Waiter Training Newsletter

Behind the Glamour of the Cruise Ship

One of my loyal subscribers pointed out a glitch in my last newsletter.  He appreciated my Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers analogy - his young staff didn't.  They don't know Fred and Ginger.  Perhaps if I had used someone from "Dancing with the Stars" they would have gotten it.  Unfortunately, I don't watch that show - is this what they call a generation gap?  Clear, concise and otherwise irreverent answers to that query are welcome.

Anyway, Dencel - point taken!  I'll be more careful with my analogies in the future.

Here's the thing:  Dencel made himself the target of my next newsletter because he wrote to me personally AND his job on a cruise ship sounded like it might be fun to learn more about.  Most of us have not had the opportunity to work on a cruise ship and I thought it would be fun to find out the similarities and differences inherent in that world.  He graciously answered my questions, which included a request for his background and how he came to be where he is today.

With some minor editing, following are his bio, my questions and his answers.  I think you'll find his words from the sea to be very similar to the words spoken on land.

Dencel Rooks started his career in South Africa as a civil engineer because his teachers recognized that he was proficient in mathematics and science.  His mother was very proud of his choice.

However, it soon became evident to Dencel that he wasn't happy in his work.  So he quit, much to the dismay of his mother, and began working in restaurants.  He has been in this industry since he was 16 years old.

Dencel worked as a waiter, which he loved and, along the way, had offers of management.  He took those sparingly because he made great money as a waiter.  He also acquired a love for food and wine, which no doubt helps one move up in this industry!  And move up, he did!

He now chooses to work for Royal Caribbean as an assistant Food and Beverage Manager.  Dencel also coaches and trains the wait staff and, I am quite certain, provides much-needed moral support for them.

Dencel and his brother have started a recruiting agency together to recruit people to work abroad in the cruise industry.  They provide them with work.

Dencel Rooks possesses the qualities that make a person successful in this and any business.  He genuinely loves what he does and he has compassion for those who work for him, as well as those they serve.  His life experiences have made him wealthy in knowledge and capabilities.

Following are the five questions I asked of him; I hope you enjoy his answers as much as I did!

Q1.  Because you're working on a cruise ship, people assume your job is
glamorous and exciting.  Give us the real scoop:  how does it differ from
being a waiter on land, if at all?  Include your leadership style into this,
if possible.

Dencel:  Yes, people do assume that it is a glamorous and exciting job. The glamour comes from the ship. Everything on the vessel costs a lot of money and the company pays millions of dollars for that. Have you ever been on a ship that has a theatre, restaurants, pools, discos, shopping centers, rock-climbing, etc? It’s amazing to see that all of that floats.

The exciting part is that you see the world. The destinations that only you could imagine in your dreams.

The real story starts with what is happening behind the curtains. To keep the glamour you need to maintain all aspects of the ship. Keep everything in order and to have excellent staff and crew members. Everyone needs to adhere to all rules and regulations the company plots down. Without that it’s useless even to sail.

On land you can refer guests to another establishment if they're not happy with your service, but here you need to give them ‘super’ service. We are talking about guests that saved money for many years to go on cruises and you need to make their dreams come true. You're basically a fairy with a magic wand in your hand. If they do not like what you give them they will let you know that they spent thousands of dollars to be on that cruise. So, that’s why the hiring of crew is so important.

Also, you must think of living in small spaces for months and to be able to share your personal space. In the dining room you, as a waiter, get a station, which means you are assigned to a certain amount of passengers for that whole cruise. They will be your family, friends or your worst nightmare. It is only up to you to make or break it. At the end of the cruise it will be them who will tip you good or nothing.

Here it is when I teach my waiters first impressions and to be constant every evening with them. On land the guest can walk out, but on the ship they are stuck with you. You need to pamper them and have lots and lots of patience. Especially those who have cruised with the ship before. Service is very basic and you get a waiter with an assistant-waiter doing one station of 20 passengers. Sounds very little, but trust me, everyone has different personalities, needs and table etiquette.

Also, when you apply for work you need to start from the bottom of the ladder. Everyone that entered the dining room started off as assistant-waiters and had to prove themselves. You need to know the basic from how to carry food and cleaning. You might be a good salesperson, although food is for free onboard, but if you cannot carry 12 main course plates on a tray at once, you can say bye, bye.

Also cleanliness is of utmost importance and we need to follow up with USPH- rules (United States Public Health). This means that we need to pass that when we get inspections from local officials onboard. If we fail that, the ship is not allowed to sail. So, I need to check that we get things done. There is no way out and no short cuts.

Q2.  What is the greatest joy in this business for you?

Dencel:  The greatest joys you get from all this is that you meet people from the entire world. You get passengers that will even invite you to their countries when you're on vacation and that you do not even spend a lot.

My personal joy I get is when I see them come back and request certain waiters. It makes me feel that I have done a great job and also make the waiter and assistant feel special, because I know I was in their shoes once. I think that is why the company makes that rule that everyone starts from the bottom.

The money is good and even better when you live in a country that has a lower dollar rate. Some of the assistant-waiters from the Philippines and India have their own businesses back home and live like kings.

Another thing I can add are the nice e-mails and "thank you" notes you get from passengers. Not alone an extra buck maybe. Also you save a lot of money seeing that crew get free meals and can go out and see all the lovely places. You can go home and even open up your own business, which I did.

It’s only up to you if you want to renew your contract. If you had no warnings you also can come back onboard after a few years even. Just imagine to work and not to spend on traveling to and fro from work and get fed and see the world and get paid for doing that………only if you do your job properly!

Q3.  Societies/cultures view the service industry in different ways around
the world.  In America, it has always been kind of a throw-away, quick job
that most people don't take seriously as a real career.
You being from South Africa, working in the service industry and
having the opportunity to work with people from many cultures and
backgrounds, what is your experience and opinion on that?

Dencel:  I have eaten in great restaurants all over the world and always found it peculiar how guests react from different cultures and societies. If I could write a book on that and have the time I would be rich now.

The questions we need to ask ourselves is: Is my way of table etiquette right and do I respect the waitron’s career? In certain countries, especially in Europe, you will find that the waitering is considered as a profession. So you get a salary at the end of the month and even study for many years to become one.

In the Western world we normally see as a quick cash business. I would like to see that attitude change towards our normal man on the street. It will be so nice to see that many countries can open up schools for that.

In the East you see waiters work for decades in the same establishments and feed their families with being waiters. Me, from South Africa, have a lot of experience with people thinking that it is only the students that have waiter positions.

What I can say is that you as the waiter must look beyond what people think. Where ever you work in a restaurant that serves foie gras or a restaurant that serves hamburgers, you must know that it makes you happy in your working environment and to always give your best shot. I always say to my waiters that you do not need to serve the best food, but if your servers impressed the guest they will make another turn at your restaurant. Kill them with kindness and know what your product is, then you have your guest in your pocket. All I can say is to be happy in your job and do your best.

Q4.  You have the unique opportunity to serve many people from many different cultures from around the world.  I can only assume that you're given information about certain cultures that have customs that might be
considered outside of the normal aspects of service.  Are you given
direction in those instances, or do guests on the ship just assume they're
going to receive a certain style of service?

Dencel:  What we normally do with our waiters we inform them what type of passengers we get for our cruise. Seeing that we Europe we tend to concentrate more on wine servers and to have lots of wine training. What type of wine to serve with meals and to make sure that they have good knowledge of our wines onboard. Europeans love good wine and eat less than Americans, that is just how it is. They appreciate it when you have an idea of some wine.

The Americans are more into their iced teas and water. They are more interested in the amount of food than the quality of it. I’m glad that there are food networks on the telly out to make them aware that it is not the amount, but the quality that makes the difference in food.

Also, you need to look at utensils. The Western guy likes to eat with only a fork, the European with knife and fork, the Eastern with their hands, chop sticks or fork and spoon. Which one is the correct way? No one knows. That is where we need to adjust to customs and religion. If my mother was still alive she would get a fit if I only ate with one hand. It’s only the way that we were brought up and that we cannot change from everyone. On board we need to keep all these things in consideration and be open minded and not give a long face to a passenger who eats with their hands. We cannot let the guest feel that they are doing something ‘wrong’, because all of us come from different backgrounds.

I always find it so strange when my I eat and my Philippino colleague can cut his steak with his spoon. I cannot even do it with a blunt knife. Still a big mystery for me, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Also the serving of royalties. I was fortunate enough to have lunch with the king and queen of Belgium. The procedure was so different from the norm. Each dish has to be tasted by their body guard before they could eat it. Also, you need to wait for them to have their first bite before you could have yours. The queen of England is another story. What can we do about it? Nothing, but just to follow the tradition.

So passengers on the ship do not assume to only have one style. We need to be flexible on that matter and that we need to cater for all of them under one roof. I must say that most of them tend to go the knife and fork route.

Q5.  Do you have any input on the hiring of your team?  If so, what qualities/traits do you look for?  If not, and you had the opportunity to do
so, same question...

Dencel:  Like I said that we are not hiring crew onboard, but it gets done from all our hiring partners globally. What I would do for the aspiring waiter is to give them the real story and not just the traveling and the money, which I got from my hiring partner back home, but to tell them that you are more than just a waiter, but an Ambassador of your country.

Just another perspective on a diverse industry.  My thanks to Dencel Rooks for taking the time to do this for me.  And "Hello" to his staff - you're all very lucky to have him!

Training and information is the key!  Contact me, Susie, at Waiter Training, either by phone or email.  My business number is (720) 203-4615, and email address is Susie@waiter-training.com.  Web address is http://www.waiter-training.com.

Excellence is an act won by training and habituation.
We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence,
but rather we have those because we have acted rightly.
We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.
                                                                                - Aristotle

 

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