Sunday 30 January 2011

And the beat goes on...at Banyan

We don't have to beat our own drum...The proof is in the pudding...!


Very pleasant evening- good food, great service & a very nice restaurant. excellent value with TT offer- definately recommend

Rating:
  • overall: 8.0
  • food: 8
  • value: 8
  • service: 8
  • toilets: 8
  • ambience: 8
  • recommend: 8

Banyan on the Thames was once again very good. Attentive and efficient service, nice ambience and good value with the TT deal.

Rating:
  • overall: 7.3
  • food: 7
  • value: 7
  • service: 7
  • toilets: 8
  • ambience: 8
  • recommend: 7


Lovely venue with friendly staff. Good food and great offers with TT

Rating:
  • overall: 10.0
  • food: 10
  • value: 10
  • service: 10
  • toilets: 10
  • ambience: 10
  • recommend: 10


I had a lovely meal at Banyan on Thames. The ambience was really nice, great service and the food was superb. I will most definitely be going back.

Rating:  
  • overall: 10.0
  • food: 10
  • value: 10
  • service: 10
  • toilets: (na)
  • ambience: 10
  • recommend: 10

Reviewer: (Anonymous)

I went with three friends on a Thursday evening. The restaurant was busy and buzzing. The food and service were top class. Would definitely recommend a visit.

Rating:
  • overall: 10.0
  • food: 10
  • value: 10
  • service: 10
  • toilets: 10
  • ambience: 10
  • recommend: 10


The slow cooked Mongolian lamb hot pot was fantastic, and the seafood soup was excellent as well, though desserts on the menu have much room for improvement.

Rating:
  • overall: 8.0
  • food: 8
  • value: 8
  • service: 8
  • toilets: 8
  • ambience: 8
  • recommend: 8

Reviewer: (Anonymous)

The Banyan Restaurant, sits along the Thames in quiet isolation, a secret hide out. A good atmosphere and delicious food make for an interesting place to visit. good service too!

Rating:
  • overall: 8.0
  • food: 8
  • value: 9
  • service: 8
  • toilets: 7
  • ambience: 8
  • recommend: 8                                                                                                                                                Reviewer :  Adriana Defilippi  -  foodie
We had another excellent meal at Banyan on Thames, supplemented with a good bottle of Argentine wine from the Mendoza region..The food is always delicious, the service is very good, the staff are always very polite and friendly. We are never disappointed with the overall experience and would highly recommend that you try this restaurant.

Rating:
  • overall: 9.7
  • food: 10
  • value: 10
  • service: 10
  • toilets: 9
  • ambience: 9
  • recommend: 10


This was the second time I went to Banyan. The food was lovely.

Rating:
  • overall: 8.8
  • food: 9
  • value: 9
  • service: 9
  • toilets: 9
  • ambience: 8
  • recommend: (na)



Enjoy our special Valentine menu


Titillate your culinary senses and enjoy romancing your partner with our sumptuously special Valentine menu from 12th-14th February 2011!


 Valentine Starters

Chicken tikka Banyan style; tender pieces of baby chicken marinated in
Indian spices and yoghurt baked in our Tandoor oven, served with
fresh salad

Crispy king prawn salad with a vanilla and mango dressing

Valentine Main course

A Choice of:

Scottish Angus fillet steak served with a shitake mushrooms and
sesame jus, green beans and a potato rocket purée
or
T-bone steak in rich brandy sauce served with baby potatoes and fresh sautéed vegetables
or
Grilled fillet of sea bass with squid ribbons and a herb
dressing

Valentine Desserts

Creamy macarones served with special flavours of ice cream
and
English and Continental cheeseboard with chutneys
with
a selection of specially brewed“Dose” coffees

Wednesday 26 January 2011

The ethos of Rafayel! The the story that inspired Rafayel Hotel ethos and service standards.

Why do we get a great feedback like “Finally a top class hotel that ticks all the boxes in London”-Rafayel on the Left Bank from our clients?



I heard the personal growth guru Wayne Dyer on the radio saying that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining.






Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd."








Harvey Mackay was waiting in line for a taxi at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie and freshly pressed black slacks, Wally the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back door. Harvey noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside - spotlessly clean.





As Wally slid behind the wheel, he said, "Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf." Jokingly, Harvey said, "No, I'd prefer a soft drink."



Wally smiled and said, "No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice."



Almost stuttering, Harvey said, "I'll take a Diet Coke."



Handing Harvey his drink, Wally said, "If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today."



As the taxi pulled away from the curb, Wally handed Harvey a laminated card and said, "These are the stations I get and the music they play if you'd like to listen to the radio." As if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey the air conditioning was on and asked if the temperature was comfortable.





The driver then advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. Wally also let Harvey know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.





"Tell me, Wally," the amazed passenger asked, "have you always served customers like this?"





Wally smiled and looked in the rear view mirror. "No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do.

Then I heard the personal growth guru Wayne Dyer on the radio saying that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining.



Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd."



"So I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers unfriendly and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more."



"I take it that has paid off for you," Harvey said.



"It sure has," Wally replied. "My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year.



This year, I'll probably quadruple it." Wally the cab driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like a duck and to start soaring like an eagle.



Wednesday 19 January 2011

Total dining experience at the Banyan

Probably the biggest challenge faced by restaurants or restaurateurs is sustaining their reputation. Commercial demands and en masse catering unfortunately (and many a time, inevitably), affect quality of food and presentation to some measure

We are proud that Banyan on the Thames continues to wow its critics and carved its niche in upholding, if not enhancing, its reputation and unique character of cuisine that goes beyond the cliched catchphrase "east-meets-west!"

 

Reviewer TH  -  foodie

Banyan on Thames, London. Very good view of the thames with stylish decor. Service was quite prompt and our maincourse of (monk)fish and chips was very good and the banyan biryani was one of the best i have tasted with excellent balance of spices and chilli heat. 

Rating:
  • overall: 7.8
  • food: 8
  • value: 8
  • service: 7
  • toilets: 8
  • ambience: 8
  • recommend: 8

Reviewer IM  -  nibbler

Banyan on Thames, Battersea - A real joy - we took a cousin, lively and a gifted singer in her 70's, to celebrate her birthday with Sunday lunch/ brunch, and had the unexpected bonus of an enchanting, live jazz singer to complement first class food and excellent, friendly service. Restaurant remarkably quiet - presumably it's still building its customer base. Would recommend wholeheartedly - and we didn't even take the 50% offer, because the Sunday Brunch menu was so tempting!
Rating: 
  • overall: 9.2
  • food: 9
  • value: 8
  • service: 10
  • toilets: 10
  • ambience: 8
  • recommend: 10

Reviewer KH  -  gastronaut

Love Banyan On Thames, 3rd visit and almost want to keep my praise low key so it does not put all its prices up and become too popular. Lovely lighting, gorgeous decor, great views and spacious tables. However its the lovely menu & food which deserves the most praise. Tasty, well presented and good portions. Seared tuna was something special but all of our meals were high quality. With TT offer its a pretty perfect place for romantic meals or a classy dinner with friends. Will return many times

 
Rating:
  • overall: 8.8
  • food: 10
  • value: 9
  • service: 9
  • toilets: 8
  • ambience: 8
  • recommend: 9

Friday 14 January 2011

Guru corner: What is your definition of excellent guest service? Regularly inspect your hotel customer service and expect healthy returns.


It is widely known that repeat guests and positive referrals are cornerstones for hotels to reach their financial goals. Once the guest is in the door, they will continually evaluate the value of the hotel's offering looking at such key factors as location, convenience, room size, overall cleanliness, and customer service.

Hotel Customer Service from Management

Hotel management can only meaningfully act on cleanliness and customer service. Cleanliness is extremely important which is why it is continually inspected by several layers of hotel management. Hoteliers know that
if a hotel room is deemed unclean by a guest, the chance of a repeat visit is nil.

Hotel Customer Service as Primary Motivator

Cleanliness aside, customer service becomes the primary motivator determining if a guest will become a repeat visitor. The fact is, guests expect at a minimum that upscale hotels will be very clean, much in the same way a buyer of a new car expects the brakes to work.

There is an old saying, 'You get what you inspect'. The customer service at a hotel should be a part of a regular, strategically designed inspection program. Knowing how your staff will perform during service 'moments of truth' separates those that manage customer service from those that react to guest problems. Mystery shopping provides sufficient detail to enable management to take action.

A good hotel mystery shopping program is like an MRI. Like a doctor, hotel management uses it to take a very detailed, close-up picture of their customer service.

The results are then interpreted by management and used to prescribe treatments that will improve the subject's wellbeing.

Ada Ster : I think the most basic definition of excellent guest service is "consistently exceeding guest expectations". In order to create repeat business and an excellent image of the business, one must predict guest expectations, meet them and eventually strive to exceed them all the time. Consistency is the key to repeat business.
 
Otto Acuna : I like very much the definition given by Ada. "Consistently exceeding guest expectations". In addition, I think that:

Consistency implies management of the process and its performance, whatever that happens to be. Any customer facing process or those that are not directly customer facing, but are visible to customers (p.ex. HouseKeeping) needs to be managed in order to predict the outcome of its performance every time.
 
Exceeding Guest Expectations require we understand and internalize what are the likes and dislikes of our guests (at least the core segments) in operational terms, so that we can associate the processes outputs to what the expectations for those outputs are. The Kano Model is a nice tool to do this.

Finally, consistently manage the process to achieve the expected level in a consistent manner. That is what process management is all about.
To me, the "cherry on the cake" is actually comunicating and empower first line personnel so that they fully understand what is required from them in operational - day to day labor - terms, so that they can become more creative on how to best achieve those expectations.

I agree that this is key to get the customer back every time.



Lucie Hys : Exceeding guests' expectations is definitely a great point. I'd add, going one mile further than the competitors.

Casper Nieuwoudt : Perfection can never be achieved but is something we can only strive towards. The same for guest expectation/satisfaction. Hospitality is always a work in progress and is never done for the one element which forever will be the variable "human nature"

A guest might be satisfied but this does not mean that we have met his expectation nor can we meet an expectation and know 100% that the guest is satisfied. We live in a world of perception where we within the industry are the magicians moving behind smoke and mirrors creating the perception of guest satisfaction and expectation.  

The success comes in on how consistently we can create that perception and the one thing that sets you apart is hospitality, "the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers".

You can have the best looking property, the best chef in the world, the most expensive operating equipment or the most consistent service style day in and day out, without hospitality which is lived and breathed within your organization you have already failed.

Hospitality the one deciding factor.

Nicole van der Hoeven : The WOW factor, think in terms of how to pleasantly surprise or serve each individual. Who is your guest? Where does he come from? In what state of mind is he? What kind of service does he require. You need to feel service and also use common sense!

Richard H Greene Jr Excellent Guest Service is a dynamic it is not just one thing and is often a changing thing but ultimately it results in whatever it takes to consistently bring the guest back over and over again.

Tatyana GoodkovaI agree with the majority of comments.

I'm in forum already been compared here repeat:

Service as at theatre - where for each Guest are played a specially prepared performance for him.
 
And here are just works "WOW factor". Or we left the theater in delight from play on stage or not.

Excellent service - it's not when I want ice cream, and to me give not just ice cream , but ice cream with chocolate chip.

Excellent service - when I yet don't want ice cream, but I can want it, and here it - with the chocolate crumbs. Free, because the girls, women in this hot night (day, evening), ice cream as a gift.

It does not exceed my expectations, it forms my expectations

Good service - meet the expectations of the guest

Great service - exceed guests' expectations

Excellent service - form guests' expectations, and when a guest does not notice exerted service, because it does not change his way of life.

Excellent service it is possible to concern it, to breathe it and to feel it. But the main thing - it impossible to forget.

Amit Vasavada : Great ideas..we in hospitality talk, live and breathe every day. Every action towards exceeding the guest satisfaction should result in " winning the hearts and mind (WHAM)"..of your guest and with genuineness. You will have him for life.....!

Sandeep Gopale  Guest service is the key to winning loyalty from customers, and what defines true guest service is pro activeness and going out of your way to serve your customer , even if it costs you a little more on your pocket.

Remember the golden rule , a healthy customer will always return back to you and would recommend it to others too.



Otto Acuna : I see a lot of responses and comments around the fact that 1) Guest Expectations need to be surpassed and 2) Consistency is key in order sustain customer delightness.
 
I would infer from these answers that most of the comments agree on the "what" of excellent guest service. But little has been said on "how" to get there, how to accomplish it on the day to day of the service processes the guests perceives.


I agree entirely with the comments above about 1) and 2). In addition, I do think that focusing on operational excellence efforts on the service processes to obtain consistent results at guest touchpoints is key.

By operational excellence I mean continous improvement efforts using methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma and others to focus on customer expectations, define them in operational terms (terms related to daily work, where employees and managers can act upon) and consistently manage the process to try to achieve perfection (i.e. whaterver aspirational goal in operational terms that we may have set based on customer expectations). 

That is my reading of how the achieve the "wow" factor that is mentioned above, and with which I agree.

I do think that if we do not translate the guest expectations into operational terms, the good intentions fail to be converted into actionable - measurable actions and the efforts have the risk of fading away.

What are your thoughts on this? 
 
 Brian Whitaker : I agree with many of the comments. It is exceeding the needs of the guest; and not just once; but every time.

This can be achieved in many different ways; in ways you may not even consider to be that "special". One client of ours thinks we are awesome just because we invoice them within 24 hours; we do it because it is the way we keep going....getting paid. Others appreciate that we always provide them with a driver's name and phone number and access to a 24 hour dispatch number. I would not even dream of running a transportation company any other way. But I guess there are many company's they run into that close after 5PM and if your driver is missing, oh well.  

Our goal in 2011 is to improve our customer service levels in many areas. I appreciate everyone's input on these discussions to help us achieve those goals.

Teri Yanovitch : Thank you for all of your comments. I would like to add that I too believe it is important to exceed expectations but in order to do that - you have to look through the lens of the customer, recognize the impact of your physical environment on the customer experience, and continually look to improve your processes to make it easy to do business with you. In doing these things, it is easier to create the WOW.

Tuesday 11 January 2011

Save your Valentine date! Saturday, 12th February 2011



Make a real difference this Valentine’s Day with Black Tie dinner-dance at The Rafayel’s Nirvana Lounge overlooking the Thames

Saturday, 12th February 2011!



 Tired of the same old ‘table for two’ on Valentine’s Day? Looking for a more social, fun and entertaining evening instead? The Rafayel Hotel London will host the inaugural Annual Valentine’s Day Gala this year.

The lavish black-tie dinner-dance will give Romeos the chance to woo their Juliets in grand style.

The gala invites couples or singles to join friends for an evening of exquisite food and dancing. The elegant black-tie theme will appeal to all those who want to impress their Valentine.

Tickets to the event are £100 per couple, all inclusive, or £900 for a table of ten.

The evening begins with cocktails at 7pm in the Nirvana lounge terrace followed by a 5-course buffet dinner in the Nirvana lounge. The music for the evening is more or less slow – planned around intimate couple dances.

One lucky couple will win a free overnight stay in Rafayel. For those who would prefer to extend the evening, the hotel is offering a special overnight package for ticket holders at £129 per room (including all taxes and service charge), or book the dinner-dance offer with room for £239 (taxes and service charges included)   including our popular Sunday breakfast/brunch the following morning. Special suite packages are also available.



Saint Valentine's Day (commonly shortened to Valentine's Day) is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid.