Front-of-House Services

On match day a successful event relies on the smooth co-ordination of a number of different sub-contractors and their staff. These include the waiters and bar staff, the security personnel, the AV technicians, celebrities, tipsters and many others. If these people are left to work in a general vacuum, the guests can have a reasonable day but reasonable is not good enough for Cavendish and HiP.

However, if these people are actively and sympathetically managed, they work together as a team with every guest enjoying an exceptional experience – from the first smile when they come through the door to the “have a safe journey home” at the end of the day. This is where we can make a difference.

Training programmes

At the major events, a large proportion of staff will always be freelance. Training and motivation of these freelance staff is another key aspect of our service. At the event itself the HiP senior management cannot possibility interact with all the guests. Indeed they will interact with very few guests. But every guest will interact with receptionists, hostesses, waiters, bar staff and facility managers. The training and motivation of these customer-focused personnel is critical. They can make or break the guests’ enjoyment of the day. HiP has developed a number of training programmes to ensure that every member of the team is onside, working together to maximise the guests’ enjoyment of the day.

For example, for Rugby World Cup 2003 in Australia we produced an eight minute training video featuring Wallaby legend, John Eales, explaining the critical importance of the role of hospitality co-ordinators in the total programme. Every person working in our facilities saw this video during their initial training and then again on site on match day.

When the event is not large enough to make this approach practical, our senior event managers, many of whom have worked with us for ten years or more, give practical on-site briefings to all the staff. Besides the basic elements of customer service, we also ensure that the staff understand what is happening at the event itself, which teams are playing, what stage the competition has reached etc. etc. This means that they can interact with the guests with confidence and this confidence gives the guests a positive and more enjoyable experience.