Hope and Hospitality

Puddling in Local Scottish Restaurant

Professor Joe Goldblatt

Did you know the word hospitality first originated in Scotland from a school? In Scotland, the term “Hospital” referred to a boarding school, derived from “hospitality,” which involved providing bed and board plus education. George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh, inspired by Christ’s Hospital in London, was one of the first to use this word in this way. In contrast, a place for the sick was called an infirmary (a place for infirm people).

Recently I have discovered that in the post Covid pandemic world hospitality has in some places, become very unwell in Scotland. This may be because many folk are rexamining their careers and do not wish to invest their time “in service” when they could enjoy more leisurely activities. It is also further injured by Brexit which makes it more difficult to recruit skilled and experienced workers from Europe.

One hotel general manager told me that when interviewing for waiters one young man said he only wanted to work three days per week and two of them from home! How do you run a hotel with that type of limited resource?

Recently I visited a neighbourhood pub that is under new ownership. Three prvious owners barely lasted a year in the same location. When I wlked in at 8pm I discovered I was the only customer and there were three staff talking to one another behind the bar.

No one said “Good evening” or even looked in my direction. Finally, I sat at the bar and said “Hello. May have something to eat?”

A female server said without any enthusiasm “Sure.” She then asked in her broad Old Scots accent “What do youse want to eat?”

I asked for a menu and selected a side order of maccaroni and cheese and a half pint of beer. She turned in my order to the kitchen and I waited patiently.

Her fellow server washed her hands in the sink and instead of drying them on a towel she rubbed both hands on her bum! She then picked my beer and presented it to me with her bum hand prints upon the rim of the glass!

I kept waiting for my meal and when it finally appeared I was surprised when the first server collected the plate and put it down on the bar and proceeded to eat the meal. I glared at her and then wondered why this had happened.

Obviously there was very little training for this staff and their own cultural experiences were somewhat limited so that she never thought about my comfort or discomfort as I watched her relish her dinner in front of me while I awaited my own order.

Finally, the chef appeared and instead of using a tong to transfer my chips to my plate his greasey hand reached into the bowl and extracted a clump of chips. I wondered why he was not wearing gloves and then thought if the female server had wiped her hands on her bum where in the world might this chef have dried his own hands?

When my food finally appeared it was the wrong order. The chef said “No problem. I will charge you for your orginal order.”

Fair enough, but the experience of being rudely treated by the three members of staff, observing their coarse and unsanitary conduct, and the screwing up my order, actually made me think they should be paying me!

When I settled my bill I gave the chef / manager an ear full in Hospitality 101 and he apologised and said “We are all new and have not had a lot of training.” I thanked him for his candor, wished him good luck, and left, never ever to return again. I am afraid owner number five shall be entering from stage right soon.

A few days later I visited a hot dog stand in the Princes Street garden and ordered a £6.00 plain hot dog that when it arrived was ice cold. I asked the server to warm it up and he put it in the microwave. I then asked why he did not always do this and he said “No time.” No time. It takes one minute. In fact, he had no brains or was not using them to serve his customer.

I fear that the cost of doing business today is now so great that quantity has not finally triumphed over quality. It no longer matters how good the hot dog tastes, what matters most is how many you sell.

I wonder what old George Heriot would think about how hospitality has been basterdised to represent a hopeless excursion for many diners. I also wonder how we put the hope back in hospitality so that this important profession honours its previous tradition of pride of service while at the same time making a fair profit.

The next time I sit down for a meal I will summon all the hope I can muster and perhaps someone will know the difference between hospitality and infirmary so that I once again enjoy the experience of dining out.

Professor Joe Goldblatt is Emeritus Professor of Planned Events at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, Scotland. His views are his own. To learn more about his views visit www.joegoldblatt.scot