Room
Service
Introduction
Within a five star international hotel, room
service must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.Without this
essential guest service, a property cannot obtain or maintain a five star
rating. With all areas of hotel operations, considerations of efficiency and
profitability rest along side notions of service. Much is the same for room
service; however out of all the departments delivering a product room service
has a mandate to provide the service above considerations of profitability.
Staff needs to be able to provide the highest level of service throughout
hundreds rooms within the hotel.
There
are three types of Room Service:
Centralized
room service:
Here all the food orders are processed from the main kitchen and sent to the
rooms by a common team of waiters.
Decentralized
room service:
Each floor or a set of floor may have separate pantries to service them. Orders
are taken at a central point by order-takers who in turn convey the order to
the respective pantry.
Mobile
Room Service:
This is the most interesting type of room service where one elevator is
dedicated to the Room Service. This elevator works as a pantry. Guests call in
the same mobile pantry and place the orders. As this is moving up and down,
less time is consumed for service.
In room
service department, the task of order taking is most important as:
1.
The
guest is talking to the order taker through phone, not in person.
2.
This
task reflects/improve the image of the hotel.
3.
This
task can increase the revenue sale of food & beverage service dept. by a
great margin.
4.
This
task can make the guest a satisfied and delighted guest and thus can convert
him in a repeat clientele.
Guidelines
for a professional and effective room-service:
Many times guests look forward to room
service as one of the pleasures and privileges of their stay in the hotel.
Hence you must:
1.
Know
your menu very thoroughly.
2.
Try
to create a mental picture with the help of your recommendations.
3.
Suggestive
Selling is important.
4.
Put
enthusiasm in your voice.
5.
While
taking the order or suggesting, consider time, number, type of the facilities
available for service in the room etc.
6.
Room
service is the right food at the right time in the right room.
7.
There
are no chances of any correction later, therefore be particular and check every
detail in advance.
8.
While
in the room, be alert and sensitive to the mood of the guest.
9.
Knock
with your hand and say “Room Service”. Enter only after permitted, greet guest,
serve or leave the food as per guests wish. After service do not linger, but
present the check, take signature, ask when you can come for clearance, say
“enjoy your food”. “Thank you” and depart.
10. Come out and close
the door silently.
11. Do the clearance on
time.
12. Show team spirit and
clear any tray lying in the rooms or corridor, but inform the R.S.O.T.
otherwise guest will be disturbed again.
Room
Service Manager
Duties
and Responsibilities of Room Service Manager
1.
Prepare
a room service plan and budget for the approval of the management.
2.
Help
in the recruitment of room service staff.
3.
schedule
staff on a daily basis ensuring that the objectives of the departments and
receive standards set.
4.
Direct
the movement of staff to floors especially during peak hours to ensure that
orders are served to guests on time.
5.
Coordinates
with the kitchen chef for the supply of food.
6.
Ensure
staff does the proper mis-en-place at the beginning of each shift so that the
service are smooth.
7.
Control
the inventory of the services ware and equipment allotted to room service.
8.
Manage
staff complaints and take corrective action.
9.
Recommends
room service menus and changes to the superior
10. Coordinate the
replenishment of the minim-bars on time.
11. Ensure that all room
service food and beverage service are accounted for.
12. May discipline room
service staff.
13. Evaluates room
service food & beverage service
Room
Service Captain
Duties
& Responsibilities
1.
Take
over issues from the previous shift such as:
2.
Pending
Checks
3.
Guest
Complaints
4.
Outstanding
replenishment of mini-bars
5.
Special
instructions for VIP and CIP guests
6.
Instructions
regarding complimentary items such as fruit baskets, cakes, special bars etc
7.
Conduct
briefings for the shift, interact with subordinates and ensure the overall
development of every member of the department.
8.
Check
that mis-en-scene and mis-en-place are done properly and the duties regarding
these are handed over in shifts.
9.
Take
daily attendance of staffs of the shift and allocate duties ensuring equality
of workload.
10. Control the execution
of room service food & beverage orders with attention to speed and
correctness of orders being served.
11. Organise the
clearance of dishes from the room.
12. Control door knob
orders and ensure that they are executed on time.
13. Ensure that the order
takers in the shift are prompt in attending to telephone calls and are polite
to the guests.
14. Ensure that the VIP
and CIP board is up to date.
15. Ensure that the Room
Rack or Computerized Guest details are up to date with latest guest arrivals.
16. Control costs by
controlling pilferage and breakage.
17. Account for all
checks issued for guest orders.
18. Control staff
movements to optimize rush hours.
19. Check the cleanliness
and maintenance of entire room service area.
20. Maintain high level
of hygiene and sanitation in room service area.
21. Train staffs as per
the standard of the establishment.
22. Handle guest
complaints diplomatically.
23. Motivate and lead
staffs properly
24. Maintain par stock of
room service equipments, linen and utensils
Room
Service Waiter
Duties
and Responsibilities
1.
Complete
the mis-en-place before the shift commences.
2.
Set
up trolleys and trays as per the standard of the organization.
3.
Attend
briefing before the shift commences.
4.
Equip
oneself for the out of menu items like “special of the day”.
5.
Clean
and polish allotted silverware, cutlery, glassware and chinaware.
6.
Fold
napkins into prescribed attractive styles.
7.
Replenish
soiled linen with fresh ones from housekeeping.
8.
Place
orders with the kitchen and follow-up the pick-up.
9.
Execute
orders in guest rooms ensuring speed, quality and personalization.
10. Clear trays and
trolleys from guest rooms and corridors.
11. Deposit soiled dishes
with the kitchen stewarding.
12. Prepare and place
complimentary items in guest rooms.
13. Replenish mini-bars.
14. Help train the
trainees.
Bus Boy
Duties & Responsibilities
1.
Report
for duty on time in good tidy look.
2.
Deposit
soiled linen and collect fresh linen from housekeeping.
3.
Collect
supplies from the concerned stores.
4.
Collect
fresh cutlery, glassware, crockery and service-ware from kitchen stewarding,
wipe, polish them and stack them in allocated space.
5.
Assist
waiters in trolley and tray setup.
6.
Fill
water jugs, sugar pots, butter dishes, cruet sets etc.
7.
Attend
briefings and follow instructions.
8.
Assist
in food pickup from the kitchen.
9.
Keep
the room service area clean and in order.
Room
Service Equipments
Introduction
Room service food and beverage principles of
service are just like others in a restaurant. Because the service is external
to the immediate environment (not done in the area where everything is there
itself needed for service), the food and beverage is provided in trays and
trolleys.
Key equipment for room service operations:
Trays
Trays of various sizes to serve single
portion tea to single sinner tray. The teapots and milk pots are covered by tea
cozies, while plates have plate covers to keep the food warm.
Trolleys
Trolleys are important to serve more than one
meal in the room. The trolleys have hot cases beneath to keep food warm in
transit.
Racks
Racks are important to stack trays, crockery,
cutlery, and glassware and service ware. Racks are important to store
ready-to-use trays.
The order-takers cabin will have telephones,
room-racks with guests name on them or computers linked to the front-office.
Dispense
Bar
Dispense bar is that bar from where mini bars
are supplied as well as beverages are served in restaurants and coffee shop.