People go to restaurants mainly because, in some occasions, they just don’t feel like prepping, cooking, or doing dishes at home. They’re looking for a place to do all that for them so they can focus on the company that they are with.

Beyond the customer’s need for a place with GOOD FOOD and GOOD SERVICE, is a key requirement that a lot of RESTAURANTS are having a hard time addressing. It’s the idea that patrons are looking for a place where they feel at home and welcome.

They’re out there to have a good time with the people who matter to them. And there’s no better place to do it in than the place that they deem to have a familiar sense of home. There, they can relax, be themselves, and feel the comfort of home while being actually away from home.

In the same way that a house’s walls, decors, and amenities don’t make a home, the restaurant’s best dishes, snappy service, interior design, cleanliness, and other what-not’s don’t make an establishment any closer to being a replica of a customer’s home.

A man who dines in a restaurant that serves a dish that tastes that of his late mother’s recipe is reminded of the good times they had together. A beautiful thought brought out by amazing food. But did he feel close to home?

A lady who dines with her friends in a fancy and neat restaurant that delivers all that they asked for as quickly as possible, including great food, is happy because she doesn’t have to do all the work that comes with get-togethers if it were done at home. A sigh of relief. But did that gathering of friends feel close to home?

What we do in the industry to make our guests feel that we are serious in living up to their expectations do add up to a great experience overall. But the concept of FEELING AT HOME in an unfamiliar territory involves more than just providing things and fixtures that simulate the familiar physical comforts that the diner is accustomed to wherever it is they have come from.

All other things considered, there could be no other differentiating factor stronger than HOSPITALITY.

What makes HOSPITALITY any different from SERVICE? Given the many definitions that can be attributed to the word SERVICE, let’s pay attention to the consideration that, generally, it is a “PROCESS OF DOING SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE.” Service is the act of handling a task like providing what a guest needs at their time of stay in an establishment.

The thing is – though at times this is a subconscious matter until one contemplates about it – consumers don’t just expect to get better tangible provisions. Unknowingly for many, people come in with the unspoken expectation for an UNFORGETABLE EXPERIENCE. And this can only be given through HOSPITALITY where the provider goes beyond what is asked for. The whole process and the natural warmth that radiates from it can transform their usual experience into something more meaningful. Something closer to HOME. This in turn increases customer loyalty, love for your brand, and the establishment’s value in the eyes of consumers.

But don’t get this wrong. We’re not saying that one is better than the other. Rather, think of it this way – They both can’t exist without each other.

HOSPITALITY is different from finely tuned procedures and mechanics. It exists in between those moments that serve as avenues for the service provider to personalize a customer’s experience.

SERVICE lives in the surface of it all. Without it, your people can’t even start to deliver any tangible benefits that your clients are initially looking for. That being said, your basic SERVICE ROUTINE must then contain good areas that can serve as engagement points that may eventually lead to developing a more personal relationship with the clients.

It’s a rainy day and a customer walks into a restaurant. He is a returnee. The Manager greets and seats him and his companions as usual and does the standard procedure of order taking among others. The guests are asked what they would like to have and the manager throws in a few upsells and downsells every now and then to add variations to their orders. He closes the transaction and leaves to relay the information to the kitchen team.

Nothing wrong about the scenario. A lot of restaurants play things out like that and customers don’t really mind. But the SERVICE ROUTINE in this situation has laid out multiple windows that the Manager could have taken advantage of to make the Experience more personal with HOSPITALITY. The customer, being a returnee, could have been greeted with “Hi (CUSTOMER’S NAME)! It’s nice to see you again. Welcome back!” Order taking could have gone like “I remember you ordered (NAME OF DISH) when you last went here. Would you like to have an order of that same dish?” Item pushing could have sounded like “The weather’s a little chilly today don’t you think? You might want to have some soup to start just to warm you up while waiting. I could get you some hot tea as well on the house.”

Do you now see the difference these little hints of hospitality can bring to the table? The initial engagement sounded too mechanical compared to the more personal approach in the modified scenario. The more personalized approach just gives the customers a feeling that the process they’re undergoing with the establishment is intentionally tailored to their needs.

Just with the simple use of his name within a greeting, the manager could have changed the experience by a long shot right at the door. He feels he is remembered. Just by acknowledging that he and his companions might be cold from walking in the rain, he is given the feeling of importance. The offering of soup and tea to warm them up emphasizes that the establishment is concerned and serious in delivering them what they need to feel comfortable. The hospitality makes them feel like they are welcomed; that they belong. They now feel like this is their new HOME.