Spotlight: Service with a smile

Who are the people at Big Bowl and what do they do? Meet them here under the Spotlight.

Who: Bobby Rogers

Alias:  Triple B for "Big Bowl Bob"

Years at Big Bowl: 10

Position: Divisional Trainer, Staff Whisperer.

What you would do if you weren't working at Big Bowl: professional tri athlete and a personal
trainer with a focus in nutrition.

Place to call home: Chicago, Edgewater neighborhood. Grew up in the far north suburbs - Antioch, IL., to be specific, population 13,000.

Best thing about the job: I can be creative in many ways and I am supported by amazing leaders and mentors. There really is sense of family and community in everything we do.

The most common service complaint: When a guest waits too long for a check or a server is late checking back. We constantly focus on areas to improve and I always tell employees to "give 100 percent to one thing reather than one percent to 100 things."

Strangest service mishap: A guest returned a glass of wine that was actually soy sauce.

Best advice to a server with a challenging guest: We tell new employees "the answer is yes, the question is how." If we follow that and exceed guest expectations then we can ensure the guests leave happy and will want to come back.

What everyone loves when it comes to service: A knowledgeable employee who can communicate that he or she likes where they work, and what we do at Big Bowl with our food and in the community.  

Becoming a new employee is like being Kobayashi. Explain: They taste every menu item and every drink on the menu so they can describe our food and guide our guests through all the choices. It's a part of an initial five-day training regimen that covers a range of topics such as how to make the perfect gingerale, how to handle a food allergy and now, the culture of our gluten-free menu. 

How you keep customers coming back: We make every guest feel important and special.

Can everything on the menu really be good? How do you recommend dishes: We make it all about the guest. We train to ask what the guest is in the mood for along with four questions that will determine a great dish even if you never eat Chinese or Thai food. 1) Do you like noodles or rice? 2) Do you like spicy, mild or sweet food? 3) Do you like more citrus or savory flavors? and 4) what time of protein are you in the mood for? It works every time.

How service has changed over the last 10 years:  It has changed a lot mainly due to the power of social media, like blogging. It has helped to make our service better since we hear from the guests sooner and can learn form our service mistakes.

When you're not at Big Bowl, you're: around close friends and family. I love to be in the sun or at the beach, working out and eating healthy. My friends tease me because I take shots of wheat grass daily (but I never get sick and I'm always full of energy). My newest pets are my plants. Next year, I want to try to have a roof top garden to grow vegetables at home.