PR AND HOSPITALITY SITTING IN A TREE...

I work as a Server and Hospitality Conceirge at Houlihan's Restaraunt in Park Ridge and take PR graduate courses at DePaul University, Chicago. It's becoming more and more clear to me that Hospitality and Public Relations go hand-in-hand. A Public Relations person is the middle-man between the company or organization that he or she represents and its audience. Houlihan's Eatery is the company that I represent. The audience? Everyone who comes in for a bite.

At Houlihan's, I do on-the-spot research to get a good grasp on what it is that the public wants from the restaurant. Observation is my primary research tactic.

Think about this scenario: 2 adults with 3 small children are sat at a FOH booth and would like to order right away.
99% of the time, families with small children appreciate when the server puts in the order for the kids' food before putting in the order for the parents' food. This way, the kids' food comes out as soon as it's ready. Afterall, Corn dogs and Chicken Tenders take less time to prepare than Mustard-Encrusted Salmon and Meatloaf. If you're wondering why 99% of parents like when the kids' food comes out first, then you obviously don't have young children. The answer is simple: hot food shuts kids up.
What's more, at Houlihan's, kids get free vanilla ice cream with their meals. But if on-the-spot research showed that the kids barely touched their meals, a good server would never bring vanilla ice cream to the table before quietly asking the parent(s) if it was ok. Most parents don't want their kids eating ice cream in place of dinner. Just like your mother used to say, "there's no dessert until you finish your dinner!"

Careful observation shows me what makes Houlihan's customers happy, but there's more to Hospitality and Public Relations than making the public happy. I work hard to make money for the company, too. When greeting a table, I let the customers in on the latest promotions going on in our company. For example, we recently began offering a free lobster tail with the purchase of any steak on Thursday evenings. It's important that the public knows what Houlihan's can offer them that most other restaurants can't so that more people choose to spend their money more often at Houlihan's than The Cheesecake Factory or Taco Bell.

Much like PR people do, I also do a lot of damage-control. When a problem arises at a table, I work with the kitchen staff and the management team to solve the problem as quickly as possible. Let's say that a guest orders a well-done burger with provolone cheese, grilled onions and bacon, but gets a well-done tilapia filet with provolone cheese, grilled onions and bacon. I would let the kitchen know that the wrong food was prepared and also tell my management team about the problem. The kitchen staff would prepare the correct food as quickly as possible. The management team would most likely buy the guest a dessert to ensure that he or she leaves Houlihan's feeling good about the brand. Hospitality and Public Relations are similar in many other ways, but I have to get to work and you probably stopped paying attention 30 seconds ago.

Stay fabulous, Chicago