Bill Hobson, general manager of McFitzhughs, an independent, casual dining restaurant, was working late on a Thursday night, reviewing the interview notes he had gathered for a server opening he had to fill immediately. On Monday, his assistant manager, Gretchen Jensen, conducted the first round of interviews and eliminated seven applicants. This morning Bill personally interviewed the remaining three candidates, and this afternoon he asked the staff who had met them for their impressions. Bill had told each candidate that he would let them know his decision by 3 oclock Friday afternoon. But the decision was not as easy as he had anticipated. Each candidate had arrived for the interviews well-groomed, well-dressed, and on time. They all had either some restaurant experience or hospitality education. Even so, none was an obvious choice for the job; each person came with his or her strong and weak points. Bill hoped that by going over his second interview notes one more time, he would, at last, be able to make a decision. Because service skills and availability already seemed a given for these three candidates, Bill had focused on a series of questions designed to determine how well each applicant would fit in with McFitzhughs team. How well would they hold up under pressure? Were they able to laugh at themselves? Did they have customer- friendly, team-friendly personalities? To find out, Bill had developed four specific questions: 1. How well do you think you work with people? Although most of the McFitzhughs team is made up of people under the age of 25, they have various education, family, and lifestyle backgrounds. They dont all share the same work ethic. Yet when they are on the job, everyone must work smoothly together if they are going to successfully serve their guests. There is no room for lone rangers or prima donnas. 2. What is the funniest thing that has happened to you in the last week? Bill knew that some people scoffed at the importance of a sense of humor. Still, he had found that a positive and constructive sense of humour can be an invaluable asset when problems or stressful situations arise. And guests enjoy a pleasant, smiling server who can laugh along with them. 3. Can you tell me about a time when you werent treated fairly? What did you do? The answer to this question would help Bill know whether the applicant could be cool under pressurewhen the kitchen makes a mistake on order when two servers are out sick on a busy night, when guests refuse to be pleasant no matter what you do, and so on.

4. Has your personality ever helped you out of a tough situation? Over the years, Bill had hired more than his share of job applicants who described themselves as people persons, but could not relate well with people who spoke, dressed, or acted differently than they did. When high- tension situations arose, they were flusteredor worse. McFitzhughs needed servers who could relate well to a wide variety of guests and coworkers and diffuse even difficult situations comfortably. Now Bill turned to the notes Gretchen had prepared for him after her initial interviews. Applicant 1, Preston Clark, had impressed Gretchen with his knowledge of the hospitality industry. This guy knows more of the terminology than I do! she wrote on a page in the same folder with his application. He was currently a student in the hospitality program of a local community college, and his professors had nothing but glowing comments about his academic proficiency. He had no previous hospitality experience, although he emphasized his position as a movie theater clerk on his application. Applicant 2, Gwen Farrell, had told Gretchen that she had been a stay-at-home mom since she and her husband moved to town from another state and her son was born. But now she was ready to start earning a second family income again. Previously, she had worked for seven and a half years as a server in a well- known casual-dining franchise in Texas. Shy and nervous at first, Gretchen had noted, but soon got comfortable and really opened up. Applicant 3, Charity Lambert, had graduated from college three years ago and worked as a restaurant server ever since. The details werent immediately clear on Charitys application, but Gretchen had learned that she had worked at three different restaurants in as many years. Very bubbly and relaxed, Gretchen penciled in the notes section of the application. Seems extremely customer-service oriented. After refreshing his memory about Gretchens perceptions, Bill shifted his attention to his own interviews from this morning. Studying his notes, he replayed the conversations in his mind. Tell me, Preston, how do you think you work with people? Oh, I work great with people, the young man responded. To be honest, Ive never met anyone yet who didnt like working with me. OK, Bill said, taking notes. If I asked what was the funniest thing that has happened to you in the last week, what would you say?

Thats easy. It would have to be when Professor Mickelsonhes teaching a seminar on the gaming industrythats what they call gambling now, you know anyway, hes telling us something about the win percentage for slot machines, and he got the number wrong! Anyway, Id been doing some extra reading and looking at sites on the Web, so I knew right away that he had blown it. Everybody else was apparently clueless. So I corrected him in front of the whole class. My friends and I are still laughing about that. Bill nodded, writing. Tell me about a time when you werent treated fairly. What did you do? Thats another easy one. Once, I was supposed to work the 4:00 to 10:00 shift at the theatre on a Saturday afternoon. I left my house on time, but I ended up getting stopped by a train. So I found a phone, called in, and said Id be late, and they said okay, but when I finally got there, the manager told me the popcorn machine had to be cleaned. I mean, right. Like nobody else could clean that. I think I got the bum job because I was late, but it wasnt fair. So, what did you do about it? Well, I cleaned it, of coursebut since I was only twenty minutes late, I only worked on it for twenty minutes. Its usually a 45- to 50-minute job, but thats only fair, right? Bill went on. Has your personality ever helped you out of a tough situation? Yes, I believe it has. In one of my classes, we were divided into teams of seven people each. Well, on my team, three of us seemed to be doing all the work for the whole group. The other four werent contributing much of anything. So the other two people I was working with were getting really frustrated. They talked about just working on their own thing and letting the other four sink. Since I knew the professor wouldnt go for that, I talked to them, got them to voice their concerns to the other four, and eventually worked things out so we could finish the assignment. He turned to Gwen Farrell, Applicant 2. When he asked how well she worked with people, Gwen noted that she had some problems working with young people in the past. Could you explain? She answered that some of her young coworkers had been concerned more with talking with their friends than doing their jobs. Im sure there are many good young people out there, but in my experience, they dont always have a good

understanding of what it means to deliver great service. Sometimes they just want to be entertained rather than go the extra mile for excellence. Whats the funniest thing to have happened to you during the last week? he asked next. I was waiting in the car to pick up our son from preschool when my husband called on the cell phone. Well, the reception wasnt very good, so he suggested I get out of the car. I forgot that I had locked the doors while I was waitingand doing that arms the car alarm. I pulled hard on the door handle and set the alarm off. So, my husband is hollering through the static on the phone, my son is coming out of school wondering why his mother is calling all this attention to herself, and someone inside the school was already on the phone to the police! Bill next asked Gwen about being treated unfairly, and she mentioned that she had once offered to switch shifts with another server at the restaurant where she used to work. Gwen worked the other womans shift, and the woman thanked her profusely for trading. But when it came time for her to work Gwens shift, she said her child was sick, and she couldnt do it. You know, her child probably was sick, Gwen said, but I felt she should have worked something out so she could be there. I ended up working that shift for her, but I decided right then and there that, if I ever had a child to look after, I would plan to ensure I met my work responsibilities. Finally, Bill asked, Has your personality ever helped you out of a difficult situation? Once, I carded a customer who was 42! His wallet was out in his car, and he was indignantnot only because he would have to go get his I.D., but because Id even asked for it in the first place. When he returned, I had to smile when I saw his birth date. Well, I told him, you sure seem young at heart to me. That was exactly what he wanted to hear. He was a great customer after that. Now to Applicant 3, Bill thought. Charity Lambert had not made the best first impression. As they shook hands, Bill could not help noticing that she was wearing too much makeup and perfume. But that could easily be adjusted, he told himself. (Believe me, Bill, she didnt dress like that when I interviewed her, Gretchen assured him this afternoon.) She did have a good experience, though, with a bright smile and an outgoing personality that seemed tailor-made for a restaurant server. How well do you think you work with people? Bill asked, settling into his four important questions. Well, I think I work great with people, Charity said. I love meeting all the different customers and making sure their visit is a memorable one. You should

probably be aware that