Letters

Please send letters to: The Editor, Caterer & Hotelkeeper, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS. They may be faxed on 020 8652 8973 or e-mailed to forbes.mutch@rbi.co.uk. The opinions expressed on this page are not necessarily shared by the editor or other members of the magazine's staff. We welcome views on any subject relevant to the catering industry, but request that letters be kept short and to the point. The editor reserves the right to edit and select letters.

Don't let history repeat itself

One question that is constantly posed to me: just why am I so attached to the hospitality industry when other business sectors often offer equal, if not greater, rewards? The answer is very simple: it is people.

Hospitality is about service and the delivery of a promise. Customers want to receive excellence of both service and product. Without aspiring to achieve this goal the industry stands for little, and it is the people in it who are the only ones who can deliver the promise. Hospitality is an industry that is totally reliant upon good people. It can thrive only with good people.

If the industry is sincere about wanting to be taken seriously by government, by careers counsellors and by parents, it needs to develop a new, highly focused mind-set whereby it becomes the best at managing its most important asset. It is only by managing people as well as possible that we can guarantee that the industry is able to deliver upon its promise.

Recently we have seen many poor financial results being delivered - last year was not easy. But is the industry about to forget the lessons learnt over the past five years and revert to business philosophies that hinder rather than develop? The skills shortages of the late 1990s were partly the result of a lack of investment in the people factor during the 1990-94 recession. Will the cycle repeat itself, or will the industry take heed of past lessons and adopt a different approach to the present period of uncertainty?

It is a difficult time for businesses, as few understand the dynamics of the present economy. It is a very different type of economy from the 1990s; it poses a different set of questions which, in turn, require a different set of answers. One thing is for sure, however: it is important to protect our most important asset if we are to navigate a safe course through.

CHRIS SHEPPARDSON, Managing Director, Chess Partnership, London W1.

Keep smiling till the guests stop paying

It is disappointing when we hear colleagues in our industry forfeit customer care when excuses can be made (Tim Gasson's letter "A housekeeper's lot is not always a happy one", Caterer, 14 February, page 16). There will always be customers who reserve the right not to be generous, co-operative, considerate or happy but, as service-orientated managers, we should find the strength to keep our composure and smile.

Jonathan Bradley, Area Manager, Holroyd Howe, by e-mail.

In response to the letter by Susan Brougham (Caterer, 21 February, page 16) [which was a response to Tim Gasson's letter], it is true that many of our guests cannot see our "real world". We should, however, try to live up to and exceed their expectations. After all, they do pay our wages. The issues that Susan describes are correct, but they are our issues to solve.

There is an easier solution to Mr Managing Director's problem, and that is to use that little card that says "Please do not disturb". Doing so is surely easier than typing an angry letter.

Pieter Vander Bent, House Manager, Marriott Hanbury Manor Hotel and Country Club, Ware, Hertfordshire.

My letter - to which Susan Brougham and several other readers have responded - was not attacking the housekeeping department in any hotel. It was in the form of a response to security issues, and not just housekeeping. Indeed, having spent over nine years working in hotels, I certainly understand the concerns aired.

Personally, I am not grumpy, except when someone walks in to my room unannounced, with three seconds between door knock and grand entrance, which is not even time enough for me to get out of bed.

I fully support the fact that decent staff need to be attracted, and remuneration must be fair. However, the reality is that, whatever the pay, it is the grumpy, ungrateful guests who don't live in the real world, but who are actually paying the salaries of all hotel employees. We don't stay for free.

Tim Gasson, Managing Director, Absolute Corporate Events, Box, Wiltshire.

In brief

That disappearing salon

So, Fresh RM needs the space for the "stainless-steel brigade", and the Hospitality Week salon in Birmingham 2003 is off (Letters, Caterer, 14 March, page 18).

Well, whilst the catering industry certainly needs innovation from its service and equipment suppliers, it also needs chef skills to put all that kit to good use.

Geoff Ward, by e-mail.

Catering Forum dates
Some interesting thoughts on exhibitions in the Letters page (Caterer, 14 March). One thing, though - the Catering Forum is actually 6-9 June, not 4-7, as printed.

Helen Binns, Project Manager, The Catering Forum, Richmond, Greater London.

Welcome advice

I read with interest Angela Frewin's article (Caterer, 21 February, page 9) referring to the Derby school consultative panel. This is not unusual. Many colleges and universities have had high-profile industrial advisory committees for many years.

It is something that the quality agencies and their inspectors look for, as they have an essential part to play in making sure that the curriculum is focused and up-to-date. As a school, we work closely with the professional organisations, such as the Academy of Culinary Arts and the Craft Guild of Chefs.

We often take for granted much of the good work going on in the well-established hospitality education centres and the valuable time some industrialists give to education and training.

Professor David Foskett, London School of Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure, by e-mail.