Vi at Bentley Village Dining Reservations Orientation May 25 th & May 26 th 2017 0
Purpose To provide residents with a better understanding of the Dining Reservations Program To improve residents Dining Reservations experience & satisfaction 1
LONGER WAIT SLOWER SERVICE FOOD QUALITY ISSUES LESS WAIT QUICKER SERVICE IMPROVED FOOD QUALITY 2
What do reservations have to do with food quality? 3
Why do I see empty tables? Empty tables are reserved tables waiting for residents arrival. A restaurant on a reservation system must provide a table that is available, clean, and ready for the reservation. 4
Why aren t restaurants staffed to have every table in use? Current staffing for dinner service is 25 front of the house servers, to serve approximately 350 dinners in our dining rooms each evening. Staffing is not based on the number of seats that we have in the dining room. Rather, staffing is based on the anticipated meals to be served over the dinner period. Kitchen production ability for a given menu. 5
Dining Reservation Request Methods 1. BVRESERVATION@VILIVING.COM 2. WWW.BV34110.COM 3. Telephone Voice Mail (During Unstaffed Times, No Agents Logged In, Times Staff is Assisting Other Residents) 4. Telephone Live Voice (10:30am 7:30pm) 5. In Person at Food Service Office 6. In Person at Host Stand 6
Why aren t restaurants staffed to have every table in use? Why are there so many ways to make a reservation? This is confusing! 7
Email: BVRESERVATION@VILIVING.COM 8
WWW.BV34110.COM 9
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Be sure to click submit after filling out your requests 13
Telephone 431.2220 #1 = Restaurant Dinner Reservations #2 = Pick Up & Delivery Meal Services #3 = Food Service Admin & Event Planning #4 = Direct Access to Dinner Reservations Voice Mail 14
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What reservation method should I choose? It depends on your goals for the week, your availability, and how flexible you are. 16
Monday Morning Reservations Methods Reservation Method Resident Convenience Level Probability of Receiving Preferred Time & Location bvreservation@viliving.com 8:00am-12:30pm www.bv34110.com 8:00am-12:30pm Voice Mail 8:00am-10:30am High High Low to High Low Low Low Voice Mail Between 10:30am-12:30 Call In Between 10:30am-Noon Low to High Low to High High High Walk In Food Service Office Between 10:30am-Noon Low to High High 17
I know all of the various ways to make a reservation, but in what order are reservations accepted? 18
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Did you know. that on Mondays, there are 3-4 Reservationists as well as the Dining Room Manager assigned to work on reservations ONLY? 21
Monday Morning Reservation Assignments Reservations Host Role Location Task Email Host Back Office Inputs Email Reservations Voice Mail Host Back Office Inputs Voice Mail Reservations Telephone and Voice Mails Host 10:30am 2:30pm Walk-In Host Reservations Manager or Supervisor Back Office Food Service Administrative Office Food Service Administrative Offices Input Current Telephone Calls & Voice Mails Left Between 10:30am - 2:30pm Input Resident s Walking In, Current Telephone Calls, & Current Voice Mails Oversees and Supports Reservations Hosts 22
How Does The Reservationist Determine if a Reservation is Available? 23
Restaurant Table Inventory Rate Limit Table Turn Estimate 24
How many reservations can be seated at each restaurant? (otherwise known as rate limit ) 25
Dinner Reservations Rate Limit 15 people every 15 minutes* 15 people per hour 195 people 4p-7:15p Brunch Reservations Rate Limit 30 people every 15 minutes 120 people per hour 390 people 11:30p-2:45p *After 5:15pm prior to 5:15pm = 20 per 15 minutes 26
Dinner Reservations Rate Limit 45 people every 15 minutes all restaurants* 180 people per hour 585 people 4p-7:15p *After 5:15pm prior to 5:15pm = 20 per 15 minutes 27
Barriers to Achieving Maximum Rate Limits -Smaller parties unwilling to join other smaller parties -Resident not arriving on time for their scheduled reservation -Residents that do not cancel a reservation, did you know there is a charge for not cancelling a reservation? -Arrival with less people than the confirmed reservation number -Building parties not RSVP ing their final count 72 hours prior -Multiple residents making reservations for same resident in different restaurants on same night -Multiple residents making group reservations for same group and groups cancelling the least desirable time/location confirmed or group leaders not cancelling dual reservations at all 28
What Are My Options if Preferred Restaurant or Times are Unavailable When Speaking to a Reservation s Host? 1) Let your priorities be known to the reservation s host is time or location more important? 2) Listen to the reservationist offer of assistance and the alternative options offered 3) Determine your willingness to compromise with one of the options provided 4) If willing to compromise, accept options What Are My Options if Preferred Restaurant or Times are Unavailable When Receiving an Email from A Reservations Host? 1) You may reply to a reservations host s by sending an email, calling them directly or walking in to the office or Host Stand. 2) Advise them that you are unsatisfied with options provided 3) Follow steps 1 4 above 29
What if I am unable/unwilling to compromise my first choice of restaurant or time, what are my other options? 1) Contact the Reservations Host 24 Hours prior and/or 12 Hours prior. During the week there are many cancellations and/or changes that occur that may create availability for your preference. 2) You may Walk In at your preferred dining time/location, realizing that there will be a wait to be seated. 3)Walking in during the highest demand time of 5:30pm to 6:45pm would deliver the longest wait times. Willingness to join other parties when walking in would minimize the wait times. 30
I have a special occasion in the future. It is important that I receive my preferred dining time/location, what can I do? As promised when we rolled out the reservations program in 2015, exceptions are made for special occasions that would be outside of the Tuesday Monday window Let Us Know! 31
Why do we join tables? -Residents social health and to maximize seating capacity given a limited number of tables -To achieve maximium capacity of restaurant rate limits cannot be achieved unless table and chairs are available I ll Join! 32
How does the joining reservation program work? We allow 1 reservation for a table of less than 4 people every 15 minutes for the duration of the meal period. Once that 1 reservation is taken for less than 4 within a 15 minute time period, the remaining tables -for groups of less than 4- become. joining tables So if the first reservation is a party of 2-No Join..in order to be seated in that time slot, your group must be 4 or more or you must be willing to join. 33
Lakeside Grill 5:30 5:45 6:00 Party of 4 Party of 2-Join Party of 2-No Join * Party of 2-Join Party of 2-Join Party of 3-Join Party of 2-Join Party of 2-No Join * Party of 2-Join Party of 2-Join Party of 2-Join Party of 2-No Join * *All available reservations are now ONLY for a party of 4 or more or if less than 4, only those willing to JOIN.The next time you are asked the question, are you willing to join you know why! 34
2017 Program Enhancements Transition of Reservations without Nametags (Seafood Buffet, Grand Opening Gala, Valentine s Day, Easter) Resident Reservations Focus Group Workflow Analysis that Reorganized Reservation Processes and Staff Roles to Improve Efficiency Intensive Training of Reservations Staff to Improve their ability to offer assistance and provide options Improved joining table program to maximize seating capacity 35
2017 Program Enhancements Continued Increased number of available seats on all Dinner Reservations & Sunday Brunch during peak demand hours by 20% Call in day for reservations transitioned seamlessly from Tuesdays to Monday s to give residents an additional day to plan Based on Focus Group Feedback, the Couples Club was moved to Azure Remain VERY optimistic about accomplishing our goal of rolling out a real time reservation program in 2017 in which residents will be able to make and confirm reservations online a custom program is in development with Vi 36
Questions? 37