food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington
food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington
food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington
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Chapter 14 The Customer Experience: Product, Service, <strong>and</strong> Training Issues<br />
unique services can improve their competitive position in the marketplace. This differentiation<br />
is an effective strategy to help build customer loyalty <strong>and</strong> reduce competition based<br />
solely on price. 2<br />
There are a number of tactics that are useful to round out a <strong>food</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>wine</strong> <strong>pairing</strong><br />
capability. Some of these issues include product <strong>and</strong> service considerations for a <strong>food</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>wine</strong> program, menus <strong>and</strong> <strong>wine</strong> lists, service elements, <strong>and</strong> <strong>wine</strong> selection considerations.<br />
Many of these issues are based on tradition <strong>and</strong> ritual, while others have more to do with<br />
innovation <strong>and</strong> fashion.<br />
FOOD AND WINE TRAINING PROCESS<br />
The <strong>wine</strong> steward—a<br />
traditional symbol of<br />
knowledge <strong>and</strong> service.<br />
A key promotional tool of any successful <strong>food</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>wine</strong> program is the implementation<br />
of an ongoing training process within the <strong>food</strong> <strong>and</strong> beverage unit. Prior to its implementation,<br />
each <strong>food</strong> service firm needs to determine an ideal <strong>food</strong>-<strong>and</strong>-<strong>wine</strong> program based on<br />
the needs of its customers.<br />
What constitutes the ideal restaurant <strong>experience</strong> for the typical<br />
<strong>food</strong>-<strong>and</strong>-<strong>wine</strong> customer? Of course, service quality is in the eye of the<br />
beholder, <strong>and</strong> the process has many intangible elements, including reliability,<br />
responsiveness, competence, courtesy, <strong>and</strong> communication, as<br />
well as underst<strong>and</strong>ing the consumer. One aspect of quality relates to<br />
how the organization conceives of its business objectives, how <strong>food</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>wine</strong> fit into that perspective, <strong>and</strong> how it all meshes with the expectations<br />
of the customer.<br />
To provide a good <strong>wine</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>food</strong> program, several items need to<br />
be in place. First, the <strong>wine</strong> list (in whatever form) needs to be readily<br />
available to the guest. Automatically presenting a <strong>wine</strong> list to each table<br />
is one method. A second method is to ensure that all of the members<br />
of the team are knowledgeable <strong>and</strong> excited about <strong>wine</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>food</strong>. An<br />
ideal situation is an establishment that values the role of <strong>wine</strong> <strong>and</strong> how<br />
it can enhance the cuisine as well as the guests’ enjoyment. In other<br />
words, you should strive to create a culture of <strong>wine</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>food</strong>.<br />
One simple method to reinforce this culture is to encourage your<br />
associates to discuss only <strong>wine</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>food</strong> while at work rather than sports,<br />
movies, or other unrelated topics. When staffers constantly communicate<br />
with each other, interactive <strong>and</strong> continuous learning will take place<br />
<strong>and</strong> will help the entire staff be more comfortable discussing <strong>wine</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>food</strong> with guests <strong>and</strong> more likely to take the initiative in doing so.<br />
The ideal restaurant will also have a <strong>wine</strong>-by-the-glass program<br />
to encourage individuals <strong>and</strong> small groups to have <strong>wine</strong> with their <strong>food</strong>.<br />
This includes offering things such as a single glass of Champagne as an<br />
aperitif, a single glass of white <strong>wine</strong> with an appetizer course, <strong>and</strong> a glass of dessert or<br />
fortified <strong>wine</strong> to finish the meal.<br />
The ideal restaurant will have a <strong>wine</strong> list of appropriate length featuring <strong>wine</strong>s that<br />
enhance the style of cooking on the menu. The list should provide an ample number of<br />
choices in a variety of price ranges; the service should provide enough time to consider <strong>wine</strong><br />
choices with <strong>food</strong> selections; the server should be ready when signaled to make recommendations<br />
<strong>and</strong> complete the transaction; <strong>and</strong> all of the <strong>wine</strong>s on the list should be in stock <strong>and</strong><br />
be the vintages listed on the <strong>wine</strong> list.<br />
Having staff that can effectively, confidently, <strong>and</strong> enthusiastically recommend <strong>wine</strong> <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>food</strong> <strong>pairing</strong>s is at the heart of an ideal situation. A big part of achieving this objective is<br />
tied to the <strong>pairing</strong> instrument, decision tree, <strong>and</strong> scoring method presented in this text. All