Food service is the catering waiter, for dining guests to provide food, drink a series of behavior of the sum. It includes face-to-face with the guests of various restaurants, seats, groups and other places in the front service, and guests can not reach the line of sight of the kitchen, washing, purchasing, storage, financial services, such as the backstage service, the two work to complement each other. It can be envisioned that the dishes are well done, but the service is not good, or even cold words, the guests will not make a good evaluation of the restaurant's service. On the contrary, thoughtful service, enthusiasm, but the poor quality of dishes, high price, guests will not make a good evaluation, which shows that the background service is the material basis of the front service. The combination of thoughtful service will be welcomed by the guests.

In summary, the meal service has the following characteristics:

(a) intangibility

Catering service is one of the important parts of the catering product, but it is a special part of the intangibility of the utility of the service, which is different from the fruits, vegetables, and other tangible products, the public from the color, size, shape and so on can be distinguished from the quality of its good and bad. Catering services can only be purchased through the dining guests, consumption, enjoy the service after the first-hand feeling to evaluate its good or bad. Therefore, the utility of catering services on the intangible nature of the catering products to increase sales difficulties. Catering sector to increase sales, we must continue to pursue the standard quality of service, especially to improve the production level of chefs and restaurant service staff and service level, so that dining are willing to buy tangible products and enjoy intangible services.

(2) one-time

Catering services can only be used once, on the spot to enjoy, that is to say, only when the guests enter the restaurant after the service can be carried out, when the guests leave the store, the service is also the natural termination. Just as the hotel rooms can not be sold on the day will bring a great loss of income to the hotel, the restaurant does not have a source of the same is also an economic loss. Therefore, the catering service "disposable" characteristics of the catering sector to receive every guest, when the guests in the spiritual and material needs to be satisfied, they will go to the surface of the return, many times, and can play a role in publicity.

(C) directness

General industrial and agricultural products are produced, most of them have to go through a number of circulation links to reach the hands of consumers. If the product does not pass the quality inspection before leaving the factory, you can rework, in the store you think you are not satisfied with the goods can not go to ask for, while the food and beverage products are different. Its production, sales, consumption is almost synchronized, and thus between producers and consumers is face to face service, face to face consumption. Good or bad service, immediately by the guests of the face-to-face test. This face-to-face direct service and consumption characteristics. The catering sector of the material conditions, equipment, technology, quality of personnel and service quality and so on put forward a higher, more direct requirements.

(D) Difference

The difference of catering service on the one hand means that the catering service is completed by the catering department staff through manual labor, and each staff member due to age, gender, personality, quality and cultural level and other aspects of the different, they provide catering services for the guests are not the same, on the other hand, the same waiter on different occasions, different time On the other hand, the same waiter on different occasions, at different times, or in the face of different guests, there will be some differences in his service attitude and service mode. In order to minimize such differences, the catering department must set standards for the quality of catering services. Often on the staff for professional education and business training, so that they basically do the standardization of service mode, standardization of service quality, service over the program.