A Recipe for Perfection
America's poshest inn reveals its secrets for satisfying the world's toughest customers.
Published July 2003
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Foodies have been known to travel hours for a taste of the grilled black figs with tangy lime sauce, a medallion of veal tenderloin with woodsy mushrooms, or a slice of Valrhona chocolate cake with roasted banana ice cream.
But perhaps the tastiest thing served at the world-famous Inn at Little Washington is the service itself. Few restaurants -- indeed, few businesses of any kind -- seem so adept at fulfilling their customers' every need. Founded in 1978 by chef Patrick O'Connell and Reinhardt Lynch, who who oversees the business, the Washington, Va., hotel and restaurant has won nearly every honor in its field. Most recently, Zagat's 2003 hotel survey ranked the inn's 100-seat dining room as America's best. "Heaven comes in second place," the authors gushed, "and it's not really close."
Regardless of what business you're in, there's a lot to learn from the Inn at Little Washington's approach to keeping its customers happy. And while most chefs would sooner bite into a Big Mac than reveal a cherished recipe, O'Connell agreed to share one -- the inn's five-course system for, as he puts it, "delivering the perfect experience."
"It's not enough for staffers to be courteous. They must also convey an extraordinary degree of competence."
Measure the customer's mood: People, O'Connell believes, aren't impressed by what you know or what you can offer until they see that you care. And you can't possibly care in any meaningful way unless you have some insight into what people are feeling and why.
Enter the "mood rating." When a new party arrives in the dining room, the captain assigns it a number that assesses the guests' apparent state of mind (from 1 to 10, with 7 or below indicating displeasure or unhappiness). The mood rating is typed into a computer, written on the dinner order, and placed on a spool in the kitchen where the entire staff can see and react accordingly. Whatever the circumstances, O'Connell's goal is crystal clear: "No one should leave here below a 9."
To that end, restaurant staffers spare nothing in their attempt to raise the number -- be it complimentary champagne, extra desserts, a tableside visit from one of the owners, even a kitchen tour. "Consciousness to the extreme is great customer service," O'Connell says. "If guests ran into terrible traffic on the way over here, or are in the midst of a marital dispute, we need to consider it our problem. How else are we going to ensure that they have a sublime experience?"
Cultivate expertise: It's not enough for staffers to be courteous, O'Connell believes. They also must convey an extraordinary degree of competence. Employees are encouraged never to stop learning about their job, the inn, and anything else that might take the team closer to perfection. In line with that philosophy, all staffers -- from managers to waiters to hosts -- are assigned research projects and expected to become the resident expert on their subject, which can range from wild mushrooms to French merlots and vintage port wines. And staffers are called upon to demonstrate their expertise by giving presentations to their co-workers.
It doesn't end there. Dining-room staff also are assigned a notable restaurant critic and asked to memorize everything from the reviewer's culinary hot buttons to his or her favorite words. The goal here is less to please any particular critic than to cultivate a deeper understanding of the opinion makers who can make or break a restaurant's fortunes. Indeed, staffers even are assigned to eat at a local restaurant, write a review in the style of their assigned critic, and present it to their fellow employees. "You have to know what controls the marketplace and what controls the perceptions of your customers -- and ultimately your bottom line," says O'Connell. "Rather than maintaining a passive adaptation to these critical players, we study them."
