Interesting situation in The Restaurant, Silver Shadow

We just finished a b2b cruise on Silver Shadow, and had a fabulous time. There was an unusual event in The Restaurant one night, however.

We were dining with friends, at a table for six, and one of our friends ate some of her vegetables, cut and ate a bite of steak, and then reported to our waiter that her steak was stone cold, and the vegetables were only lukewarm. The waiter just sort of froze, with a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face, and didn't say anything. Our friend then politely requested that her meal be replaced with a warmer one. The waiter stammered that he would go and get someone more senior. After a few minutes, the Maitre d' for the section came over. He apologised and took the plate away. Eventually, the waiter brought the same plate back, with the same steak with a bite cut out of it, and the remaining vegetables. It was obviously the same plate, probably sent through the microwave, since everything was warmer.

We were all a bit surprised to see that same plate back again. Normally if there is a situation where someone's meal is not up to standard, the whole meal is replaced. And it was also surprising that the waiter didn't simply apologise for the disappointment, whisk the plate away and return with a new one. He could have talked to his supervisor in the kitchen, or elsewhere away from the table. This happened about a week into the cruise, so even if the waiter was very new, he had at least a week of experience. Surely one of the first things a waiter should learn is how to say 'I'm sorry madam, please let me take that away and bring you a better one.'

Certainly not something that spoiled the cruise, or even that meal, but most unusual, given the normally high standard of service on Silversea.

We found the food and service in La Terrazza to be consistently excellent, and ended up eating there most nights.

I have seen this everywhere, and also on cruise ships. Any waiter new or otherwise, even if its McDonalds, should know that if a guest says their food is bad in some way you just fix it, but that takes training. The sad, and even scary fact is people are not receiving adequate training before they are thrown on a job, be it a waiter, or the person in charge of launching the life boats. Training takes time and costs money, and it is one of the first things to go when it comes to cost cutting. Same on land or sea. Very likely the cook who reheated the steak didn't have the proper training either.

Enzo Visone, the CEO of Silversea likely made close to $14M last year. Do you think he wants to waste any of that money training his employees? Just follow the money. It tells all.

Perfect,cannot add.

This is not consistent with the requirements for the job. All waiters should already be very experienced before they arrive aboard any Silversea ship according to the website for Silversea shipboard positions.

Maybe human resources is not sticking to their own requirements when it comes to qualifications for staff.

We have had plenty days on Silversea, but never experienced anything like this before.

Below is a copy and paste of part of the restaurant waiter job application requirements.

Candidates will require a minimum of 2 years experience in a quality branded 5* hotel or Michelin standard restaurant. Hospitality education and or/apprenticeship is preferred.

On our last of several Silversea cruises, a few years ago, we noticed that some of the food and drink service staff looked over their shoulders a lot, and we felt they were nervous and almost afraid of their superiors.

This is not something we have come across on any other cruise line, but it did leave an unfortunate impression.

Below is a copy and paste of part of the restaurant waiter job application requirements.

 

Candidates will require a minimum of 2 years experience in a quality branded 5* hotel or Michelin standard restaurant. Hospitality education and or/apprenticeship is preferred.

I'm reading some funny posts on this forum today.

I will add that we've cruised on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean and Costa, among others, and never had something like this happen before. It was a surprise, and more so for being on Silversea, although I see some posters are not as surprised as I was! :)

With much experience of SS dining, and currently on Silver Wind, we have never experienced a problem like this. Any query over any meal in any restaurant has always resulted in a complete replacement, and not a reheat. If this had been returned in this state, you should have called either the Restaurant Manager in the case of La Terrazza, or the Maitre D' if you were dining in the MDR, and ask for a new meal.

If still dissatisfied, insist on a meeting with the F & B, if this is a ship which does not have this position, go straight to the Hotel Director.

Kindest regards

Master Echo

Master Echo -

Good advice. I second your recommendation.

Let's hope the waiter has better Muster skills than service experience. If a cold plate had him panicked, how would he react in an emergency situation?

Let's hope the waiter has better Muster skills than service experience. If a cold plate had him panicked, how would he react in an emergency situation?

:eek::D:cool: