V K Prasad, Food and Beverage Manager, Taj Connemara, has been with the Taj Group for nearly two decades now. Chennaibest.com spoke to him about the crucial role played by his department in getting and sustaining customer loyalty.

The Hospitality industry and specifically the Food and Beverage Department is a highly challenging field and there is a lot of excitement there because you get to meet a lot of people; each of them different from the other.  Also, in this industry the customer / guest is the key.  Customer Service is not as easy as it appears to be.  You cannot show your emotions to the customer or guest.  One has always got to keep a smiling face, even when one does not feel like smiling.

I have four key factors or conditions, which I try to live up to and motivate my colleagues to follow. 
Warm welcome.
Anticipatory Service.
Defect-free Product and
Fond Farewell.

If one can follow these four conditions, not just once, but all the time, for each and every guest, one can be assured of increased customer loyalty.  The Hospitality industry is a very fast-paced industry.  And one thing that is true on most occasions is that the guest is more travelled than us and s / he knows what is the latest product in the market.  One has to keep in touch with the latest and be able to provide the best service.  In simple words ‘Keep up with the signs of the time’.  We have to focus on quality, service and a good product, though not necessarily in that order.

The name of the game today is ‘Innovation, coupled with cost effectiveness’.  Previously there used to be heavy investments with no accountability of how the returns would come.  Now, even though you can still invest heavily, one has to be accountable and ensure guaranteed returns.  There is more accountability as regards the spending aspect of this industry.

Also in a hotel, which can almost be classified as a ‘home’, every single individual in the hotel has to treat it like his own and should be accountable for every penny spent.  At the same time while ensuring cost effectiveness one should also not compromise on quality.

Well, if you are trying to ask me when the day begins and ends, I will not be able to help you.  At Taj, or for that matter any hotel, the day never ends.  It simply goes on and on and on.  It is a never-ending cycle.   At Taj Connemara, the Coffee Shop (The Verandah), Oakshott Bar, Rain Tree and Banquets are the four major revenue earners.  One interesting aspect at Taj Connemara, is that 45% of the total annual revenue is from the Food and Beverage Department.

The whole aspect of branding and positioning restaurants is taken care of by the Sales and Marketing department.  They look into the finer details of the cuisine of the restaurant to decide on what kind of media exposure they need to look at and so on.  The end result or decision is arrived at by the Sales and Marketing in consultation with the Food and Beverage Department and General Manager of the hotel. 

Very Important.  Food Festivals play a crucial role in creating awareness about the restaurant. In other words they help in enhancing the image of the restaurant.  They should be seen in the light of long-term benefits.  They go a long way in retaining your customers and also in highlighting your uniqueness and your product.  By giving the customer a new experience, customer loyalty is ensured. 

Each and every item is contracted every year.  The contractors are given specific quality parameters for each and every item; be it a tomato or an apple.  Right from the kind of fruit or vegetable to be chosen, to the colour and weight that it should be.  Also these specifications are the same at all Taj Hotels.  So more or less you might find the same quality and taste across the board.  There might be only slight variations in taste.  But the processes are all the same, right from the procurement of raw materials to the end product.  A purchase committee is set up for choosing the best contractor.  This committee will consist of the Purchase Manager,  F & B Manager and Sales Manager.

All this is interlinked towards giving our guest the best.  We are all working towards the Tata Business Excellence Model (TBEM).  That is a role model, which has seven steps that every company has to follow if it has to achieve an excellent standard.  In this case, if you are not excellent, you are bad. 

The whole hotel has a target.  This target is decided based on the performance of the previous year.  The total target is broken up into smaller targets for each department.  The target for F & B department this year is 40% of the total revenue.  This target is split up among our four revenue-earning areas.  The targets are also set keeping in mind pricing and the marketing strategy.  Once the yearly targets are given, they are broken up into monthly, weekly and daily targets, so that the restaurant managers can keep track and change tack accordingly.

Whenever a major renovation or redecoration or say even a new restaurant is planned, the majority of the budget is dedicated towards creating the required interiors.  The interiors and ambience of the restaurant is the most important aspect of the restaurant.  That is the life and spirit of the restaurant.  The ambience is what the guest feels even before he can see the menu.  It plays a vital part in making eating in the restaurant a pleasurable and a memorable experience.

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