interact with students more than anyone else on campus, and the impact we can have is tremendous.

If a student is struggling to make friends or experiencing other difficulties, we can quickly intercept and be proactive in helping them. We may be able to offer them a job so they can meet new people or alert college administrators to a more serious problem. Similarly, if a student is having a difficult day, the warm hospitality and familiarity we provide is a welcome comfort.

Food creates memories and brings people together in unique ways, and we want to impact the dining experience with exceptional guest service at every opportunity.