Tourism contributes a hefty percentage to the island`s GDP. The increase in the number of tourists is a good target. It is also a good omen. This increase is held as a top priority by both the Ministry of Tourism and the Malta Tourism Authority.
Yet, as in everything else in life, there are pros and cons. Yes, even in tourism. It is considered as the golden goose. As such, it is to be nurtured and treated with care and delicacy. The favourable points are obvious. Among these are increased profits for hoteliers, better wages for their employees. Corollaries are the need in this demanding industry of ever improving service. The awkward points lie in the greater demand for employees.
As far as is known hotel owners and/or managers employ certified chefs, experienced and professionally trained, as personnel in the Front Office, Food and Beverage, Accounts and Accommodation departments are expected to be. The rub lies in the waiting staff. Part-timers especially are not tested for a licence. Warrants in the profession and licences in trades are a sine qua non. These require preparation and testing.
Restaurants should not be allowed to employ untrained waiters or waitresses. Shortage of trained personnel is to my mind only a poor excuse. Basic courses should be held for the award of a licence.
Complaints of restaurant clients are often addressed at waiters. Their service is either sloppy or inelegant. Much, much worse are vulgarity and rude answering to diners` complaints or comments on faults. Even a simple wish or a justified instruction are at times met by impolite shrugs, sarcastic remarks or vulgar insults. I am speaking generically.
At the end of the day what is required is a three-pronged education. This consists of discipline, training and good manners. So let`s quote some examples. A foreign lady guest at a four-star hotel orders a cappuccino and instructs the waiter not to top the cream with chocolate powder. Disregard of such instruction elicited a complaint by the client. The lady is regaled by a loud, raucous, vulgar remark: "What you think, you .... foreigner?"
The waiter should have been sacked there and then. Instead the assistant manager, who was called by the client, tried to excuse this unacceptable behaviour by remarking that the waiter was only a part-timer. It is submitted that an apology and a fresh cup of cappuccino would have been in order. Shades of good care of the golden goose!
A man took his young grandson to a pizzeria. The child ordered a certain type of pizza. What was served after a long wait was quite different. The boy looked at the pizza, at the waiter and at his grandfather. Obviously he did not like what was served. The man very politely told the waiter that his grandson had ordered a different pizza and would he please oblige. The waiter remarked offensively: "What the ... hell! Dan mhux melh?"
A third incident. At the bar counter of a four-star hotel. A pot of tea was ordered. Fresh milk was supplied. Client asked for tinned milk. Bartender answered in a very offhand manner: "That`s the kind of milk there is," much to the disgust of the client.
On another occasion, a group of 17 men dining at a place decided to go to a nearby popular café for coffee and liqueur. They had hardly sat down when a waiter ominously warned: "Whatever you want you had better take it standing as in a few minutes we`re closing." Taken aback, the whole group simply walked out, determined never to return.
Perhaps this is the attitude such careless employees deserve. There is a lesson to be learnt here, of course. The Latin writer and philosopher Seneca wrote: "No evil propensity of the human heart is so powerful that it may not be subdued by discipline.
Rather than speculation, action is needed. It is the stress that is laid on the latter that the result is power which is wielded over the destinies of industry.
The moral of it all is that it is more important to teach manners and customs than to establish laws and tribunals. A Turkish proverb is very adept in this context: "Good advice may be given but manners not."