START Chapter 14.5

14.5 Room Service Attendant

       What is a Room Service Attendant?
Room service attendants take guests’ orders, place orders with the kitchen, deliver orders to guestrooms, and serve guests in their rooms.
Room service attendants make guests feel special and pampered.
Room service attendants:
      -Help business people stay on schedule by delivering food and beverage which allows them to          keep working
     -Make a private dinner for two
     - Help guests host functions fro friends, family members, or business associates
Room service attendants are responsible for many tasks including:
     - Selling food and beverages
     - Delivering food and beverages
     -Presenting food and beverages to guests in guestrooms or hospitality suites
     -Removing items when guests are done with them
     -Helping co-workers as needed
To be excellent team players, room service attendants can:
      - Deliver food and beverage orders promptly to the kitchen or bar to prevent last-minute         rushing for everyone involved
      - Deliver soiled linens to the laundry department throughout a shift to prevent linen shortages
      - Keep hallways clear of used room service items so that others will not trip over them
      - Conduct inventories according to the schedule
      - Report repairs to engineering, and fill out a maintenance request form if necessary
      - Bus soiled dishes often so stewards won’t fall behind
Successful room service attendants strive to meet the following superior performance standards:
        -Answer the telephone by the third ring
        -Be familiar with all menu items, including specials and desserts
        -Suggest items such as daily specials, appetizers, desserts, and beverages
        - Tell each guest the approximate time of delivery
        - Use portable heaters for hot foods
        - Ask permission to enter guestrooms
        - Set tables, remove coverings, and arrange dishes
        - Use only full, capped, and clean condiment containers
        - Politely ask guests to call room service when finished so that they may remove dishes
        - Remove service trays and dishes promptly so that no trays or dishes remain in the hall


    Guestroom Safety for Room Service Attendants
Room service attendants:
    Watch where they push their cart
     Look at the floor of the guestroom before they enter
     Pick up items off the floor before pushing the cart into the room
     Do not confront guests if they see a gun, drugs, controlled substance, pets, or damage, deliver     the order then report the problem
     Make it their goal to always bring room service equipment into the room. Room service     equipment in the hallway can be a safety hazard
    Take along a doorstop so they can prop open the door while they’re in the guestroom







14.5 Questions

1. List at least four tasks that a room service attendant performs
Room service attendants take guests’ orders, place orders with the kitchen, deliver orders to guestrooms, and serve guests in their rooms.
Room service attendants make guests feel special and pampered.
Room service attendants:
      -Help business people stay on schedule by delivering food and beverage which allows them to          keep working
     -Make a private dinner for two
     - Help guests host functions fro friends, family members, or business associates

2. What should a room attendant do if a guest does not wish him or her to enter the room?


3. How can a room service attendant safely move through guestroom corridors?
     Look at the floor of the guestroom before they enter
     Pick up items off the floor before pushing the cart into the room
     Do not confront guests if they see a gun, drugs, controlled substance, pets, or damage, deliver     the order then report the problem

4. When should a room service attendant not use an elevator?
If it does not appear that the room service cart will fit comfortably on the elevator with the guests