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9CHAPTER 9OUTLINE

Methods of Assembly,Delivery, and ServiceMethods—Delivery and

Service as SubsystemsAssembly

Tray AssemblyFactors Affecting Choice

of DistributionSystemsType of Foodservice

SystemKind of Foodservice

OrganizationSize and Physical Layout

of FacilityStyle of ServiceSkill Level of Available

PersonnelEconomic FactorsQuality Standards

for Food and MicrobialSafety

Timing Required for Meal Service

Space Requirements or Space Available

Energy UsageEquipment Needs

General Classification of Delivery-ServiceEquipment

Equipment for SpecificUses

Styles of ServiceSelf-ServiceTray ServiceWait ServiceTable Settings and

Serving ProceduresPortable MealsRoom ServiceCustomer Service

Summary

289

Service

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Introduction to Foodservice, Tenth Edition, by June Payne-Palacio and Monica Theis. Published by Prentice Hall.Copyright © 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc.

290 Part 3 The Operational Functions

Foodservice managers have the responsibility of making certain that after food isprepared, it is safely held, transported, delivered, and served to consumers. There-fore, the goals of a delivery and service system should include the following:

• Maintain quality food characteristics• Ensure microbial safety of food• Serve food that is attractive and satisfying to the consumer

In addition, the system should be designed and selected for optimal use of avail-able resources: labor, time, money, and space.

This chapter provides information for the foodservice manager so that he or shecan make sound decisions about delivery and service systems. The information isappropriate whether the manager is evaluating a currently existing system orpreparing to select a new system for a particular situation. Chapter content includesfactors that affect selection of a system, equipment needs for delivery-service func-tions, and a review of various styles of service.

KEY CONCEPTS

1. Numerous options and alternatives exist to assemble, distribute, and servemeals.

2. System selection for assembly, distribution, and service is contingent on manyfactors, including the type of foodservice system and the production processused by the foodservice operation.

3. Tray line assembly is used in many high-volume foodservice operations.4. The time and temperature relationship is a critical factor to consider in food de-

livery systems.5. Style of service refers to the method by which a customer receives prepared

food.6. Customer service (or guest relations) refers to the interactions between cus-

tomers and service staff.

METHODS OF ASSEMBLY, DELIVERY, AND SERVICE

Modern technological research and development related to foodservice havebrought many advances in methods of delivery and service of food and in theequipment used for these processes. These developments resulted in part from theproduction systems discussed in Chapter 2 and from the complexity of modern-dayfoodservice operations. With the increased time and distance between productionand service, the potential for loss of food quality has also increased. Newer deliv-ery and service methods have been designed to protect against such loss.

Most menu items are at peak quality immediately upon completion of the cook-ing process. It is not possible to serve food at that precise time in many foodser-vice systems because of the need to assemble, transport, and deliver meals forservice. Equipment that maintains food at proper temperatures for best quality and

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Chapter 9 Service 291

ensures safety of the food in transit is a necessity. Methods of delivery and service,which involve the shortest possible time and distance, are best able to help achievethe desired goal.

Methods—Delivery and Service as Subsystems

The term distribution or delivery refers to the transportation of prepared foodsfrom production to place of service; service involves assembling prepared menuitems and distributing them to the consumer. The equipment required for both de-livery and service is an essential part of these subsystems. Whereas delivery andservice are subsystems in the overall foodservice system, they are small systemswithin themselves and are referred to here as “systems.” Basically, there are twomajor on-premise delivery systems: centralized and decentralized.

Centralized Delivery-Service System. In the centralized method, prepared foodsare portioned and assembled for individual meals at a central area in or adjacent tothe main kitchen. The completed orders are then transported and distributed to thecustomer. This is typical of over-the-counter service in fast-food restaurants, oftable or counter service in restaurants, and of banquet service where food is platedin a central location and transported to the dining areas for service. This method isused also in many on-site facilities, including hospitals and long-term care facilities.Foods are portioned and plated, and trays for individual patients are assembled inthe central kitchen. Completed trays are then transported by various means to thepatients throughout the facility using various types of transport carts. Soiled traysand dishes are returned to the central area for washing.

Centralized delivery-service systems are prevalent today because of the close su-pervision and control of food quality, portion size, assurance of correct menu itemson each tray or order, and correct food temperatures at point of service that thissystem affords. Also, it requires less equipment and labor time than does the de-centralized method. If the number of people to be served is large, however, thetotal time span required for service may be excessively long.

Decentralized Delivery-Service System. In the decentralized system, bulk quanti-ties of prepared foods are sent hot and cold to serving galleys or ward kitchens lo-cated throughout the facility, where reheating, portioning, and meal assembly takeplace. Thus instead of one central serving area, there are several smaller ones closeto the consumers. Often these galleys may have equipment for limited short-ordercooking of eggs and toast and for coffeemaking. Refrigerators, ovens for reheating,temperature-holding cabinets, and a counter or conveyor belt for tray assemblymay also be included in these service galleys. Dishwashers may be provided forwarewashing in the ward kitchens, or soiled dishes and trays can be returned tothe central area for washing, which eliminates the need for duplication of dish-washing equipment in each galley. If dishes are washed in the central area, theclean dishes must be returned to the galleys for use for the next meal. It is timeand energy consuming to transport dishes twice each meal, soiled and clean, toand from the service units. Over a period of time, this may be more expensive thaninstalling dishwashing facilities in each serving unit.

Decentralized service is considered most desirable for use in facilities that arelow and spread out in design or in any facility where there are great distances fromthe main kitchen to the consumers. It is expected that foods will be of better

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quality and retain desired temperatures more effectively if served near the con-sumer rather than plated in a central location and transported to distant locationswithin the facility.

Types of foodservices that use the decentralized system include large hospitalsand medical centers; school districts that transport prepared food from a commis-sary to individual schools; hotels that provide room service from service units onvarious floors; and banquets from a serving kitchen within the facility.

Costs and values of centralized versus decentralized methods should be studiedand carefully considered before deciding on which one to adopt. Both can be suc-cessfully used if factors and conditions unique to the foodservice operation arecarefully considered and accounted for.

ASSEMBLY

Assembly is the fitting together of prepared menu items to complete an entiremeal. Assembly can occur at a number of points along the sequence of processsteps depending on the type of foodservice operation and the production systemused. Restaurants, for example, assemble hot meals at the centralized productionpoint and serve the meal immediately and directly to the waiting customer. Institu-tions, on the other hand, use tray assembly systems for speed and efficiency. Thismethod of assembly is common in organizations such as health care facilities,schools, and airlines where large numbers of meals must be served at specifictimes.

Tray Assembly

Two major systems are used to assemble meal trays. In one, food is assembled at acentral location, usually the production kitchen, using a trayline, and then variousdistribution methods are used to deliver the trays to units. Figures 9.1, 9.2, and 9.3illustrate various trayline configurations. The second system transports food in bulkto units where it is assembled or plated as individual meals. This is referred to asdecentralized assembly and service.

FACTORS AFFECTING CHOICE OF DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

Every organization has its own requirements for delivery and service based on thetype of foodservice system, the kind of foodservice, the size and physical layout ofthe facility, style of service used, skill level of available personnel, economic factorsrelated to labor and equipment costs, quality standards for food and microbialsafety, timing of meal service, space requirements versus space available for food-service activities, and the energy use involved.

No one factor can be considered alone when deciding on a delivery-service sys-tem, because most of the factors interact with, and have an influence on, the oth-ers. They must be regarded as a whole when a choice is made.

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Figure 9.1 Cook/chill trayline.Courtesy of Crimsco, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri.

Type of Foodservice System

The type of foodservice system used determines to some extent its own needs fordelivery and service. Of the four types of foodservice systems discussed in Chap-ter 2, the commissary system, for example, is the only one requiring delivery trucksto take prepared foods to satellite serving units. Table 9.1 depicts the sequence ofactivities for each of the four systems.

As noted previously, menu items processed in the commissary are either held inbulk or portioned then held in temperature control inventory until time of service.Three alternatives for this holding are frozen, chilled, or hot-held. Each method re-quires different equipment.

Bulk foods may be placed in 12-inch � 20-inch counter-size pans for freezerstorage so that the food can be reheated and served from the same pan. Or, if thepans are to be transferred to serving units in the chilled or hot state instead offrozen, they are placed in heavy containers with lids that clamp on securely. Other-wise, spillage may result during transport to the foodservice facility.

Insulated carriers (Fig. 9.4, for example) to hold the portioned food in their con-tainers are filled at the commissary. At scheduled times each day, carriers areloaded onto a truck for transfer to the service unit. In many cases, the driver is re-sponsible for unloading the truck and taking the food carriers to the storage or ser-vice area as required. Empty carriers from the previous delivery are collected andreturned to the commissary on the delivery truck.

The fleet of trucks required by the commissary depends on geographic distancesto be traveled and number of deliveries to be made by each truck driver. Timing

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Figure 9.2 Parallel cook/serve trayline.Courtesy of Crimsco, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri.

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Figure 9.3 Cook/serve circular trayline.Courtesy of Crimsco, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri.

can be crucial, especially in those situations where the food is delivered hot just-in-time for service. Ideally, distances for hot foods to be transported should be short.

Delivery of frozen foods requires well insulated carriers to maintain food in thefrozen state during the time it is being transported. If the service facility has ade-quate space for holding frozen food, there is little problem with delivery time, be-cause meals can be sent a day or two ahead. If there is no such storage space,delivery timing must be correlated with meal periods and time for rethermalizingand assembling the menu items.

At this point, foods are on the premises, and the procedures for delivery and ser-vice within the facility may be the same for all four systems.

Kind of Foodservice Organization

The type of organization determines to a large extent the delivery and service sys-tem requirements. Those where large numbers of people must be served quickly,such as schools, colleges, and industrial plants, usually provide cafeterias for mealservice. Fast-food restaurants serve foods as quickly as possible, too, but with over-the-counter or drive-up service.

Hospitals and nursing homes cater to the foodservice needs not only of their pa-tients but also of the employees, professional staff, and visitors. This calls for trayservice for patients who are bedfast; perhaps dining room service for ambulatory

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Table 9.1 Sequence of process steps for entrée menu items using alternate food production and storage methodsin foodservice systems.

Process Steps Cook/Freezea,b Cook/Chilla,b Cook/Hot-Holda,c Heat/Served

Ingredient and Ingredients enter Ingredients enter Ingredients enter Commercially menu item storage foodservice foodservice foodservice prepared shelf-

stable menu itemsenter foodservice

Preparation Preparation Preparation Preparation

Heating Initial heating Initial heating Final heating

Postheating Freezing and Chilling and Hot-holding holding/storage frozen storage chilled storage storage

Thawing

Portioning and Portioning and Portioning and Portioning and Portioning and assembly assembly assembly assembly assembly

Storage during Cold-holding and Cold-holding and Hot-holding and Cold-holding and distribution distribution distribution distribution distribution

Final heating Final heating Final heating Final heating

Service Service Service Service ServiceaUsed in commissary foodservice systems.bUsed in ready-prepared foodservice systems.cUsed in conventional foodservice systems.dUsed in assembly/service foodservice systems.

Source: Adapted with permission from M. E. Matthews: Microbiological Safety of Foods in Feeding Systems. Published by the NationalAcademy Press, Washington, DC, 1982.

patients in some care centers; cafeteria service for staff, employees, and visitors;and vending machines as a supplemental service for between-meal hours.

Table service restaurants may use different styles of service (see later sectiontitled “Style of Service”), but all employ servers to carry meals from the kitchen tothe guests. In restaurants in which customers serve themselves, cafeteria or buffetservice, employees replenish the food and may serve beverages to the guests’tables.

Large hotels may have several types of service within the facility, including acounter or coffee shop for fast meals and table service dining rooms. Some may bemore “exclusive” and expensive than others, so more formal types of service maybe offered. Because many hotels cater to conventions and group meetings, ban-quet service is also offered. Room service is available in most hotels, which callsfor a different means of delivery and service, such as servers using trays or tableson wheels to take meals to guests in their rooms.

Size and Physical Layout of Facility

The size and building arrangement of the facility are additional factors to considerwhen selecting a delivery system. Some restaurants, for example, may be in a high-cost downtown location and, thus, are generally narrow and several stories inheight in order to utilize valuable land to its best advantage. In this case, the

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Figure 9.4 (a) An example of a carrier for transporting prepared hot food. This model has two snap-in heatpacks for efficient heat distribution that extends holding time at a desired temperature. National SanitationFoundation International (NSFI) approved. (b) Cutaway shot of same insulated carrier. Note the one-piecepolyethylene, double-wall construction; thick polyurethane insulation; and the design features for heatretention.Courtesy of Cambro Manufacturing Company, Huntington Beach, California.

bakery may be on one level, preparation and cooking units on another, and dish-washing on still another—all on different levels from the dining room. This calls fora well-coordinated system of mechanized conveyors, subveyors, and elevators todeliver food quickly to the place of service.

Hospitals and health care facilities can be constructed as high-rise buildings orlow, rambling facilities with miles of corridors. Different systems are required foreach to ensure tray delivery to the patient within a reasonable time. The distanceand the routing from production to service areas are points for consideration.

Style of Service

Whether the style is self-service such as cafeteria, buffet, vended, or pickup by theconsumer; tray service, either centralized or decentralized; wait service for table,counter, or drive-up facilities; or portable service with meals delivered to home oroffice throughout an industrial plant, each has different equipment and deliveryneeds. (See later section on “Equipment Needs.”)

Skill Level of Available Personnel

Labor needs and required skills vary for different types of delivery systems and forthe equipment used in each type of system. When planning to alter the current de-livery system or select a new one, the foodservice manager must assess the current

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skills and availability of the foodservice employees. Judgment must be made onthe skills needed to operate a new system and on the learning ability of the em-ployees. A training program should then be designed to ensure that employees arewell trained in the use, care, and safety features of all equipment and deliveryprocedures.

Economic Factors

Labor and equipment required for the various delivery-service systems must be cal-culated and evaluated in relation to budget allocations. Unless adequate funding isavailable, the foodservice would not, for example, be able to install automatedelectronic delivery equipment. Economic factors play a part in deciding where andhow frozen or chilled foods should be reheated, assembled, and served. Decentral-ized service requires duplication of assembling and serving and, sometimes, dish-washing equipment, as well as personnel for the many service units throughout thefacility, and so may be more expensive to install and operate than the centralizedservice. Cost comparisons of the numerous types of carts and trucks for transport-ing food should precede the selection of a specific delivery and serving system.

Quality Standards for Food and Microbial Safety

Management establishes standards for food quality and safety, then selects equip-ment for heating, holding, and transporting food to achieve those standards. Howhot should the food be when served to the consumer? How can that temperaturebe maintained through delivery and service? How hot must foods be at the time ofportioning and serving to aid in achieving the desired standards?

Considerable research has been conducted to find answers for these questions.Studies relate to the four foodservice systems, microbial safety, nutrient retention,and sensory qualities. Microbial quality of menu items is dependent on the type offood, quality of raw ingredients, batch size, type of equipment used for cooking,and position of menu items in foodservice equipment. The management of timeand temperature relationships throughout all stages of product flow in every food-service system is considered of major importance. (See Chapter 3 for more on mi-crobial safety.) Time and temperature relationships are also important in nutrientretention and on sensory qualities of food products. Standards for end-point andservice temperatures are mandated by many regulatory agencies. Managers shouldbe knowledgeable about these factors to comply with standards of expectations ofquality.

Timing Required for Meal Service

The time of day desired or established for meals is another factor influencing thechoice of a delivery-service system. For example, if 1,200 people are to be servedat a 7 P.M. seated banquet, all food must be ready at once and served within a fewminutes to all of the guests. Many serving stations and adequate personnel for eachstation are prerequisites for achieving the time objective. Preheated electric cartscan be loaded with the preplated meals a short time before service and then takento various locations in the dining room for service from the carts to guests. An al-ternate method is to place the plates as they are served on trays and carried by

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PelletA preheated metal diskused to maintain the tem-perature of an individualportion of plated hot food

servers to the dining room. This will require several trips from serving area to din-ing room, thus taking more time than when carts are used.

If only a few people need to be served at one time, as in a restaurant where cus-tomer orders come to the kitchen over a period of a few hours, food is cooked toorder, or in small batches, and held for short periods of time.

In school foodservice, many children are ready for lunch at the same time. Toavoid long waits in a cafeteria line, however, a staggered meal period can bescheduled, which allows various grades to be dismissed for lunch at 5- or 10-minute intervals. Another option, if space allows, would be multiple serving lines.

Large hospitals have the challenge of serving their many patients within a rea-sonable meal period time span. Should all be served at approximately the sametime as may be possible with decentralized service? Or is a one- to two-hour timespan acceptable as provided through centralized service? Various systems meetspecific needs. The food manager or dietitian must work with the nursing staff toensure that patient care is not disrupted and that quality food and service areprovided.

Space Requirements or Space Available

Allocation of space for departments and their activities is determined at the time ofbuilding construction. The delivery-service system preferred should be stated earlyin the facility planning process so adequate space will be available for those food-service activities. Any later remodeling to change to a different system can be dis-ruptive and expensive, if it’s possible at all.

Decentralized systems require less space in the main kitchen area but morethroughout the facility for the serving units than do centralized systems. In hospi-tals with centralized service, tray assembly equipment, as well as trucks or carts,takes up considerable space. Based on the number and size of the transport cartsor trucks, the space needed for their storage when not in use can be calculated.Added space must be allocated for moving the carts through the facility with ease.

Energy Usage

A concern for energy use and its conservation plays a role in deciding on a delivery-service system. Systems that use a large number of pieces of electrically poweredequipment are more costly to operate than those that use the “passive” temperatureretention equipment, such as insulated trays or pellet-heated plates.

A report of a research study by Franzese (1984) in 66 New York City hospitalsshowed that 30 percent of the hospitals changed their meal delivery systems be-tween 1979 and 1983. There was a trend toward a decrease in decentralized andmicrowave systems and an increase in insulated tray meal delivery systems that usehot food assembly at a central tray line and transport portioned food in trays de-signed to maintain food temperatures during transport to the patient. The “active”hot food systems, using hot/cold carts and rethermalizing food previously pre-pared, decreased in use. The reasons given for this “switch” to centralized from de-centralized service and to the hot food assembly with “passive” temperatureretention equipment were to decrease electrical energy consumption, to decreaselabor costs, to increase the manager’s control of food and supplies, and to improvethe quality of patient food.

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Concern for energy conservation diminished during the 1980s when manage-ment instead focused on a labor shortage in many parts of the United States. Laborsavings seemed to be the most marketable equipment feature during these leanlabor years. Today, labor concerns continue but energy awareness is on the in-crease again, and energy savings are an important consideration in delivery systemand equipment selection.

EQUIPMENT NEEDS

Delivery and service of food in institutions necessitates the use of specialized equip-ment for each step of the procedure: reheat if necessary, assemble, transport, distribute,and serve. Every foodservice system has its own requirements. Manufacturers workclosely with foodservice directors to design pieces of equipment that best fill those spe-cific needs. Equipment for delivery and service may be classified in several ways:

• In general: fixed or built in, mobile, and portable• For a specific use: reheating, assembling, temperature maintenance, transporting,

and serving• For each of the four foodservice systems: conventional, commissary, ready-prepared,

and assembly/serve

A brief description of general and specific classification follows for an understand-ing of the various delivery-service systems in their entirety. For more detailed infor-mation about this equipment, see Chapter 11.

General Classification of Delivery-Service Equipment

Fixed or Built-In Equipment. Equipment that is fixed or built in should beplanned as an integral part of the structure at the time a facility is being built.

One such system is the automated cart transport or monorail. This has its own spe-cially built corridor for rapid transit, out of the way of other traffic in the building. It isintended for use by all departments because it is so expensive to install. It can trans-port items in a few seconds from one part of the building to another and is desirablebecause of its speed. An alternate plan for tray delivery may be needed if a powerfailure should occur, which could incapacitate the automated tray delivery system.

Other fixed equipment includes elevators, manual or power-driven conveyors forhorizontal movement as for tray assembly, and subveyors and lifts (dumbwaiters) tomove trays, food, or soiled and clean dishes to another level within the facility.

Mobile Equipment. Mobile equipment is equipment that is moved on wheels orcasters. This includes delivery trucks for off-premise use to transport food from acommissary or central kitchen to the meal sites, and for “Meals-on-Wheels” deliveryto home or offices.

Another type is movable carts and trucks, either hand-pushed or mechanized,for on-premise transport of either bulk food for decentralized service or preplatedmeals for centralized service. Such carts are available in many models, open orclosed, insulated or not, temperature controlled for heated or refrigerated units, orcombinations of both (see Fig. 9.5 for an example). Some movable carts are de-signed to accommodate the plates of hot food for banquet service, others are de-signed for entire meals assembled on trays for service in hospitals, and still others

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Figure 9.5 Crimsco hot/cold tray cart designed with two convection ovens and tworefrigerated units to keep foods above 140°F and below 40°F for service.Courtesy of Crimsco, Inc., Kansas City, Missouri.

for bulk quantities of food. Assembly equipment and galley units can be mobile,instead of built in, which permits flexibility of arrangement. An example of a galleyis shown in Figure 9.6.

Portable Equipment. Included in this category are items that can be carried, asopposed to mobile equipment that is moved on wheels or casters. For delivery andservice, equipment such as pans of all sizes and shapes, many with clamp-on lidsto prevent spillage in transit, and hand carriers (also called totes) are commonlyused. Totes are usually insulated to retain temperature of foods for short-timetransport or delivery (see Fig. 9.7).

Also, a variety of plates and trays can keep preplated foods at proper tempera-tures for service. When these are used, unheated carts can be employed for trans-porting meals to consumers. Common types of plates and trays include pellet discand insulated trays.

Pellet Disc. A metal disc (pellet) is preheated and at mealtime is placed in ametal base. Individual portions of hot food are plated and placed over the baseand then covered. Either china or disposable dishes can be used. This hot metalpellet generates heat and keeps the meal at serving temperature for approximately40 to 45 minutes. Figure 9.8 is an example of the traditional pellets and a new con-cept called “Heat on Demand.”

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Figure 9.6 CYBEX Model 8430 GalleyStation, a 5-foot � 7-foot unit for patientmeal services, has a sink, an undercounterrefrigerator/freezer, an ice maker/dispenser, storage space, and workcounter.Courtesy of Crimsco, Inc., Kansas City,Missouri.

Figure 9.7 Portable totes are insulated for temperaturemaintenance. This model has an optional insulated shelf toseparate cold food (right) from the hot food.Courtesy of Cambro Manufacturing Co., Huntington Beach,California.

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(c)

(d)

Figure 9.8 (a) Unitized base of pellet systemis constructed of two 20-gauge stainless steelshells that are hermetically sealed. Bases areheated in specially designed heater/dispenserbefore filled dinner plate is set in and covered.(b) Cover for unitized pellet.Courtesy of Seco Products, St. Louis, Missouri.(c) With Heat on Demand pellet bases, the unique plastic material and the internalinsulation enable the base to be handled with bare hands, reducing risk of burns to employees and patients.Photo courtesy of Aladdin Temp-Rite LLC.(d) Heat On Demand provides rapid heat, on demand, to provide long-lasting heatretention.Photo courtesy of Aladdin Temp-Rite LLC.

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SynergismThe combined effects of in-dividual units exceeds thesum of the individual ef-fects. This principle is ap-plied to certain types ofinsulated patient meal trays

Insulated Trays with Insulated Covers. Insulated trays are designed with a varietyof configurations for the different types of dishes used for the menu of the day.Thermal, china, or disposable dishes can be used. After the food is portioned, thedishes are placed on the tray and covered with the insulated cover. No specialcarts are needed to transport these trays because they are nesting and stackable,and, of course, no temperature-controlled units are necessary. Some insulated traysystems are designed to create synergism; that is, when stacked properly, the coldand hot sections of each tray work together in a column to maintain proper tem-peratures. The combined temperatures of the individual sections exceed the sum ofthe individual temperatures. Meals in these insulated trays retain heat quite well forshort periods of time, such as during transport and distribution. Note that manyfoods retain heat much better than others under any circumstances. For example, ahearty entrée such as beef stew retains heat much better than a single serving ofgreen beans. Portion size also influences how well and for how long a food itemwill maintain desirable temperature. Figures 9.9 and 9.10 illustrate two types of traysystems designed to maximize food quality and heat retention.

Equipment for Specific Uses

Reheating Frozen or Chilled Foods. Foods prepared, cooked, and then frozen orchilled for later service must be reheated at serving time. This may be done in thecentral serving area or in service units throughout the facility. Equipment used forreheating in either case is the same and includes convection ovens, conduction(conventional) ovens, microwave ovens, and infrared ovens. Also used are immer-sion equipment (for food in pouches) such as steam-jacketed kettles or tilting fry-pans. Microwave ovens are the fastest for single portions, but unless a fleet ofthese ovens or a tunnel-type microwave is available, reheating a large number ofmeals can take a long time. Convection ovens with the forced-air heat can reheatmany meals at one time, depending on the oven size. Frozen foods usually aretempered in the refrigerator before reheating to reduce time for bringing foods toserving temperature. With any rethermalization system, the objective is to heat thefood product to service temperature and to retain nutrient content, microbialsafety, and sensory quality.

Meal Assembly. The assembling of meals for service is an important step in thedelivery-service system. Methods vary for different types of establishments, and theactivities involved must be suited to the specific needs of each.

Meal assembly requires that the various menu items that make up a meal be col-lected and put in one place. This may require equipment as simple as a convenienttable or counter for bagging or plating the foods cooked behind the counter in afast-food restaurant. In a table service restaurant, servers may pick up the coldfoods at one or more stations and hot foods from the chef’s station and assemblethem all on a tray for service.

The most complex type of assembly is that of tray service for many patients orother consumers. Trays, dishes, silverware, and food are prepositioned along aconveyor belt. Employees are stationed to place a specific item or items on the trayas it passes along. A patient menu or diet card precedes the tray and indicateswhich menu items should be placed on the tray. Conveyors of various types arecommonly used for this purpose. All must be sized to the width of the trays used.The simplest is a manual or self-propelling conveyor with rollers that move trays

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Figure 9.9 Aladdin rethermalization cart. Meals are assembled cold; assembled traysare placed in carts, on specially designed conduction heating elements. Carts are held inwalk-in refrigerators until 35 minutes before meal service, when meals are heated withinthe cart.Courtesy of Aladdin Synergetics, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee.

when they are pushed from one station to the next. Others are motor driven.Power-operated conveyors can be set at varying speeds for moving trays along thebelt automatically (see Fig. 9.11). Conveyors may be mobile or built in.

Temperature Maintenance and Holding. Foods prepared and ready for serviceoften must be held for short periods until needed, while being transported to an-other area for service, or during the serving period itself. Equipment for this short-time holding includes refrigerated and heated storage units of many types. Notethat heated storage cabinets will not heat the food, but will, when preheated, main-tain for short periods the temperature of the food as it was when it was placed inthem.

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Figure 9.10 Cutaway section of one-piece insulated trayservers. They are stacked for delivery and designed for naturalthermal retention—hot foods on trays are stacked above hotfood, cold foods above cold. An insulated cover protects thetop and bottom of stack, and the system provides properserving temperatures. Lightweight stacks are easy to carry fordelivery on the premises or off.Courtesy of Aladdin Synergetics, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee.

(a)

(b)

Caddy

(c)

Figure 9.11 (a) Roller-type conveyor, (b) skate wheel conveyor, and (c) automated conveyor for tray assembly. All are mobile, stainless steelconstruction, adjustable in height, and NSFI approved.Courtesy of Precision Industries, Inc., Miami, Florida.

Heated or refrigerated cabinets may be built in, pass through from kitchen toserving area, or from mobile carts and trucks of all types, some designed with bothrefrigerated and heated sections. Movable refrigerated units are often used for ban-quet service. Salads and desserts can be preportioned and placed in the productionarea and held until moved to the banquet hall at service time. Likewise, hot foodsfor large groups can be portioned and placed in preheated carts close to servingtime but held until all plates are ready to be served at the same time.

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Infrared lamps are also used to keep foods hot on a serving counter during theserving period.

Transportation and Delivery. Equipment for transportation and delivery is de-scribed earlier in this chapter under “Mobile Equipment” and “Portable Equip-ment.” Open or closed noninsulated carts, including the monorail, are used totransport meals served on pellet- or capsule-heated dishes, or placed on insulatedtrays with covers. Temperature maintenance carts with heated and refrigerated sec-tions or insulated nonheated carts are used to transport meals preplated on regulardishes and placed on noninsulated trays. Other carts are designed with heatedwells and compartments for bulk amounts of soup, vegetables, meats, and so forth,as well as for cold ingredients and other food items for meal assembly in anotherlocation.

Roll-in refrigerator units serve as transport equipment also, with preplated saladsand desserts set up in the production area and moved later to the dining areas.Similarly, other mobile serving equipment, such as banquet carts and buffet orcatering tables, can serve the dual functions of transporting and serving. Somecatering carts for snack items, soups, sandwiches, and beverages are used to takefood to workers in plants or office buildings. Insulated totes are inexpensive yet ef-fective means for home delivery of meals.

Many methods and pieces of equipment are available for transporting food fromthe kitchen to the consumer. The manager must identify the specific needs of theorganization when choosing among them. Consideration must be given to the totalnumber to be served; the distance to be traveled between production and serviceareas; layout of the building with routes including doors, ramps, and elevators in-volved; and the form of food to be transported: hot, cold, bulk, or preplated.

Serving. Cafeteria counters of varying configurations and with sections for hotand cold foods, buffet tables with temperature-controlled sections and sneezeguards, and vending machines all provide a means for self-service. Various meth-ods for tray service have been described.

For dining room table service, trays or carts are used to carry the assembledmenu items to the guests. Serving stations, small cabinets often located in or nearthe dining room, are equipped with table setup items such as silverware, napkins,and perhaps water, ice, glasses, coffee, and cups. This speeds service and reducesthe distance traveled to serve guests. Other specialized serving equipment is notedunder “Styles of Service.”

STYLES OF SERVICE

There are many styles of services used within organizations. All these have thecommon objective of satisfying the consumer with food of good quality, at the cor-rect temperature for palatability and microbial safety, and attractively served.

The style of service selected, appropriate for a particular type of foodservice op-eration, should contribute toward reaching those objectives. Also, the style must beeconomically compatible with the goals and standards of the organization. Thebasic types or styles of service include:

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1. Self-service: cafeteria—traditional, free flow, or scramble; machine vended;buffet, smorgasbord, salad bar; and drive-up

2. Tray service: centralized or decentralized3. Wait service: counter, table—American, French, Russian, family, banquet4. Portable meals: off-premise or on-premise delivery

Self-Service

The simplest provisions for foodservices involve guests or customers carrying theirown food selection from place of display or assembly to a dining area. The bestknown example of self-service is the cafeteria, although buffet service with its vari-ations, smorgasbord and salad bars, and vending are also popular.

Cafeteria. Cafeterias are of two types. The traditional cafeteria is one in whichemployees are stationed behind the counter to serve the guests and encouragethem with selections as they move along a counter displaying the food choices.There are many configurations for counter arrangement, from the straight line toparallel or double line, zigzag, and U-shaped. In each case, however, the patronsfollow each other in line to make their selections.

The traditional self-service is used in colleges and other residences, cafeteriasopen to the public, school lunchrooms, in-plant foodservices, and commercial op-erations. The emphasis is on standardized portions and speedy yet courteous ser-vice. The rate of flow of people through the cafeteria line varies according to thenumber of choices offered and patron familiarity with the setup.

The second type of cafeteria is known variously as the hollow square, free flow,or scramble system. In this, separate sections of counter are provided for variousmenu groups, such as hot foods, sandwiches and salads, and desserts. The sectionsare usually placed along three sides of the serving room, and customers flow fromthe center to any section desired. This may seem confusing for the first-timer, but itdoes provide speed and flexibility by eliminating the need to wait in line for cus-tomers ahead to be served. Also, it relieves the pressure on those who do not wishto hurry in making decisions. To be successful, it is necessary to have repeat busi-ness and a mechanism for controlling the number of people who enter at one time.

Machine Vended. The history of vending dates back as far as 215 B.C. in Greece,but food vending began in this country centuries later with penny candy and gummachines. Other items such as cold drinks and coffee soon were dispensed fromvending machines. Today, a complexity of menu items, including complete meals,is available through vending machines. Some contain heating elements to cook orreheat foods before dispensing them; others are refrigerated, or low temperaturecontrolled for holding frozen foods, such as ice cream.

Machine-vending foodservice skyrocketed in use and popularity in the 1950s and1960s as it met a demand for speedy service and meant that foodservice was avail-able 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Its popularity continues, and today vending isaccepted as an important component of the foodservice industry, especially as ameans for supplementing other styles of service. Schools, residence halls, hospitals,industrial plants, office buildings, and transportation terminals in particular haveused this mode of service for coffee breaks, after-meal-hour snacks, and, in some,as the sole means of providing meals.

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Figure 9.12 Portable food bar withsneeze guard and separate heatingcontrols, adaptable for many uses.Courtesy of Restaurant Equippers, Columbus,Ohio.

Food for the vending machines can be prepared by the institutions using them,or by an outside vending company that delivers fresh foods at frequent intervalsand keeps the machines supplied and in good working order. Fast turnover of thefood and good supply service are requisites for the safety and success of vendedfoods. Also, the foods offered must be fresh and displayed attractively. Cleanlinessand adherence to city health and sanitation codes are essential. Cooperative effortsby those concerned with packaging, production, merchandising, transportation,storage, and sanitation have brought about improvements in the quality and varietyof the food offered and will continue to do so in the future.

Buffet. Buffet service, such as the smorgasbord and the popular salad bar, pro-vides a means for dramatically displaying foods on a large serving table. Guestsmove around the table to help themselves to foods of their choice. Selections usu-ally are numerous, and eye appeal is an important factor in the foods offered.Foods that hold up during the meal hour and the proper equipment to keep thisfood hot or cold as desired are essential to the success of this type of service. Foraesthetic appeal and to comply with health regulations, displayed food must beprotected against patron contamination. Portable sneeze guards placed around thefoods give some protection as customers serve themselves. Figure 9.12 is an exam-ple of one type of mobile food bar with sneeze guard.

Drive-Thru Pick-up. This type of service, popular with fast-food establishments tospeed customer service, is a variation of the drive-in service. Customers drivethrough the restaurant grounds in a specially designated lane, make their food se-lection from a large menu board posted outside, and call their order in through aspeaker box (usually next to the menu board). By the time they reach the dispens-ing window, their order has been assembled and packaged for pick-up.

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Tray Service

Meals or snacks that are assembled and carried on a tray to individual consumersby an employee is a type of service provided for those unable to utilize other din-ing facilities. Airlines, hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities usethis method. For persons who are ill or infirm, attractively appointed trays servedby pleasant-mannered employees do much to tempt their appetites and help re-store health. Airline travelers also appreciate attractive meals served to them inflight and often judge the airline company by the quality of its food and service.

The two types of tray delivery service in hospitals, centralized and decentralized,are described earlier in this chapter. After trays have been transported to servingpantries, they are carried to patients by an employee either of the nursing or di-etary department. Good cooperation between the two departments is a prerequi-site to coordinate timing for prompt delivery. Delays in getting trays to patients cancause loss of temperature and quality of the food and, thus, a major objective offoodservice is not attained. Many hospitals are integrating room service conceptsfor patient meals to improve satisfaction and reduce food waste.

Meals for airline foodservice are supplied by the airline’s own commissary or oncontract from caterers. Foods generally are preplated at the commissary andloaded, either hot or cold, into insulated holding cabinets that are delivered toplanes at flight time. Meals loaded hot must be served soon after takeoff; thosechilled are reheated on the plane in either small convection or microwave ovens.The length of the flight may determine the method to be used because adequatetime must be allowed for reheating all meals. Flight attendants assemble the mealsin the galley, placing the hot entrée (if one is served) on a tray with cold foods andhand carry the trays or wheel them down the aisle on carts to service passengerswhere they sit. Beverages are distributed in a similar manner. Many airlines haveexpanded the use of cold plates, sandwiches, and snacks on shorter flights, but allcontinue to use good merchandising techniques to make food attractive and satis-fying and so help meet the competition for business among airlines.

Wait Service

Counter. Lunch counter and fountain service are perhaps the next thing to self-service in informality. Guests sit at a counter table that makes for ease and speedof service and permits one or two attendants to handle a sizable volume of trade.Place settings are laid and cleared by the waiter or waitress from the back of thecounter, and the proximity of the location of food preparation to the serving unitfacilitates easy handling of food. The U-shaped counter design utilizes space to themaximum, and personnel can serve many customers with few steps to travel.

Table Service. Most restaurants and hotel or motel dining rooms use more formalpatterns of service in addition to the counter service, although both employ servicepersonnel. Many degrees of formality (or informality) can be observed as one dinesin commercial foodservice establishments around the world. Generally, the fourmajor styles of service classified under table service are American, French, Russian,and banquet.

American service is the one generally used in the United States, although allstyles are employed to some degree. A maître d’, host, or hostess greets and seatsthe guests and provides them with a menu card for the meal. Waitresses or waiters

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RechaudA small heater placed on asmall table. Used for table-side temperature mainte-nance of hot foods

Chef de rangThe principal food serverin French-style table ser-vice. Responsible for alltable-side preparation

Commis de rangAn assistant in French-styletable service. Carries thefood to the table and re-moves dishes as guestscomplete the courses

place fresh table covers, take the orders, bring in food from the kitchen servingarea, serve the guests, and may also remove soiled dishes from the tables. Busersmay be employed to set up tables, fill water glasses, serve bread and butter, andremove soiled dishes from the dining room. Checkers see that the food taken tothe dining room corresponds with the order and also verify prices on the bill be-fore it is presented to the guest. Characteristic of this type of service is that food isportioned and served onto dinner plates in the kitchen.

For American style, dinner plates filled in the kitchen are transported to theguests in one of several different ways. For example, preheated carts are filled withnumerous plates and taken to the dining room before guests arrive. Service person-nel remove plates from these carts to serve their guests. Another way is for eachserver to obtain two dinner plates from the serving station, and with one in eachhand, go, as a group, to the dining room and serve one table completely. Severaltrips back and forth are required to finish this service. Still another method is to usebusers to carry trays of dinner plates to the dining room, place them on tray stands,and return for another load. Service personnel, working as a team in the diningroom, serve the plates as busers bring them in. The head table is served first; thenthe table farthest from the serving area is served next, so that each succeeding tripis shorter. All guests at one table are served before proceeding to the next table.

French service (synonymous with “fine dining”) is often used in exclusive, ele-gant restaurants. In this style, portions of food are brought to the dining room onserving platters and placed on a small heater (rechaud) that is on a small portabletable (gueridon). This table is wheeled up beside the guests’ table and here thechief waiter (chef de rang) completes preparation, for example, boning, carving,flaming, or making a sauce. The chief waiter then serves the plates, which are car-ried by an assistant waiter (commis de rang) to each guest in turn. This style isexpensive, because two professionally trained waiters are needed to serve properlyand service is paced slowly. The atmosphere is gracious, leisurely, and much en-joyed by patrons because of the individual attention they receive.

Russian service is the most popular style used in all of the better restaurants andmotel dining rooms of the world. Due to its simplicity, it has replaced, to a highdegree, the French style, which seems cumbersome to many. In Russian service,the food is completely prepared and portioned in the kitchen. An adequate num-ber of portions for the number of guests at the table are arranged on serving plat-ters by the chef. A waiter or waitress brings the platters, usually silver, with food tothe dining room along with heated dinner plates and places them on a tray standnear the guests’ table. A dinner plate is placed in front of each guest. The waiterthen carries the platter of food to each guest in turn and serves each a portion,using a spoon and a fork as tongs in the right hand and serving from the left side.This is repeated until all items on the menu have been served. Although this ser-vice is speedy, only requires one waiter, and needs little space in the dining room,it has the possible disadvantage that the last person served may see a disarrayed,unappetizing serving platter. Also, if every guest ordered a different entrée, manyserving platters would be required.

The Russian style is used at banquets as described for restaurant service. Sixteento twenty guests per server is a good estimate for banquet service.

Banquet service, unlike other types discussed, is a preset service and menu fora given number of people for a specific time of day. Some items, such as salads,salad dressings, butter, or appetizers, may be on the table before guests are seated.Either the American style or the Russian style of service is used.

BanquetAn elaborate, intensivefeast where the service andmenu are preset for a givennumber of people for aspecific time of day

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Figure 9.13 Luncheon place setting.

Family style is often used in restaurants or residences of various types. Quan-tities of the various menu items, appropriate for the number of guests at thetable, are served in bowls or platters and placed on the dining table. Guestsserve themselves and pass the serving dishes to the others. This is an informalmethod that is popular for Sunday “fried chicken dinner specials” and in Chi-nese restaurants for foods that are to be shared, family style. Family-style serviceis used in some long-term care facilities in an effort to create a homelikeatmosphere.

Table Settings and Serving Procedures

Many foodservice operations including restaurants, catering services, long-termcare facilities, and hospitals are emphasizing formal or fine dining in at least someof their service options. For example, a nursing home may offer formal dinners forspecial events such as birthdays, holidays, or anniversaries. A catering service mayoffer formal sit-down dining, family-style dining, or a buffet. Proper table settingsare defined for each type of service.

According to Emily Post’s Etiquette (1997) few absolute rules apply to table set-ting, but the end result must achieve geometrical balance; the centerpiece shouldbe in the center, places should be set at equal distances, and utensils should bebalanced.

The amount of space allotted to each guest or customer is referred to as thecover. Amounts vary, but 24 to 36 inches of table edge space should be allowedfor each guest. Dinner plates and the handles of flatware should be placed oneinch from the edge of the table. This is referred to as the set line. Figure 9.13 illus-trates a correct place setting for a luncheon.

Waitress-waiter training manuals are excellent resources in which to find properserving techniques. The following are a few of the traditional service rules used informal dining:

1. Using his or her left hand, the waitperson serves the food from the left-handside of the guest.

2. The dinner plate is placed directly in front of the guest.3. The waitperson uses his or her right hand to serve beverages from the right-

hand side of the guest.4. Dishes and beverage containers are removed from the left.

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Portable Meals

Off-Premise Delivery. One example of off-premise service is delivering meals tothe homes of elderly, chronically ill, or infirm individuals not requiring hospitaliza-tion. This plan, sometimes called Meals-on-Wheels, attempts to meet the need fornutritious meals for those persons who are temporarily disabled, or for the elderlywho may live alone and are unable to cook for themselves. In communities wheresuch a plan is in operation, meals are contracted and paid for by the individual inneed of the service or by some federal or community agency or volunteer organi-zation for persons unable to pay. Desirably, the menus are planned by a dietitianworking cooperatively with the organization providing the meals. Food may beprepared by restaurants, hospitals, colleges, or other foodservices and delivered byvolunteer workers. Preplated meals are covered and loaded into some type of insu-lated carrier to ensure food safety while in transit and to maintain desired tempera-tures until delivered to the home.

A similar service is provided by caterers for workers in office buildings or to cus-tomers in their homes by pizza restaurants or others, but on a profit-making basis.

On-Premise Delivery. Another example of portable meals often used in some in-dustrial plants is the distribution of foods to workers at their workplace by mobilecarts that move throughout the plant. Carts are equipped with heated and refriger-ated sections for simple menu items such as soup, hot beverages, sandwiches,snack items, fruits, and pastries. Workers pay the cart attendant as selections aremade. This provides a time-saving service for employees who might have long dis-tances to go to a central cafeteria in a large plant during a short meal period.

An alternative type of portable service is utilized by some companies not havingfoodservice facilities: A mobile canteen is provided by a catering firm and driveneach day to the yard of the plant. Workers go outside to buy their meals from thecanteen truck.

Although variations of these basic styles of service can be found in today’s inno-vative foodservice systems, the types discussed here should provide understandingof the most commonly used service systems.

Room Service

Hotel-style room service is one of the hottest trends for patient meal service in thehealthcare industry. This is in response to a customer no longer willing to eat atthe convenience of the organization. Patients want to eat what they want, whenthey want. To accommodate this customer demand, hospitals across the countryhave implemented the room service concept to varying degrees. Some facilitieshave invested in major kitchen renovations, including the removal of centralizedtraylines. Time of service varies among facilities, with some operations offering theservice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition to kitchen renovation the con-cept requires major changes in staffing and communication systems.

Customer Service

Service is more than the physical act of getting food to the customer wherever orwhomever he or she may be. It is also the act, if not the art, of helping others. The

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focus of this book is foodservice and, as the name implies, the nature of the busi-ness includes a commitment to service. Some onsite foodservice operations haveactually changed their name to hospitality services to reflect their commitment tosatisfying customers as the main mission of their operation. Good service is aboutlistening to and observing customers to identify what they really want or needrather than imposing ideas on them that may not be of value. This is most certainlytrue in today’s foodservice.

Why care about and invest in a customer service program? From a philosophicalperspective, simply because it is the right thing to do. But, from another view,commitment to customer service makes good business sense. We are living in acustomer-driven society. If businesses don’t meet the needs and demands of itscustomers they will simply take their business elsewhere; foodservice is no excep-tion. Consumers today have choices. In many settings, especially those in urbanarea, they can choose from myriad eateries or they can “brown bag it.” So to main-tain or grow a business, foodservice managers need to build a guest relations pro-gram to keep guests coming back.

First and foremost, the manager needs to create a customer-focused environmentand then motivate the staff to adapt the same philosophy and attitude. Second, themanager needs to set standards of customer service based on the needs and wantsof the clients. The next phase of the program is to train the staff. The final piece ofthe progra is to monitor the program and assess its success.

Program standards should reflect the needs of the customer base. They must bemeasurable in order to assess the effectiveness of the program. Aspects of programstandards can focus on a number of things, including staff attitude, appearance,and response time to customer requests or complaints. The following is a samplingof some standards for a guest relations program.

• Never say “I don’t know” to a customer. Challenge yourself to find the answer totheir inquiry or find someone that can.

• Be positive. Chose to adopt a positive attitude and use language that reflects it.Use words and phrases such as “certainly,” “I would be happy to,” and “Whatcan I do for you?” and be pleasant and reassuring.

• Consider your appearance. Bathe daily. Wear clothes that fit well, are clean, andare in good repair.

Standards such as these can be presented as part of a training program in guestrelations along with strategies on how to handle customer complaints and angrycustomers.

Some organizations have developed very formal and sophisticated programs ofguest relations. It is not uncommon in hospitals, for example, for administration toestablish a committee or task force to work specifically on improving customer sat-isfaction through guest relations.

SUMMARY

The delivery and service of food after it has been prepared are important aspectsof the total foodservice system. Consumer satisfaction depends in large part on thepleasing presentation of carefully prepared, assembled, and transported food inevery type of foodservice operation.

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Foodservice managers should be cognizant of the major goals of delivery andservice systems. These goals are to maintain quality food characteristics includingdesirable temperatures, ensure microbial safety, and present food attractively. Inaddition, the system selected should save worker steps and energy, reduce labortime and costs, and lessen worker fatigue.

Factors affecting the selection of a particular delivery system, either centralizedor decentralized, as well as the appropriate equipment needed, include the type offoodservice system (conventional, commissary, ready-prepared, or assembly/serve); the type of organization, such as school, hospital, commercial, or other; thesize of physical facilities and amount of space available; the style of service to beused; the skill level of personnel; the labor and equipment costs involved; thequality standards required and desired; the timing for meal service; and the energyusage involved.

The style of service used—whether self-serve, tray, or waiter-waitress service—must be appropriate for the type of operation and for attaining its goals. Trainingthe workers to use correct serving procedures and to present the food to the con-sumers in a pleasing and courteous manner is also an essential element in achiev-ing a successful foodservice operation.

APPLICATION OF CHAPTER CONCEPTS

The centralized food preparation center for Madison Metropolitan School District isa high volume operation that can have a demand of more than 15,000 meals perday during the regular school year. The cook-chill system is used for production,and each meal consists of two components or “packs”: hot and cold. In otherwords, the foods that are served hot are packed in one container, and cold foodsare packed in another. This means that up to four assembly lines run each day justto pack the two USDA meals: breakfast and lunch. The containers are compart-mentalized aluminum that are heat sealed with plastic wrap. Assembly begins at5:30 A.M. using an automated packing line that is designed to pack 60 to 75 con-tainers per minute. The line requires 6 to 12 employees, depending on the numberand types of items on the menu.

Trucks are used to deliver the packs to the schools. Racks of meals are deliveredto more than 40 schools each day, the farthest being 13 miles from the preparationcenter. Upon delivery the “hot” packs are placed in ovens for heating and holding;the cold packs are held under refrigeration.

At the start of each meal period, classrooms of students are released at 10-minuteintervals. Students participating in the USDA meal program proceed through theline by taking a cold pack, upon which a hot pack and then a carton of milk isstacked. Holding the cold pack and milk to prevent burning, students proceed todining tables to eat before they participate in recess.

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ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

MEMORYFinancialPersonnelForecasting

CONTROLSPlansContractsLaws and Regulations

MANAGEMENTFunctionsLinking Processes

CommunicationDecision Making

INPUTSRaw MaterialsInformationEnergyPeopleFacilitiesMoneyTime

OPERATIONS(Transformations)

Functional Subsystems

OUTPUTSFinished GoodsServicesIdeasFinancial AccountabilityCustomer/Employee Satisfaction

FEEDBACK

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

1. In the systems model, service may be a functional subsystem and an output.Explain.

2. What unique challenges, relative to food safety, does this assembly and servicesystem present?

3. How might the type and number of menu items per meal influence the pro-ductivity of the packing line?

4. How packs are assembled one day prior to service and held under refrigera-tion? What options do the administrative team have to use these meals in theevent that school is cancelled due to a snowstorm?

5. Large groups of students report to the dining rooms at 10-minute intervals.What challenges does this likely present for the foodservice staff in trying toprovide quality food within a short period of time?

CHAPTER REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Define the terms delivery and service as they relate to foodservice ininstitutions.

2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of centralized and decentralizeddelivery-service systems.

3. Describe the impact of the skill level of available personnel on the choice ofdelivery-service systems.

4. What is the difference between energy usage of “passive” and “active” temper-ature retention equipment?

5. Describe the various equipment options that can be employed for heat reten-tion in a centralized hospital delivery system.

The Systems Model

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SELECTED REFERENCES

Breakfast in bed. Food Management. 1999; 34:24.Dahl, M.: You are up to bat! Health Care & Nutrition

Focus. 2002; 18: 10–12.Dahl, M.: You are up to bat! Second base: Identifying the

needs of our patients. Health Care Food & NutritionFocus. 2002; 18: 4–5.

Dahl, M.: You are up to bat! Third base: Providing theneeds of our patients. Health Care Food & NutritionFocus. 2002; 10–12.

Dahl, M.: You are up to bat! Fourth base: Home plate anda home run. Health Care Food & Nutrition Focus. 2002;19: 9–11.

Johnson, J.: Four rules to guide customer service. HealthCare Food & Nutrition Focus. 2002; 18: 1, 3–5.

Lawn, J.: These guys want to take away your trayline.Food Management. 2000; 35: 39.

McNallan, J.: Be our guest—Hotel style room service inthe hospital. Management in Food and Nutrition Sys-tems, market link. Summer issue 2001; 20: 3–4.

Post, P.: Emily Post’s Etiquette. 16th edition. New York:Harper Resource, 1997.

Robinson, N.: Room service: Another success story in themaking. Health Care Food & Nutrition Focus. 2000; 16:1–4.

Ryskamp, S.: Room service: Not just for hotels. Future Di-mensions in Clinical Nutrition Management. 2002; XXI:4–7.

Sheridan, M.: At your service. Restaurants and Institu-tions. 2001; 111: 12.

Sheridan, M.: Delivery status. Restaurants and Institutions.2003; 113: 51.

Sheridan, M.: Rude awakenings: As good manners goby the wayside, operators seek to maintain civility.Restaurants and Institutions. 2002; 112: 42–44, 46.

Shockey, G.: Hospital room service delivers bottom-lineresults. The Consultant. 2003; 81, 83, 85–86.

The effective trayline. Kansas City, MO.: Crimsco, Inc.,1991.

The trayline doctor. Kansas City MO.: Crimsco, Inc., 1995.What is service about? Health Care Food & Nutrition

Focus. 2002; 18: 10–12.

SELECTED WEB SITES

http://www.usda.gov/fnic/service/foodcs1.htm

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