In Pr. George's, Learning to Put Smile in 'Service With a Smile'

During a recent class at the institute, on the college's Largo campus, four male and three female students sat with rapt attention during an Introduction to Hospitality Industry class taught by Troy Hengst, director of the institute. The students, ranging from teenagers to mid-lifers and senior citizens, discussed what they considered to be good service in a restaurant or hotel and how that service made them feel.

The students were also schooled on proper interview attire and the art of communicating with prospective employers. Hengst said an interviewer once asked him what his greatest weakness was. His answer: "I said everything. I am not a master of anything yet. I'm constantly learning. The manager said it was the best answer he'd ever heard."

Suga said Gaylord has made donations to top college hospitality programs. The donation to the community college is the first time the company has poured money into a start-up program.

Hengst, who previously ran the hospitality program at Trocaire College in Buffalo, said the community college had a hospitality program in the late 1990s, but it ended because of low enrollment.

The institute, which will partner with local high schools to get students interested in the hospitality and tourism industry as early as ninth grade, has generated more attention in a short period of time than Hengst expected. He said that in the past couple of months he has fielded nearly 300 calls from people asking about courses.

That's encouraging to Howard Stone, a former county school board member, who said he often walks into a restaurant in the county and is confronted with what he called a feeling of indifference among the employees.

"The service can be lackluster," Stone said. "I wouldn't say they are rude, but it's an attitude that you don't care about what you're doing."

Stone said patrons want to feel as if they are "the most important person at that particular moment" when they are dining or visiting a hotel.

Fred Rosenthal, who owns four Jasper's restaurants in Maryland, including two in Prince George's, said one of the biggest challenges restaurants face is finding qualified workers in line and management positions.

"It's becoming much more difficult," said Rosenthal, who is also chairman of the Restaurant Association of Maryland. "The demand has grown, but the supply [of workers] has not grown."

Rosenthal said Gaylord was "visionary" in realizing that it needed to do something to help produce qualified workers. He said restaurants often have to train their employees on the simple art of communicating with people.

"You have to understand that many people have never had a job dealing with the public," he said. "We have to tell them how to present themselves, how to handle complaints. . . . Sometimes it's difficult to teach."