An exploratory study of food and beverage training in private clubs

An exploratory study of food and beverage training in

private clubs

Clayton W. Barrows

School of Hotel and Food Administration, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada

Introduction

Few hospitality academics or practitioners

are likely to dispute the potential impact that

training can have on the success of an

organization. Training plays a critical role in

raising the quality of services offered,

particularly in the hospitality industry

where the quality of service continues to be

the most important characteristic

differentiating a company from its

competitors. As Roehl and Swerdlow (1999,

p. 177) have noted, ``The value and benefits of

training seem universally accepted''.

At the same time, it seems that few topics

generate as much debate as does training in

the hospitality industry. Debates typically

center around the minimum levels of

training that are required and the cost/

benefit issues. Everybody, it seems, has an

opinion when it comes to training. In the

worst case scenario, managers believe in it

yet don't have the time or resources to

effectively operationalize formal training

programs in their organizations. This often

seems to be the case in the high pressured

hospitality industry. Such are the questions

that have recently been raised by academics

in the literature.

While the amount of literature on training

in the general business field is voluminous, it

is surprising how little has been written

specifically on training in the hospitality

industry. Training in the hospitality

industry has gained a little more attention in

the last several years but the literature is still

rather sparse. Much of what has been written

about training in the hospitality industry is

rather specific in nature and has been

limited to discussions of single segments ±

primarily hotels and restaurants. This paper

focuses specifically on training issues in

private clubs in the USA, a comparatively

small and unique segment of the hospitality

industry ± a segment that has been virtually

overlooked in terms of training articles. In

fact, the club segment has been a relatively

under-researched segment, on the whole

(Barrows, 1994).

This paper will review the hospitality

training literature and, in the process, expose

some of the issues which are currently being

investigated in various segments of the

industry. The focus of attention will then

turn to private clubs; their unique

circumstances and conditions, the challenges

that they face, and some of the training needs

and practices with respect to line-level food

and beverage employees. Results of a series

of focus groups are described and the role

that training plays in private clubs is

discussed. Finally, recommendations are

made for future research in the area of

training in private clubs.

The private club industry

The private club industry, while less visible

than hotels and restaurants, represents a

significant and important segment of the

hospitality industry in terms of the leisure

activities it affords for its members, the

revenues it generates, and the employment

opportunities it provides (the number of

private clubs in the US is estimated to be

12,000 (Woods et al., 1999)). Clubs play an

important role in the overall mix of services

provided to the public by the hospitality

industry as a whole. Private clubs in the deep

south region of the USA are no different in

this respect. It is estimated that in the New

Orleans area alone, clubs contribute millions

of dollars annually to the local economy.

Aside from the fact that clubs are, by

definition, private, they are unique in several

other ways including the array of services

they offer, the clientele that they serve, and

their organizational structure (Barrows,

1994). Each of these aspects further affects the

way in which the organizations are managed.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

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[ 190 ]

International Journal of

Contemporary Hospitality

Management

12/3 [2000] 190±197

# MCB University Press

[ISSN 0959-6119]

Keywords

Training, USA, Hospitality,

Catering

Abstract

Training in the hospitality industry

has received relatively little at￾tention and what has been pub￾lished has focused primarily upon

training in hotels and restaurants.

This paper presents an exploratory

study of training of line-level food

and beverage employees in private

clubs in the USA. Through a series

of focus groups, club managers'

approaches to training are ex￾plored concentrating upon training

subjects, methods used and chal￾lenges associated with the train￾ing process.