new P&O bar serving style

[davecttr]

on my last Oceana cruise there was talk about new bar serving practices that might be trialed.

 

the waiters will take your order, enter it into their notepad device and press send. This will appear at the bar and the bartenders will make up the order. the completed order will them be delivered to you by a server, not the waiter who's sole function is to take orders.

 

someone mentioned they might want to get rid of the bartenders and have machines dispensing the drinks :eek:

 

IMO these accountants are hell bent on destroying the cruise ship experience in their headlong pursuit of their annual bonus:rolleyes:

[kruzseeka]

on my last Oceana cruise there was talk about new bar serving practices that might be trialed.

 

the waiters will take your order, enter it into their notepad device and press send. This will appear at the bar and the bartenders will make up the order. the completed order will them be delivered to you by a server, not the waiter who's sole function is to take orders.

 

someone mentioned they might want to get rid of the bartenders and have machines dispensing the drinks :eek:

 

IMO these accountants are hell bent on destroying the cruise ship experience in their headlong pursuit of their annual bonus:rolleyes:

 

When we were on Azura in Feb they had just introduced electronic devices for the dining room waiters and presumably orders were beamed directly to the kitchen! No doubt it cuts out a runner taking orders in so should increase efficiency although it did seem to be the source of some frustration and for a day or two we noted service was slower - with odd dishes not arriving at the table (one dessert missing etc). I think the staff were on a learning curve and not that enamoured of their new toys!

 

Can't remember how the wine steward service was affected though. Certainly in the Malabar the wine waiters had some ordering device strapped to their wrists (looked cumbersome and I would think quite uncomfortable) - now whether they had been newly introduced too and that was the reason I wouldn't know but service seemed chaotic there with drinks orders confused (linking order to correct customer) and service rather slow and poor imo even though the bar wasn't full by any means. The 'searching' for customers with their orders was a very obvious feature each night - not a one-off. That could very well have been because it wasn't the person who took the order bringing the drinks. Lots of people getting the wrong tabs to sign too. All looked very unprofessional - which I'm sure was caused by the process rather than the personnel who were struggling to get to grips with it. We felt the service here was particularly bad and impersonal too.

 

Might be a bedding in thing. But you can see that there are moves on that level to increase efficiency (they hope) but you may well be right Dave, it could totally change the ambience and your experience in the bar. It may be OK now but we weren't impressed at the time.

[P&O SUE]

My friend is going on Anthem of the Seas in June and apparently they have a "robot bar" where the server is a robot!!

[Daftlad]

Azura waiting staff on decks all now on the electronic tablets. Works fine.

[pete14]

Azura waiting staff on decks all now on the electronic tablets. Works fine.

 

Same on Britannia. Deck staff and speciality restaurant staff have tablets. Seems to work ok

[annieuk]

We've just returned from Oceana - no change there, still the waiters and bar attendants using notepads.

[john watson]

The fundamental change here is that one person takes the order and someone else delivers it. How does the "server" deliver it if they have not previously seen you. You might be at a table but then you might not or you might suddenly spot a better table being vacated and move to there. Under the traditional system the waiter saw and recognised you whilst you saw the waiter and recognised him/her.

 

I think this system has been dreamt up by someone who does not actually do the job and I believe there could be problems.

 

Regards John

[Dirky]

I'd much prefer my orders to be taken on parchment and penned with a fine quill pen.

[janieb1962]

The fundamental change here is that one person takes the order and someone else delivers it. How does the "server" deliver it if they have not previously seen you. You might be at a table but then you might not or you might suddenly spot a better table being vacated and move to there. Under the traditional system the waiter saw and recognised you whilst you saw the waiter and recognised him/her.

 

I think this system has been dreamt up by someone who does not actually do the job and I believe there could be problems.

 

Regards John

 

We were on Azura in January and some of the drinks waiters were using ipads, others just old fashioned pen and paper, in either case the same person who took the order delivered the drinks . Worked fine!

[newbieafloat]

Sounds more like they are trying to make savings on the back end to me. Auto inventory management/purchasing. Ensuring the bar staff get a full 30 25ml servings out of every 750ml bottle etc. It'll be a bit like the old tale of British Airways saving millions by putting one less olive on every salad, or whatever it was.

 

As long as front end service doesn't suffer (one they've been through the learning curve), I can't see there being too many upsets. The only issues will be if the system crashes at sea, and the staff need to revert to "manual" systems to serve the punters. The entire back end of the inventory management system will be a shambles, and it will create confusion behind the scenes as it were.

[Host Sharon]

My friend is going on Anthem of the Seas in June and apparently they have a "robot bar" where the server is a robot!!

 

I am on her in April and will report back !

[Big Stevie]

So if one waiter takes your order, and different one delivers it, which one do you tip?

 

I'll get my coat :D

Edited March 24, 2015 by Big Stevie

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

Might be a bedding in thing. But you can see that there are moves on that level to increase efficiency (they hope)

 

The only issues will be if the system crashes at sea, and the staff need to revert to "manual" systems to serve the punters. The entire back end of the inventory management system will be a shambles, and it will create confusion behind the scenes as it were.44000064E5A

 

I do feel for the bar waiters and wine stewards if this new system is not user friendly. Trying something new is always traumatic experience for some, especially when it comes to technology, and I do hope the waiters dont suffer.

 

At the end of the day, its always the corporate decision, which wins in the end

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited March 25, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn knows all about these things (Hic)

[SteveH2508]

I'd much prefer my orders to be taken on parchment and penned with a fine quill pen.

 

Too many feathers getting blown overboard - the bean-counters would have a conniption.

[CCFC]

There is a self service bar on Britannia which looks like its a race to fill your glass, who needs waiters and servers!

 

[davecttr]

There is a self service bar on Britannia which looks like its a race to fill your glass, who needs waiters and servers!

 

what a stupid idea. It will only take one idiot using their existing glass to infect half the ship :eek:

[pete14]

what a stupid idea. It will only take one idiot using their existing glass to infect half the ship :eek:

 

Don't see why this should be the case as there is no reason for the rim of the glass to come into contact with the dispensing nozzle. It is only for a few wines and a couple of beers. Maybe there is a risk that if one has imbibed more than is good for one the rim may touch the nozzle but it would be difficult to drink such an amount of the beers on offer in self service.

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

Its like my agents office. I see the help staff there, filling their water bottles from the collar, putting the bottle neck right up to the top, which could contaminate us all with their awful germs.

Of course i have corrected them, but they pretend they will not do it again, but always do. i know they do.

 

Sometimes you have to educate some people in ordinary standards regarding health and hygiene.

 

I could tell many stories about being backstage and the many costume changes and what i see, but I wont. i will keep that for another day.

 

 

 

.

Edited March 25, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn is a model, is beautiful inside and out, and people are jealous

[john watson]

We were on Azura in January and some of the drinks waiters were using ipads, others just old fashioned pen and paper, in either case the same person who took the order delivered the drinks . Worked fine!

 

Yes there is absolutely no reason why it should not. Modern technology is excellent if used with sensible application in a relevant way to improve a service. Unfortunately this newly devised; waiter takes orders the server delivers them, system is going to be problematic. However you gather and transmit the information is irrelevant to a system working so long as it's accurate although an efficiency may be achieved here. It is purely and simply that the servers will not know you from Adam and you might reposition slightly totally masking who the heck you are. Drinks might be poured out within seconds then a server walks about for ages wondering who wants them.

 

Under the current system the waiters seem to build up a batch of customers and then go to the bar and obtain four or five different orders to save time with "reduced walking". In my opinion it would be better if the orders were electronically transmitted to the bar using some sort of wi-fi device, then same waiter collects a few orders and distributes. Similarly the payment could be collected using cruise cards which are similar to the credit cards that are contactless.

 

Regards John

[P&O SUE]

Its like my agents office. I see the help staff there, filling their water bottles from the collar, putting the bottle neck right up to the top, which could contaminate us all with their awful germs.

Of course i have corrected them, but they pretend they will not do it again, but always do. i know they do.

 

Sometimes you have to educate some people in ordinary standards regarding health and hygiene.

 

I could tell many stories about being backstage and the many costume changes and what i see, but I wont. i will keep that for another day.

 

 

 

.

 

It's true - it happens in the office where I work. We have constant e-mails telling people not to do it but they do :rolleyes:

[CCFC]

Yes there is absolutely no reason why it should not. Modern technology is excellent if used with sensible application in a relevant way to improve a service. Unfortunately this newly devised; waiter takes orders the server delivers them, system is going to be problematic. However you gather and transmit the information is irrelevant to a system working so long as it's accurate although an efficiency may be achieved here. It is purely and simply that the servers will not know you from Adam and you might reposition slightly totally masking who the heck you are. Drinks might be poured out within seconds then a server walks about for ages wondering who wants them.

 

Under the current system the waiters seem to build up a batch of customers and then go to the bar and obtain four or five different orders to save time with "reduced walking". In my opinion it would be better if the orders were electronically transmitted to the bar using some sort of wi-fi device, then same waiter collects a few orders and distributes. Similarly the payment could be collected using cruise cards which are similar to the credit cards that are contactless.

 

Regards John

 

Just a guess, perhaps when payment is made by the cruise card they could marry up the picture of the cruiser with the drinks?

[tonyl1956]

Revisiting the automatic dispensing machine posts above, wasn't the practice (guideline or law?) of using a clean glass for every pint in a pub specifically to avoid any danger of cross-contamination? It seems odd that any company would allow the installation of a machine which increases the potential for this to happen.

 

Personally, I'm not that keen on the transfer of anything from a previous glass or drink into mine, regardless of how dilute it might be or how healthy the other person might be. Beer with a dash of saliva, anyone?

 

Tony

[kathsmum]

We were on Azura in January and some of the drinks waiters were using ipads, others just old fashioned pen and paper, in either case the same person who took the order delivered the drinks . Worked fine!

We have just come off Azura. Wine waiters in MDR no more - the waiters are expected to take orders for both food and wine, and most nights it was chaos, sometimes the wine arrived with dessert. Even when pre-ordered on the TV, it was not always there when required. In the bars the ipads seemed to break down so often that the orders were written down on the little drinks mats. On deck the ipads seemed to work ok until I asked for a large white wine with just a dash of soda and got a spritzer - small wine, lots of soda - no correct button to press? On previous cruises we have had great fun chatting to the waiters and wine waiters and met many of them several times - no more - it was as if they have been instructed not to interact with the customer.:(

[john watson]

Just a guess, perhaps when payment is made by the cruise card they could marry up the picture of the cruiser with the drinks?

 

Possibly Mike; however, how many "Where's Wally" picture puzzles can these guys solve in a few minutes?

 

Lol John

[CCFC]

Yes but its more information than they have with the old scrap of paper method. Probably!