Plan Your Meetings

The old attendant switcheroo: March 2009 Morsel

Folks, there’s an insidious practice that is becoming an industry standard, which I don’t think it is fair to the buyers. So cover your ears, I’m about to start screaming …

I was in Anaheim at a big-name property doing a reception for 250 people. We had some action stations that carried a $150 per attendant fee. Unfortunately, the hotel’s idea of an attendant was a banquet server with a chef’s jacket on. When I walked into the room, I saw two five-foot-tall women putting on chef’s jackets designed for six-foot-tall men over their banquet uniforms.

The hotel told me the ladies were trained, but personally I didn’t care. Why? Because I couldn’t have these women serving my guests in jackets hanging down to their knees. That’s not the kind of presentation I’m going to pay $150 extra for. No way!

I went back to the hotel and said, “If this is what you want to do (and I realize everyone is doing it), then give me someone who is properly trained and properly dressed to properly interact with my guests.” The hotel had no choice but to send me two chefs from the kitchen to do the job that I was paying them to do. But I had to complain LOUDLY.

Now, I’m telling all the properties I am doing business with that for my $150 per, I want a trained chef — not a banquet waiter that has some training in carving — to be on the floor, otherwise I’m only paying $75. You should be demanding the same.