Complaints: We all have them, but not all of us vocalize them. On the other side of that, many do not have any issue sharing their thoughts and opinions about various situations and ideas. I have heard my fair share of complaints about the club since my arrival in early January and while I enjoy getting feedback, it isn't always well communicated.
What do I mean by that? I mean that there isn't always enough information that is helping us derive the heart of the issue. Often times, I will get food sent back or comments about the food that are very general. For instance someone might say "the meal I had yesterday was terrible."
While this is good to know, it doesn't explain what was terrible. Was it the flavor? Was it the size? Was it drastically different from the last time I ordered this item? If yes, then how so? Inconsistency is another word I hear thrown around a lot. What was inconsistent?
Obviously, we all have different opinions of different dishes and, most likely, we all have a favorite. One persons idea of a spicy dish may be another persons bland or salty. It is important to recognize that one persons opinion does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the other 600 members. If the dish is, in fact, too spicy then how do we determine the common theme? The answer: Documentation
The next time you are at the club and are not enjoying a dish for whatever reason, please let your server know. They will be documenting any and all issues in detail for our management staff and cooks. If you don't like it or it is different than the last time you ate, please tell us why or how exactly it is different.
Please know that we are attempting to confront the issue of poor food head-on. Our service staff and managers will go through menu items prior to lunch/dinner shifts and actually taste what will be coming out. It is our job, then, to give feedback to Chef and cooks before the same meal hits the plate for our members. Not only will this hold us accountable for good food, it will teach our staff more about the menu and its preparation.
I hope everyone will begin to find that documenting complaints and food tastings is a mutually beneficial practice. Please let me know if you have further comments on this topic. I'd like to get your input. Until next time...
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Gourmet Gala Wine Dinner
A few photos from the February Gourmet Gala French Wine Dinner in a fun movie format. A fun event for both members and staff to enjoy and great way to showcase our Chef's abilities.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
The Famed Salad Bar
The salad bar has been a bit of a mystery since I first arrived at MCC. It has a variety of uses including servicing both Club XIX dining and banquet dining. It is my understanding that many of our members love the salad bar and primarily use it when they come up for lunch service at the club. That being said, now is the time to give our membership a little perspective on the salad bar and why it will be discontinued in March.
Our partners from Landscapes Golf Group, Chef Brian and myself are all in agreement that the lunch buffet is not a sustainable offering going forward. The amount of food that goes to waste every time it is put out is simply too much to justify continuing the set up and take down. While I understand discontinuing this service may become a point of contention, please understand where we are coming from as a business and service provider.
Having banquet groups eat off of the buffet in Club XIX hinders the flow of traffic as well as slows down the process of doing business. For those of you who have been at or hosted groups of more than 30-40, you are well aware that attendees are forced to stand in lines out the doorway of Club XIX and run into one another as they leave to go back to their banquet room.
So where do we go from here? While there is not a perfect solution, the one that is most feasible for us will be to offer individual buffets to banquet groups of more than 20 individuals. These will be placed in the room with the group making the process much smoother and food quantities more accurate, thus reducing the amount of food waste and time spent waiting in line for food to be refilled.
For those individuals who eat Salad Bar during the week in the Club for casual dining, we invite you to try some of our other menu items. There are a ton of great salads and sandwiches being offered and our staff would be happy to take care of you during your duration at the club. Obviously, time is of the essence for many of you and it is our intent to speed up the pace of service to get you in and out in a timely manner.
I certainly hope that our membership is understanding of these changes and why they must be made. If you have further comment on this topic, my door is always open. I'd also be happy to direct questions to our professionals at Landscapes Golf Group concerning the discontinuation of our Salad Bar.
Our partners from Landscapes Golf Group, Chef Brian and myself are all in agreement that the lunch buffet is not a sustainable offering going forward. The amount of food that goes to waste every time it is put out is simply too much to justify continuing the set up and take down. While I understand discontinuing this service may become a point of contention, please understand where we are coming from as a business and service provider.
Having banquet groups eat off of the buffet in Club XIX hinders the flow of traffic as well as slows down the process of doing business. For those of you who have been at or hosted groups of more than 30-40, you are well aware that attendees are forced to stand in lines out the doorway of Club XIX and run into one another as they leave to go back to their banquet room.
So where do we go from here? While there is not a perfect solution, the one that is most feasible for us will be to offer individual buffets to banquet groups of more than 20 individuals. These will be placed in the room with the group making the process much smoother and food quantities more accurate, thus reducing the amount of food waste and time spent waiting in line for food to be refilled.
For those individuals who eat Salad Bar during the week in the Club for casual dining, we invite you to try some of our other menu items. There are a ton of great salads and sandwiches being offered and our staff would be happy to take care of you during your duration at the club. Obviously, time is of the essence for many of you and it is our intent to speed up the pace of service to get you in and out in a timely manner.
I certainly hope that our membership is understanding of these changes and why they must be made. If you have further comment on this topic, my door is always open. I'd also be happy to direct questions to our professionals at Landscapes Golf Group concerning the discontinuation of our Salad Bar.
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