Mrs H & I enjoyed a few days away to celebrate the completion of our most successful Write That Book Masterclass (more on that later).

 

We spent our weekend in Cartmel, in the south Lake District and started with lunch at L’Enclume. 

This isn’t a foodie blog - it’s a people blog. Although L’Enclume totally deserve their place as the No.1 restaurant in the UK. 

 

The staff in all of Simon Rogan’s eateries are exceptional, but this was another level. 

 

There are 50 seats in L’Enclume and probably 25 waiting staff.  

And it’s cosy. 

Plus, the chefs often bring food to the table. 

 

To make sure the staff don’t bump into each other, or literally step on each other’s toes, they have a code. 

 

One touch. 

 

If you are close to a colleague, you just touch them slightly on their upper back to let them know you are near.

 

No bumps or bashes. 

 

That’s good, but it gets better. 

 

If you see a colleague who needs help, you touch their upper back and move your finger down a couple of inches. This is the sign that, ‘I’m here to help’. 

From behind a sommelier, empty glasses mysteriously vanish.  Freeing them tempt you with the next wonderful wine. 

 

Tables are cleared in seconds, while a chef discusses your last dish. There were 17 courses – excellent number! 

 

No one is flustered. 

 

Do the maths. 

 

That’s 50 x 17 courses, delivered and cleared, plus drinks, snacks and chats. 

 

Several thousand interactions every service. Twice a day, seven days a week.  

 

The core belief is simple. If we look after each other first it’s easier to look after our guests.

 

Yesterday I presented a 5 Star Service Keynote followed by a Q&A. 

 

A question which is always asked, ‘How do we ‘get’ our staff to deliver 5 Star Service to our customers?’ came up.

Simple. Start by delivering 5 Star Service to your staff. 

 

Encourage them to do the same for each other. 

That’s simple – not easy. 

 

I chatted for 20 minutes on Monday in How to Be Brilliant about how amazing our weekend had been. You can watch it here. 

Raving fan? You bet. 

Want to comment on this and share your experiences? Click here.

Be Brilliant!