My promise is
The problem with New Year resolutions is that they can rarely be addressed in isolation. "I promise not to smoke" actually means "I will get fit", which actually has to mean "I will go to the gym every day and I promise never to drink again". It's the same with industry resolutions - all the intentions of individuals are related in the bigger picture. But so what? It shouldn't stop us making New Year resolutions. To help this year, here are a few suggestions, starting at random and going on and on and on:
As a City analyst, I promise not to give up on dotcom companies just yet (despite their appalling performance last year) because the Internet is still where the future lies for information, ordering of goods and services such as hotel bookings.
Talking of hotel bookings, as a hotel booking agent, I promise to look seriously at new technology, but not abandon the personal touch because I know that, at the end of the day, it is the personal touch that brings the customer back and back and back.
Right to be right
Which reminds me, as a chef-proprietor, I promise that, despite knowing all there is to know about cooking, I will continue to listen to the customer so that if the customer asks for the duck to be medium pink and not red raw, the customer will get medium pink duck because sometimes - just sometimes - the customer still has the right to be right.
But as a customer, I promise to complain about poor food and service at the time and not leave it until three weeks later when it's too late to do anything about the problem. I also promise to leave tips (where appropriate) of at least 15% because, if that becomes the standard, the extra money will help attract more young people into the industry.
And as a hotel general manager, I also want to help attract more young people into the industry, and so I promise to ring Springboard UK and ask how my team can help with this year's Careers Festival because we didn't do anything last year and I feel really guilty about it and I want to improve the image of the industry.
Which is why (as a senior manager, any sector), I promise not to make any more of those fly-on-the-wall documentaries, because I've learnt that, despite what the producer says, I will lose all control over the editing, and what is promised is never what is delivered.
Coincidentally, as a government minister, I promise not to promise what cannot be delivered, but I will consider quite seriously the idea that cooking can be reintroduced to the school curriculum so that children will want to go to catering college.
And when they get to college, as a catering college lecturer, I promise not to moan about the lack of industry interest in education without first inviting industry to get involved.
And as someone involved in the industry, I promise.
Forbes Mutch, Editor, Caterer & Hotelkeeper
