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I’m going to dedicate this space the next couple of weeks to our Food and Beverage Department. Today’s topic is dining in large groups. Many times, homeowners will make reservations for groups as large as 30 or 40 people. While staff is working to accommodate that large of a group, please keep in mind some of the issues this creates.
Large Dining Groups – Expectations Vs. Reality
- A group of this size will not be able to have all their food or their drinks delivered at the same time. That expectation is unrealistic. Large groups will take more time than a “normal” dining experience.
- This type of dining causes a huge strain on the service staff as well as the kitchen staff. Please keep this in mind when dining as part of a large group.
- Our kitchens are full service and made to order. Each menu item takes time to prepare and most items are being modified and/or special ordered. A normal ticket time can range from 10-20 minutes depending on the item. Fully cooked burgers and steak can take 20 mins or more. Pizzas take an average of 20 minutes to cook.
- During high volume times 12pm-1pm and 5pm-6pm, ticket times can take longer. Most of our homeowners order at the same time no matter what time they arrived. Our kitchen staff is maxed out and working as fast as they can during these times but only so many pizzas fit in an oven at once and our grills only hold so many items at a time. Our kitchens can see anywhere from 200-400 items during this one-hour period.
- Separate checks take time to split and present, collect, run payment on and deliver. This is a tedious and slow process no matter what point of sale is being used. Running 10-30 different credit cards takes a significant amount of time. If you are demanding separate checks, be prepared to wait. These servers are doing many other things along with trying to separate, present, collect, run payment and re-deliver.
As we continue to try to accommodate this style of dining we ask that large parties be patient and realistic. Treating staff badly, tipping them badly or making them cry because you don’t acknowledge that there are 30 other people at your table and 300 others in the restaurant, is becoming the norm and while it would be ideal for us to no longer allow this, we are only asking for patience and respect when it comes to staff that is working so hard for you.
This has been discussed thoroughly at Management Meetings and the Food and Beverage Committee Meetings. Homeowners are welcome to attend the F&B Committee Meetings monthly on the first Thursday of the month at 9:00am in the Phoenix Room. The next meeting is Thursday, April 3.
Steve Hardesty, General Manager
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