To Maître d' or Not To Maître 'd

Well, that is the question. There will be many people who simply don’t know what a maître d’hôtel does or even is - a statement aimed at the most recent generation of restaurant users.

I have been speaking with maître d’s I used to work with and those I wish I worked with, but have not yet had the chance. My most recent project involved helping put together a team led by maître d’s for an exclusive new opening. The remit was very much that we needed people who have made it their life’s work to know as much about people as possible and who have a thirst for creating the vibe in a room that customers often feel is merely organic. It is not at all.

Hospitality often begins the second you step into the reception of a restaurant or bar. What happens in the next two minutes will affect the entire experience you are about to have.

“Have you got a reservation?”, sounds like any normal question to many people.

How about, “Hello, good to see you, let me look after your coat and bag. How many will you be today, three? Of course, did you book already or shall we find you a table now?”

Obviously a longer and more complicated conversation, but one I think begins the process completely differently whilst achieving the same goal.

I know many maître d’s who will amend my phraseology although agree with the sentiment.

Notice during the exchange I had no need to look at a computer screen. No need to type anything, a friend and soon-to-be colleague call this process ‘pecking’ and does a wonderful impression of a bird using a computer. Head bobbing up and down from the screen and fingers clacking away on the screen. All I did was look directly at my customer and listen to them. A maître d’s role is to understand who is coming in and when. Every 10 minutes I would be scanning the names of upcoming reservations committing them to memory. Would it not be better to arrive and announce your name and the response not be someone bobbing their head and typing into a screen or keyboard. Instead, “Yes, hello Mr Fogg, good to see you again, your guests haven’t arrived yet, shall we look after you at the bar. Is tonight a special evening or dinner with friends?”

Again, wordy but then aren’t we humans? Don’t we crave social interaction? I understand we have become a transactional society and that the latest generation prefer electronic communication rather than verbal. However, having decided to travel to an establishment over the opportunity of tapping at your phone and having a scooter bring you a meal in a bag, surely the experience is important to you?

There has been a tendency to underestimate the role of the maître d’ over the past few years. It is the first and easiest role to ‘value engineer’ – a phrase that strikes dread into restaurateurs’ and designers’ hearts, more on that another time- when you are looking to manage costs. The false economy is paramount to consider though, as what makes a successful business?

The amount of repeat trade, this is true of a taxi company, a betting shop or a bakery. Chasing new business and new customers is difficult and expensive. Working with your existing customers in developing the relationship makes them your ambassadors and they will bring the new business to you. Sounds easy doesn’t it. Why do you go to one place over another? Is it price, atmosphere, the offer or the location? Many of us go where we feel most comfortable, and to coin a phrase from an old TV show, somewhere “where everybody knows your name”.

How do we find out your name? Well, as the great Mitch taught me a long time ago, it’s quite simple. “Hello, we haven’t been introduced, I’m Seb”.

I had been working at The Ivy for a couple of years, had risen quickly but couldn’t get further than I wanted. Mitch explained to me that for me to get past being who the customers called, ‘the big guy with the glasses’, I had to have them know my name. Once I started doing what he had coached me, the relief on the faces of regulars was palpable. We both knew that I knew their name, but this was the offer from me to develop that relationship to the next level. One of familial conversation and interest in each other.

I flew after that and never looked back.

Since working for myself, I have had the chance to help others develop their businesses, and I have realised that what I see consistently is the reception being the most neglected area in the industry. We have moved to putting someone attractive there whose job is to follow their openable screen and sit people by numbers. Remember the last time you were sat next to the only other table in the place when there were hardly any other tables in?

I find myself remembering the lessons taught me from the greats - Kevin Lansdown, Jesus Adorno, Fernando Peire, all great composers of dining rooms. The constant searching for information, the endless conversations with customers always searching for information to add to their mental notes on them. All of this designed to build a more comprehensive picture of each customer, allowing us to help them have a better experience. Back then, this information was committed to memory and shared verbally, now, thanks to technology we update our guest notes on our reservation systems. We google every guest name on the book, having pictures up ready for service. Our conversations in the room are relayed to the desk, more notes added. It becomes an addiction, a healthy one mind you, as the purpose is to help us build a great room. Across London and New York are dining rooms filled with interesting people. Even if we don’t initially know who they are, it is so easy to find out.

When they leave, stick out your hand, introduce yourself and thank them for coming. They will keep coming back after that.