By Dr. Jeff Mathis
Of all the industries that the pandemic has impacted, the restaurant business has had a particularly tough go of it.
Who am I kidding? It’s not been a cakewalk for any of us.
Perhaps misery loves company, however, which is why I clicked on an article by Hunter Lewis the other day from Food and Wine Magazine titled, “The New Rules of Dining Out: How to Become a Five-Star Restaurant Guest in the New Era of Hospitality.” As it turns out, much of what applies to being a good customer at a restaurant can also apply to church life.
But first, a little perspective.
COVID-19 hit the hospitality industry “with the force of a hurricane,” forcing the closure of approximately 90,000 businesses. And like any tropical storm, the threats to those in its path are many. People’s appetites for gathering to eat at restaurants fell dramatically, and obvious health restrictions limited businesses’ ability to stay open. There have been global supply chain shortages, rising food costs, and most recently, problems staffing the kitchen and ‘front of the house’ jobs.
Author Hunter Lewis asks, “How tight is the labor market? A restaurateur friend of his offered his cooks $1,200 to find a dishwasher; none could.”
Compounding these challenges are the guests themselves. Diners’ behavior at restaurants has not been good. According to a recent report from NPR, “Three tourists were arrested after allegedly assaulting a restaurant host in Manhattan” after she asked them to be compliant with local health ordinances. The 22-year-old host had been repeatedly punched and sent to a hospital for doing her job.
Lewis states:
“The truth is that every one of us plays an important role in the hospitality equation. Hospitality shouldn’t be purely transactional; kindness shouldn’t be a one-way street flowing only from workers toward guests…It may take years for restaurants to regain their footing. Meantime, we can all do our part to be better guests.”
Here are several of Lewis’s suggestions on how we can do our part to be better guests. As you’ll see, they apply to church life, as well.
1.) “Respect That Reservation”
“Show up. Full stop,” Lewis encourages us. Choose to be present—people have planned and prepared for you to be there.
2.) “Patience, Patience, Patience”
Restaurants are understaffed and are dealing with food shortages. The ever-changing guidelines and shifting realities make it feel like restaurant owners are “Opening a new restaurant every week.” Not surprisingly, things take longer.
3.) “Smaller Menus Are the Order of the Day”
Fewer workers, fewer supplies, and constantly changing expectations conspire to reduce the number of total offerings available to guests. The upshot of fewer dishes? “Smaller menus mean more focus,” says chef Marcus Samuelsson.
4.) Extend Grace to Those Who Serve.
“In her 2020 book Be My Guest, Priya Basil writes: “The hospitality industry…thrives on the message that you are the only one who counts: you should come first, your every need considered and catered to. You deserve it, after all, as long as you can pay.” “But now, that sensibility seems—both to restaurant professionals and, honestly, to most diners—outdated, a servile relic of former (pre-pandemic) time.” When being served, consider the task and mission of those doing the serving.
5.) Be Generous with Your Appreciation for Others
Nurture an attitude of thankfulness and abundance rather than entitlement and scarcity.
6.) “Don’t Weaponize Your Online Review”
Word of mouth is as powerful as ever. And with social media saturating how we interact in the world, our experience can have an outsized—and yes, misplaced—impact on those who have served us.
7.) “Be Kind”
Be aware of what you’re bringing to the table, and choose kindness instead of anger, hostility, or rudeness.
No, the church may not be a restaurant, but the Body of Christ exists to serve. By stealing these four rules from the restaurant industry and applying them to our church life, we may find ourselves to be a place where people are eager to dine.