By Steven Moskos, Director of Staffing & John Gargano, Director of Service.

Service is at the core of who we are at Great Performances, and an important component of what we look for when we hire anyone, from our back of house and administration teams to our front of house and service teams. At every level, we should have a service and hospitality mindset.

Alongside the event venue and décor, the service helps sets the tone for an event. When guests attend a Great Performances party, they should feel welcomed and taken care of by every member of our team. Steven Moskos, our director of staffing, and John Gargano, our director of service, work closely to ensure our service staff have the training they need to hone their hospitality instincts and deliver exemplary service.

“At Great Performances, everybody receives comprehensive training as part of our 360-degree approach to transformation,” comments Gargano.

Training begins at onboarding and continues throughout a staff member’s tenure at GP, whether they’re adding new skills, learning the ins and outs of an event venue, or changing positions. As we kick off each season, we’ll also host training sessions to reinforce the essential skills necessary to produce successful events and that help them progress in their careers. We also take the opportunity to train new Service Leads and Captains, who will be added to our roster of leadership throughout the upcoming season. New hires and captains will embark on training shifts at actual events, where they get to grow in their skills through practical experience.

“We pride ourselves on giving staff the keys to their own success,” Moskos shares. “Through these trainings, staff who want to grow with us are given the skills they need at every stage to excel.”

Off season training sessions are refresher courses and professional development courses including Buffet, Tasting, and Private Home Service Skills and venue-specific trainings.

Our training program comprises classroom-style instruction, hands-on practice sessions, and role-playing exercises that use real-world scenarios. Through repetition and employing a variety of techniques that appeal to different learning styles, we ensure that all team members acquire the skills and mindset to provide the highest levels of professional, friendly, and warm service.

Learning the basics of service and building muscle memory allows our staff to practice empathy, attentiveness, and adaptability as they interact with guests and encounter different situations. More than just training our team members on skills, we focus on the qualitative aspects that turn service into genuine hospitality. We encourage our staff to look for non-verbal cues that can help them anticipate client and guest needs and deliver an experience that exceeds their expectations.

Throughout the training, our service pillars of Presentation, Teamwork, Knowledge, Service, Leadership, and Personality are highlighted, all of which drive our mission at Great Performances: Unleash Joy through Genuine Hospitality.