If you are employed in a senior or assisted living community and serve a beverage to a resident, you are a food server. If you only fill in on a day when your dining rooms are short-handed, you are a food server. If you only serve food on an occasional basis, you are a food server and all food servers need to be properly trained.
Every food server needs guidelines and you need to know how to serve as good as your community’s best food server. This includes knowing hospitality, polite manners, how to connect with the resident you are waiting on, and how to make the residents happy to see you, not just for the food you bring but for everything else you bring into the room. This includes those in the administration who may only fill in when food serving staff is short-handed.
Kind Dining® training coaches everyone whoever picks up a plate or a glass and places it on the table whether in the dining room or in the resident’s personal quarters. It is all about meeting the expectations of the diner. Kind Dining® training teaches the science behind serving food in a hospitable manner that enhances the diner’s mealtime experience. When residents are happy with their food server, you are promoting nutrition, better digestion, reducing unintentional weight loss, and curbing dehydration. Food servers extend person-centered hospitality and hospitality is healthcare.
Healthcare is fundamental in senior living communities whether it is assisted living or not. The two go hand in hand together to better the daily life of each resident in your community. Learning about the seniors you serve by socially connecting to them encourages understanding, compassion, and caring. Caring is part of healthcare and hospitality is how you show it. Always keep in mind that when you serve food to a resident’s private rooms, you are entering their home. Your relationship with each resident affects their dining experience. Being happy to see you is the first step in being happy with the meal you bring to them.
Our B♥ Kind® Tip: Know the goal and know your role.