Ms. Harralson

Food & Beverage

The Brunch Buffet: A Financial Gold Mine or a Disaster

By Joanna Harralson, Vice President Operations, The Insight Group International

As every hotel manager knows, a good buffet can be a tremendous marketing tool for promoting a hotel's banquet and catering services, as well as being a magnet to attract a constant crowd of discriminating guests willing to pay for great food, attentive service and pleasant, relaxed surroundings. But what defines a good buffet? And how does one realize healthy profits while avoiding huge losses, including those suffered through employee theft or carelessness?

To answer satisfactorily, we must consider what comprises each of these components.

Host Staff - Greeting, Seating, & Logging Hard Checks

For our purposes, we'll pretend we're guests arriving at the ever popular hotel Brunch Buffet when no menu service is offered. If everything is as it should be, we are pleasantly greeted by neatly attired host staff, escorted to a well-appointed table, and a hard check is placed on the tabletop. This hard check will later be paired with the check presented to the guest with payment by the cashier to be tracked. Why the use of a hard check? Without buffet check controls, servers on the 'honor system' have the opportunity to reuse checks, presenting the same check to more than one table, pocketing cash payments, until the check is closed to a credit card or room charge.

Tip 1: The hard check provided at seating can counter the practice of check reuse, which occurs when a dishonest employee-kept to only an honor system-accepts payment from one guest, then presents the same check to another guest. Each time this check is reused, the employee can pocket the cash payment.

Tip 2: Servers should close and turn in their checks along payments in a timely manner. Keeping too many checks open for extended periods of time (closing them in batches), creates an atmosphere conducive for check reuse.

Servers Can Provide Real Service During Buffets

Even with abbreviated service duties during a buffet, servers can provide real guest service. At the outset, the server should highlight the Chef's Specials and acquaint guests to the location of the various buffet stations. Additionally, servers should offer to provide juice, coffee, and water-and they should also inform guests which beverages are included in the Buffet charge. Some Breakfast/Brunch Buffets include coffee/tea, but place an additional charge on the check for juice, leading to guest confusion and unpleasant surprises at time of check presentation.

If refills are included, the server who monitors their guests' tables, has opportunities to provide timely service, impressing guests that they are not just left with, "Help yourself anytime," never to see a server again until the conclusion of the meal and check presentation.

In the case of Dining Room Attendants (bus staff) who are clearing soiled plates as guests finish each buffet course, please define if fresh flatware will be provided, or if only one set of flatware is for each guest. Have you ever returned to your table, only to find that, while the soiled plates have been removed, so has the flatware without a replacement?-now you must summon a staffer and request utensils.

What about returning to a lovely table where your napkin has been refolded? Some guests consider this a nicety, others, that a personal item has been touched. This service point can be reviewed when duties/policies about tableservice items mentioned above are refined.

Table Presentation

Prior to checking out the buffet, itself, we take note of how our own table appears. This is the beginning of the total brunch buffet experience. Is the tablecloth, as well as the napkins, clean? Are salt and peppershakers clean and filled? Are drinking glasses spot-free? Is there a clean container of assorted sweeteners provided?

The Buffet Presentation

Visiting the buffet tables is a sensory experience, as well as one redolent with delightful discovery. The best buffets we've experienced are inviting and feature tables with fresh-appearing, appetizing foods, kept at the appropriate temperatures, and clearly identified by placards; there should be lists posted behind each server/cook station identifying ingredients of all dishes, so that employees can quickly respond truthfully and knowledgeably to questions from guests having particular food sensitivities (Does this contain nuts? Was this made with wheat? What kind of oil was used? Are there any eggs in this? ).

Contributing to a stellar impression of your food presentation is the use of smaller serving containers (12-portions per container is a good guideline), resulting in fresher offerings since more frequent change-outs are required. And no matter at what time a guest arrives-at a peak time or a lull-they expect visual stimulation and gustatory satisfaction through consistent quality and presentation (a point which needs to be reiterated on a regular basis to buffet attendants/runners).

Also tied into guest satisfaction is the perception of meal space, so a carefully planned buffet design with outstanding food presentation is another profit motivator, insofar as garnering repeat business is concerned. Your traffic flow should be planned so that it is harmonious and comfortable for guests. Bottlenecks and other obstacles don't result in, "Oh, let's not come here again," attitudes.

Additionally, including action food stations-waffles, omelettes, stir fry, carving, etc.-add the kind of dining drama buffet guests adore. As do a few culinary 'surprises,' which in addition to the expected quality and consistency, delight guests with a welcome variety.

And it's not only the food presentation that requires constant attendant oversight. We need o ask ourselves, are stacks of dishware clean and well stocked? Is sufficient flatware available?

Buffet Staff Key Ingredient for Success

We've addressed the importance of employee integrity and how it contributes to the success or failure of buffet business profits, but honesty is not the only desirable quality for staff members. Are your host employees smiling, friendly, and greeting guests in a warm, welcoming manner? Are servers polite and attentive, checking back to tables promptly and frequently to check the status of guest satisfaction and to provide beverage refills? Are final guest checks presented in a timely manner, without causing guests to feel rushed?

What about cooks at the food stations? Are they courteous and proficient when taking orders for omelettes, waffles, etc.? At the carving station? Are the food stations attractively maintained? Are guest queries answered promptly and cheerfully?

Controlling Costs

Precision planning and execution, of course, go a very long way in contributing to a hotel's overall buffet profits. It's a given that being able to purchase food in bulk at a substantial discount from wholesalers or middlemen is a boon when providing for buffet fare. The prices guests pay for buffet meals usually helps recoup most of the raw food expenses and the volume helps cover the staffing and attendant costs.

If a venue is capable of providing comfortable space for a large, steady influx of guests and has a kitchen and staff able to present outstandingly prepared foods in sufficient amounts to not only satisfy them but to entice them to return over and over again, the Breakfast /Lunch/ Dinner / Brunch Buffet can, indeed, be a 'gold mine.'

As in every aspect of hotel food and beverage operations, the key is oversight, oversight, oversight! Plan for the best, emphasize employee integrity, keep your buffet offerings exciting and fresh-and watch your buffet business grow, never forgetting what a terrific showcase it is to bring in future banquet and special event business.

Joanna Harralson, is VP Operations with The Insight Group. She has visited over 500 properties as a group trainer/evaluator, director of field operations, client liaison to management companies and provider of training to newly hired investigative agents. Ms. Harralson uses her knowledge, insight and expertise to evaluate employee integrity and to help drive the company's goal of premiere hospitality spotting agency. Prior to The Insight Group, Ms. Harralson rose through the ranks in hotels, as front desk clerk, server, bartender, concierge, auditor and sales and marketing specialist. Ms. Harralson can be contacted at (562) 694-3250 or jharralson@theinsightgroup.com Extended Bio...

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