Topic 1 · Act 1 · 18 min
Welcome to Service
Briefing Room
Think first
A guest walks in. Nobody looks up.
Ten seconds pass. Then twenty. The guest shifts, checks the door, almost turns to leave. Then someone finally says, 'Yes? How many?'
Your first shift
It is your first evening at the Marigold Palace.
Captain Rao
See that empty corner table? Mr. Mehta sat there every Friday for ten years.
Anjali
And now?
Captain Rao
One night we were busy. He stood at the door for a full minute. Nobody looked up. He never came back.
Captain Rao
Ten years of Fridays — lost in one cold minute. The guest is on stage the moment they enter. So are you.
Anjali
But Captain… I don't even know what to say first.
Captain Rao
You don't need fancy words, Anjali. You need eyes, a smile, and ten good seconds.
Your guess first
What matters most in the first ten seconds?
Today's topic
Welcome to Service
The first ten seconds decide the whole meal.
Why it matters
A warm welcome tells the guest one thing: you are safe and cared for here. The food, the wine, the view — none of it lands if the first ten seconds felt cold. Get the welcome right and the guest forgives small slips all evening. Get it wrong and they notice every one.
The words
Tap a card. Say it out loud together.
Watch how
- 1Eyes up. See the guest at the door.
- 2Smile — a real one.
- 3Greet: 'Good evening, welcome to the Veranda.'
- 4Use 'sir' and 'ma'am'. A namaste suits Indian guests.
- 5Greet the eldest guest first.
- 6Ask: 'A table for how many?'
- 7Walk them in. Never point — guide with an open palm.
Captain Rao: eyes up, warm smile, 'Welcome, sir.'
Anjali: looking down, mumbling, 'Yes? How many?'
Same words almost. Totally different welcome.
Stand tall. Hands ready. Hair neat, shoes clean.
Slouching on the host stand, hands in pockets.
Your body says 'welcome' before your mouth does.
What would you do?
A family of four walks in. You are at the host stand.
A guest enters while you carry plates. What first?
You walk a guest to their table. How do you show the way?
Two guests reach the door together — one elderly, one young. Who do you greet first?
A guest with no booking is called a…?
Warm or cold?
Sort each habit: a warm welcome, or a cold one?
- Eye contact and a smile
- Looking at your phone
- 'Good evening, welcome'
- 'Yes? How many?'
- Guiding with an open palm
- Pointing with one finger
- Standing tall, hands ready
- Leaning on the host stand
Remember on the floor
- Eyes up, always.
- A real smile, not a fake one.
- Greet within ten seconds.
- Guide with an open palm, never a finger.
- You are on stage all shift.
Tomorrow: the whole journey, greet to farewell.
Capstone
Role-play on the floor
Set up a 'door'. One trainee is the GRE. A family of three walks in — one is in a wheelchair. Greet, welcome, and seat them in ten seconds.
GRE (greeter)
Warm welcome, eye contact, seat in ten seconds.
Guest (host)
Feel welcome and in safe hands.
Observer
Time it. Watch eyes, smile, open palm.
Model script — follow, then make it your own
GREGood evening, welcome to the Veranda.
GuestTable for three, please.
GREMy pleasure. This way — may I show you to your table?
GREIs this table comfortable for everyone?
Success looks like
- Eye contact and a real smile.
- A clear, warm greeting in ten seconds.
- Guided with an open palm, not a finger.
- Seated everyone — noticed the wheelchair without being asked.
A warm welcome is free. It is also the first thing a hotel hires you for.