TO hone the skills of its members, among others, a group, the Association of Professional Food Service Providers of Nigeria (APFSPN), has trained 192 of them on customer care.
The training, which held yesterday in Ikeja, Lagos, according to the chairperson of the APFSPN, Mrs Monioluwa Osho, was aimed at improving the skills of their members. She said the job is not just about money making, but rather having a love and passion for it to attain the level of professionalism in service delivery.
She said the subsector was being afflicted by quacks and that one way to deal with them is quality service.
Mrs Osho noted that the body, which was inaugurated this year, also had 279 of its members inducted – all in a bid to boost sub-sector’s image. He assured that with the training, customers should expect better services from them.
She urged the government to assist members of APFSPN and advised the trainees to be “Focus on your role. Be passionate in what you are doing. Don’t look down on yourself. Be determined to make it in life’’.
One of the speakers/trainer, Ibdunni Layade, advised the waiters to imbibe team spirit. She added: “You are your chief executive officer. Dress well. This is not about wearing very expensive clothes, but being in clean outfits. The way you dress is how people will relate with you. Discipline yourself. ‘’
Layade, who is the CEO of Dunnice Catering, also said there was the need for them to continue to improve as there was no end to education.
Also, the CEO, Ritrut Catering, Afolake Obakasumu, said the profession upholds integrity, fairness and quality – in serving good food, enjoining the participants to imbibe these virtues.
The CEO, Light and Events, Adewale Omolade, who spoke on ‘How I rose from being a waiter to an employer’, asked his colleagues to imbibe the following traits: confidence, to be focused and allow their potential to blossom. His professional journey, he admitted has been long and torturous, adding that it was tenacity of purpose and ability to recognise opportunities that has brought him to where he was.