First-time author Shermane Rivers, through her book The Joy of Serving: A Guide for The Professional Food Server, is bringing practical tips to combat poor customer service.
Drawing on her 30 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, Ms. Rivers explained that her book was inspired by numerous complaints about poor customer service in the country.
“It’s almost like a Bible that everything possible pertaining to service and customer service and food and beverage service is there. From the way you greet a guest to when you present a bill, it’s in step-by-step form.”
Ms. Rivers stressed the crucial role of customer connection. She said building a lasting positive impression is essential for repeat customers.
“Service is and should be a number one priority. Everybody’s business. It is the beacon of everything; you can have the best food and bad service people are not going to come back. People have to understand, we have to have that culture, that hospitality, that service culture.”
Beyond professionals in the food and beverage industry, Ms. Rivers also hopes her book will be introduced in schools nationwide to educate students on these essential qualities.
“I really would want this to get into the schools because everybody deserves a chance and I want persons to get the opportunity, I was very fortunate to have persons who were there to push me and back me. But I really think with this book, listen the sky is the limit when you open it and read you start to see what you can do how you can elevate yourself, second to none.”
For businesses, Ms. Rivers hopes her book will serve as a catalyst for taking customer service seriously and implementing improved practices that not only enhance the customer experience, but also reshape the narrative of poor customer service in the country.