Case Study:

One of the first challenges facing Layal, the new General Manager at the AAA Country Club, is improving service in the dining room. A stickler for service excellence, Layal is determined to enhance member satisfaction, which slipped gradually during the previous GMs transition to retirement. During her brief tenure at AAA, Layal has received a disturbing number of complaints, particularly from younger members, about what they consider to be the overly familiar demeanor of two longtime, highly valued servers, Richard and Lucille. Richard and Lucille have been at AAA for 32 and 27 years, respectively, and are considered fixtures in the club dining room. They have watched many of the younger members grow up and, inappropriately now, still take the liberty of calling these adult members by their first names. Also, Lucille can be very touchy with members. Shell greet them with hugs or squeeze their shoulders. While some of the younger members casually discount this breach of etiquette, others find it disconcerting, especially when they host business functions at the club. In addition to their overfamiliarity with members, Layal has other issues to address with Richard and Lucille. Richard has a tendency to side-step club policy and overindulge his longtime dining guests by serving them extra desserts or additional portions. Of course, they love this and particularly appreciate Richards ability to keep track of their standing orders. Amused by his stories about the old days, veteran members enjoy hobnobbing with Richard, unaware of how this reduces his productivity. Lucille, long a favorite with senior members, never forgets their drink preferences or how they like their meals prepared. She acknowledges member birthdays and anniversaries with a hug or a pat on the back, and never forgets to inquire about their grandchildren. She spends far too much time on her preferred members, sometimes neglecting other parties and creating more work for other servers. In addition, both Richard and Lucille avoid using the clubs new point-of-sale system, because the old way of doing things has always worked for them and they are resistant to change. Some of the clubs newer, more flexible servers have complained to Layal about Richard and Lucille because they feel they have to shoulder an unfair workload at a lower rate of pay. Recently, Layal has noticed that reservations for business lunches have fallen off, possibly due to sluggish service. In an initial meeting with the House Committee, Layal expressed her concern over Richards and Lucilles declining productivity. While most of the committee members are fond of Richard and Lucille, they have to put business first and have requested that Layal report her possible solutions to the problem at their next meeting. Well. Layal, begins Alec Brooker, House Committee Chair, were ready to hear your recommendations regarding Richards and Lucilles productivity problem. While we all have a soft spot in our hearts for these two-old timers, we cant just wait it out on this. The club has no retirement plan, so Richard and Lucille depends on steady, long-lived incomes. How can we get dining room productivity back on track? Im afraid we have to face the eventuality of easing these two into less critical positions, suggested another member. A quick look at the bottom line clearly indicates that more efficient servers would maximize our dining room labor costs. One option Im considering is to move Richard and Lucille into other areas of the club where their goodwill toward members will neither be compromised nor detract from their performance, responded Layal. We have to tread very carefully there, Layal, countered Mr. Brooker. your predecessor already tried that, but failed. He told them he wanted to give them an opportunity to take it easy, since they had been with the club for so long, and offered Richard a locker-room attendant position and Lucille a switchboard operator position. Hurt and insulted, they both refused the offers. That was a dangerous brush with age discrimination, wasnt it? interjected an attorney on the committee. Youre asking for serious legal trouble if you even mention age in this situation. Thats for sure, agreed Layal. We had a big lawsuit at my last club involving a valet, so Ill be extra careful about that issue. Im convinced that this is a training issue. Richards and Lucilles devotion to this club and its members deserves our respect. I think we need to return their loyalty and demonstrate our regard for their dedication by being honest with them about the situation. What kinds of challenges await Layal as she attempts to resolve this situation? How can Layal increase server efficiency and productivity while accommodating the needs and preferences of all club members? What is Layals most pressing training issue?