1.1 Defining Genuine Hospitality in the Tasting Room

GENUINE HOSPITALITY

First of all, let’s define what we mean by genuine hospitality. The word genuine brings to mind honesty and a true feeling that comes from inside of you. It communicates person to person caring for our customers that makes them feel like a part of our family.

Hospitality is what a guest in our home should receive and that is how we see treating our guests in our wineries in North Carolina. Hospitality means trying to predict what our customers want and need from their winery visit. It also means taking care of all the little details that create a positive customer service experience for your guests.

Part of welcoming guests to your winery is to offer them a sincere smile as soon as possible, when they enter your tasting room. Take a quick look at the following video clip to see what we mean.

Body language such as smiling and making eye contact with visitors is important to the success of the tasting room visit. A smile leads to repeat business and research has shown that a smile can actually increase your average sales, as illustrated by the following chart. It's a simple way of saying, "the more you smile, the more you sell".

There are some good rules of thumb for greeting guests. You can’t go wrong if you follow the 10 foot rule used by many hospitality companies and retail stores. Read about the 10-foot rule in the diagram below, and remember, you need to make the first approach to the customer whenever possible.

Let's watch a short video demonstration of how to greet a customer at your winery.

Now let's pause for a minute to check yourself on the ideas we have just covered. Which answers do you prefer? When you are ready, look below the questions to see the answers.

1. Which of the following words communicates the concept of “genuine”?

     a. honesty

     b. a true feeling

     c. sincerity

     d. all of the above

2. Hospitality implies that we treat our visitors as though they are:

    a. detail-oriented people

    b. guests in our home

    c. predictable in nature

    d. none of the above

3. Which behavior(s) are important to use with guests who are 10 feet or less away from you?

    a. eye contact

    b. smile

    c. verbal greeting or question

    d. all of the above

Did you get them all? The answers are: 1. d; 2. b; and 3. d.

VERBAL GREETINGS

Verbal greetings provide a sense of real welcome as guests come into your tasting room. Greetings are a first opportunity to create bonds between you and your visitors, and ultimately, between your customers and your brand or company. Research has shown that using simple one on one personal messages, such as "I am here to help, do you have any questions?" or "I am happy to get that bottle for you" go a long way towards communicating caring and concern for customers and their needs.

One of the typical goals of a verbal greeting to people who have just entered the tasting room is to find out what the visitors want to do that day. It is always good to ask, since they may have goals in mind other than tasting wine that day, such as browsing your merchandise shelves or picking up a preordered wine club package. You need to make sure they aren't lost or having trouble finding what they are looking for, to avoid the "I'm confused" scenario in the picture.

Start by asking if they have visited the winery before, and if they are new to your winery, try to give them a feel for the layout of your tasting room and operation. Let them know how long the wait is for tours or tastings and what the steps are for taking part in these winery activities. It is also good practice to let customers know of any winery specials or events going on that day that might interest them.

Sometimes, guests are caught unaware when you have a special festival or a big private event at your winery and they were expecting the winery experience to be something quite different. Take extra time to reassure them that their visit is important to you and your fellow staff members and highlight some of the activities they may be able to experience that are special and unique that day.

Here is another checkpoint. Take a minute to think about your preferred answers.

1. The best form of verbal greeting is:

     a. a simple hello

     b. a one on one personal message

     c. a smile and a wink

     d. a formal bow

2. A typical goal of greeting people when they enter the winery is to:

    a. tell them about the winery's history

    b. find out how much they want to spend on wine

    c. find out what they want to do at the winery

    d. tell them where the restrooms are

3. Which of the following information items are good to offer visitors to your winery?

    a. a feel for the layout of the facility and where to find things

    b. a sense of how long the waits are or how long a tasting or tour takes

    c. winery specials or events going on that day

    d. all of the above

How did you do? The answers are: 1. b; 2. c; and 3. d.

This is the end of the first section in Module 1. When you feel ready, move on to the next section by clicking the following link.

Describing various profiles and motives of winery visitors