Front Office Operations

(Organization and the Front Office Personnel)

The Front Office
The front office of a hotel generally performsthe following basic activities:
Processing advance reservations

Registering guests
Rooming guests
Handling guests luggage
Issuing room keys
Providing information
The Front Office
Handling guests mail and parcel
Administering telephone service
Accounting (making payments and billing)

Checking out guest

Rooms Division
The structure of the rooms division will vary from hotel to hotel. These variations can be
caused by differences in the size of hotels, the types and level of services, and the
organization preferences of management.
Front Office Personnel
The front office is the nerve centre of hotel operations. Hotel personnel are there to serve
guests. An important aspect of this is providing a good first impression of the establishment
to guests.
People are involved in serving guests are :

Reception (Front Desk Clerk, Front OfficeAgent, Receptionist)

Reservations Clerk
Concierge
Bell (Porter)
Airport Representative
Telephone Operator
Guest Relations Officers(GRO)
Make guests feel welcome
Provide personal services
Handle guests problems and complaints
Take care for VIPs and frequent guests, escorting them on arrival
Front Office cashier
Prepare and settle of guests accounts
Administer the safe deposit boxes

Provide a foreign currency exchange service

Fine dining is what many people imagine when they think of opening a new restaurant. Crisp
tablecloths, violins in the background and seven course meals are few things that come to
mind. But todays fine dining has evolved into an eclectic blend of cuisines and dining
concepts. If you strive to create a fine dining atmosphere at your restaurant, here are 10

things you should know.

1. Restaurant fine dining requires attention to detail. From the music to the lighting, to the
art on the walls, creating a fine dining atmosphere is all about the details. It doesnt mean
you can only play classical music or decorate with long stem red roses. It simply means that
nothing should be too loud, too bright, too much. Subtlety is key. Read more about What is
Fine Dining.
2. Fining dining servers are the best. No matter what your restaurant concept, your servers
should be at their best. But fine dining requires servers who have experience and knowledge
of the restaurant business. It is no place for beginners. A good fine dining server should be
able to explain the entire menu without using notes. He should be able to offer suggestions
for wine and entre pairings and answer any questions the customer may have.
3. Fine dining customer service goes above and beyond. Some typical services provided in a
fine dining restaurant include escorting patrons to the table, holding the chair for women,
escorting patrons to the restrooms, crumbing the table in between courses and replacing
linen napkins if a patron leaves the table.
4. Fine dining restaurants often feature prix fixe menus. A prix fixe menu or limited menu, is
one that can change on a daily or weekly basis. This is a great benefit, because a smaller,
rotating menu allows you to buy seasonal items when they are at their peak of freshness,
allowing your chef to exercise his or her creativity when designing dishes.
5. Reservations are a good idea for a fine dining restaurant. Reservations allow a restaurant
to space apart parties, ensuring the kitchen and wait staff are not overwhelmed during a
dinner rush. In lieu of individual reservations, some fine dining restaurants offer settings, for
example a five oclock seating, seven oclock seating and nine oclock seating. Read more
about taking restaurant reservations.
6. Fine dining doesnt always include tablecloths. While tablecloths were once the calling
card of any fine dining restaurant, that isnt so today. If you choose to skip tablecloths (which
require a huge amount of upkeep) be sure to invest in attractive and durable tabletops. Read
more restaurant tablecloths.
7. Fine dining restaurants should never include paper or plastic. While skipping tablecloths is
okay, substituting paper napkins in place of linen or plastic dishes in place of china is a nono. Dont do it.
8. Fine dining restaurants offer top shelf liquor and spirits. Your bar should be well stocked
with top of the line liquor and a good selection of wine and champagne. Your staff should
know everything you offer from the bar and be able to suggest drinks with each meal.
9. Fine dining can bring in a lot of money. But remember, it also costs a lot of money to pay
for high quality food, beverages and employees.
10. Fine dining restaurants stay abreast of trends. A good fine dining restaurant manager or
head chef will know about current food trends and incorporate them into the menu. They will
also recognize when a food trend turns into a food fad (recall mini-burgers circa 2009) and
avoid them, thus keep the menu fresh and exciting. Read more about popular restaurant
trends.
Chef
Sous Chef
Dishwasher
Food prep (cutting veggies, etc)
Maitre' d
Server
Coat Check
Bus person
Hostess
There are two main types of table settings: formal and informal. A formal table setting is
usually set for a meal that will have many courses and a variety of wines. For a formal meal,
each place setting will need the appropriate number of plates and cutlery. You may have
wait staff changing out courses, so the initial setting will only need the appropriate
dinnerware for the first course.

When planning for this type of event, make sure that all of the additional tableware for
successive courses is present and accounted for before the meal. For an informal meal, you
will need significantly less dinnerware. A very casual meal may only require a single plate,
spoon, knife and fork. A larger informal meal will probably require a dinner plate, salad plate
and butter plate. Separate dinner and salad forks are optional.
Different Styles of Table Setting
Table setting style is the focus of any party where food is served. Tableware and setting plan
depends on the event or occasion and it can be as important as the food you serve. The first
step to do in putting together a beautiful and well-planned meal is to understand the
different styles of table settings.
Formal Table Setting
This is the table setting for festive family dinners, holiday celebrations, weddings and semiformal events. A variety of specialty pieces are used depending on the formality of the
occasion or event and meal plan.
Formal table setting includes dinner plate and fork; salad plate and fork; knife; bread and
butter plate; butter knife; spoon; water and wine stemware; and linens.
To the left of dinner plate (outside in): individual salad fork (when salad is served before the
main course), and dinner fork.
Above salad fork and dinner fork is bread and butter plate and butter knife.
A salad plate is not set. If salad is served before the main course, the salad plate is placed
on top of the service plate.
At the center: service plate, with napkin or soup bowl at the center. Appetizer or other first
course is placed on top of the service plate.
When it is time for the main course, the used appetizer, soup or salad plate is removed
along with the service plate. The entree is immediately served on the dinner plate.
To the right of dinner plate (outside in): soup spoon (if serving an appetizer in lieu of soup,
place cocktail or oyster fork to the right of knife), place or dinner knife.
Dinner spoons and forks may be placed horizontally above the place setting, with spoon
facing right and fork facing to the left, or may be brought in on the dessert plates.
To the right above knife (from left to right forming triangle): water goblet, (white) wine glass,
and champagne flute.
Cup and saucer with teaspoon may also be brought in with dessert, or served separately.

Buffet Table Setting

This table setting is based on your needs and space limitations. Food are arranged down the
table in succession. Using your creativity, you can work with what's best for the situation.
A buffet table setting includes flatware, multiple dinner plates, stemware, and linens
(number of settings will depend on number of guests expected).
Buffet table style is the easiest to serve a large number of guests.
The food being served and the logical sequence of serving yourself usually determine the
layout of the buffet table.
Dinner plates should come first followed by entree and serving pieces.
Napkins should be large enough for placement on guest's laps and, along with flatware,
should come last so that they need not be carried the entire length of the table. It is also
helpful to guests to have flatware wrapped in napkin or tissue.
Leave enough room between serving bowls so that guests can rest their plates as they move
through the line.
Set up a side table for coffee, tea, and other beverages.
Dessert can also be set at a side table or the main buffet can be cleared and reset for the
dessert.
Customer Service Duties
Waitresses are responsible for a variety of customer service tasks, including:
Providing excellent customer service
Greeting patrons once they are seated
Presenting menus to customers
Explaining menu items to customers
Answering questions from patrons about food and beverages
Sharing information with customers about the status of their orders
Refilling customer drink orders throughout the meal
Finding out if customers need additional items
Verifying that customers are satisfied with their orders
Sales Duties
Waitresses handle a variety of sales-specific tasks, including:

Taking food and drink orders

Up-selling additional food and beverage products to patrons
Entering each item ordered into restaurant register system
Delivering checks to customers
Accepting payment for the meal
Ensuring that customer orders are assembled properly in the kitchen
Delivering orders to customers
Removing empty plates, used silverware, and soiled napkins from tables
Determining when customers have completed the meal
Attending scheduled team or shift meetings
Training new food servers
Compliance Duties
Waitresses play a role in regulatory compliance, including:
Verifying age of customers who order alcoholic beverages
Following all relevant health department rules and regulations
Observing the principles of safe food handling and service
Food & beverage service can also be viewed from the customers perspective. Essentially,
the customer
enters a food service area, orders or selects his/ her choice and then is served (the customer
may pay
either at this point or later). Food and beverages are then consumed, following which the
area is
cleared.
Broadly we can categorise the service methods in five types:
A. Table Service
B. Assisted service
C. Self service
D. Single point service
E. Specialised or in situ service
A. Table Service
In this category, the guest enters in the area and is seated. Menu lists are given or displayed
for orders.
The orders are been taken by waiter/ess. Then the service is done using a laid cover on the
table. The
following are types of service come under this category:
English Service: Often referred to as the "Host Service" because the host plays an active role
in theservice. Food is brought on platters by the waiter and is shown to the host for
approval. The waiter then places the platters on the tables. The host either portions the food
onto the guest plates directly or portions the food and allows the waiter to serve.
For replenishment of guest food the waiter may then take the dishes around for guests to
help
themselves or be served by the waiter.
French Service: It is a very personalised service. Food is brought from the kitchen in dishes
and salvers,
which are placed directly on the table. The plates are kept near the dish and the guests help
themselves.
Silver Service: The table is set for hors d'oeuvres, soup, main courses and sweet dish in
sterling
silverware. The food is portioned into silver platters at the kitchen itself, which are placed at
the
sideboard with burners or hot plates to keep the food warm in the restaurant. Plates are
placed before
the guest. The waiter then picks the platter from the hot plate and presents the dish to the
host for

approval.
He serves each guest using a service spoon and fork. All food is presented in silver dishes
with elaborate dressing.
American/Plate Service: The American service is a prepplated service, which means that the
food is served into the guest's plate in the kitchen itself and brought to the guest. The
kitchen predetermines the portion and the accompaniments served with the dish and then
balance the entire presentation in
terms of nutrition and colour. This type of service is commonly used in a coffee shop where
service is required to be fast.
Russian Service: An elaborate silver service thought to be the foundation of French service
except that the food is portioned and carved by the waiter at the gueridon trolley in the
restaurant in full view of the guests.
Display and theatrical presentation are a major part of this service. The principle involved is
to have whole joints, poultry, game and fish elaborately dressed and garnished, presented to
guests and carved and portioned by the waiter.
Gueridon Service: This is a service where a dish comes partially prepared from the kitchen to
be
completed in the restaurant by the waiter or, when a complete meal is cooked at the
tableside in the restaurant. The cooking is done on a gueridon trolley, which is a mobile
trolley with a gas cylinder and burners. The waiter plays a prominent part, as he is required
to fillet, carve, flamb and prepare the food with showmanship. The waiter has to have
considerable dexterity and skill.
Snackbar Service: Tall stools are placed along a counter so that the guest may eat the food
at the counter itself. In better establishments, the covers are laid out on the counter itself.
Food is either displayed behind the counter for the guests to choose from, or is listed on a
menu ca