Interpersonal Communication Facets

The communication facets of Hooksey’s Fish and Chips Restaurant are very simple and straight forward. Their main goal is to provide great customer service along with a fresh menu that customers will enjoy. To do this, all of the staff working at Hooksey’s is trained to approach clientele in a very friendly manner that cares about the customers concerns and tries to provide the best service possible as opposed to waiters and waitresses at chain corporation restaurants who sometimes look at their situation as, just a job. Operating as a small family run business in today’s society can be very tough considering the economic downturn that’s occurred in the past few years. This restaurant is still competitive in today’s market and prides itself on its great interpersonal communication skills.
When you walk into Hooksey’s, you are always immediately greeted by all the staff, which is very warming. You are given the option of ordering at the cash register or seating yourself, the atmosphere inside is always very laid-back and cozy. The staff is always very friendly in their approach and usually offers a newspaper and something to drink right away and asks how your day has been. This aspect of their business where the patron is treated more as a friend than a customer is what sets this restaurant apart from the others. They try to establish a personal relationship between themselves and the consumer to make them feel welcome and hopefully return in the future. Almost 90% of Hooksey’s clientele are returning customers and sometimes twice daily which is a phenomenal statistic.
Hooksey’s interpersonal communication facets can be related to the three jewels of Daoism. The first jewel compassion, relates to kindness and caring. With personal relationships, compassion helps communicators to relate to one another with understanding and patience. Dao De Jing believed that compassion lead to courage. This can relate to the staff at Hooksey’s because by using this courage to approach their customers and talk to them they are establishing a meaningful personal relationship. The second jewel of Daoism is Moderation; moderation is the absence of excess. When you are being served the staff wants you to feel important to their business, they are investing their time and energy in order to serve you better. Moderation plays a big role in this because the customers do not want you to be hovering over their meals or talking in their ears all day long. The server and customer find balance between one another and refrain from excess. They use communication skills that balance between giving and taking, and sharing and listening to one another so that the “annoying factor” does not come into play and potential business might be lost. Finally, the third jewel of Daoism is humility. Humility can be defined as a quality or state of being humble in spirit, which is what the staff portrays (Morgan, & Morgan as cited in Chan et. al., 2009, pp 99-113). Anyone and everyone who enters the doors at Hookey’s is treated as an equal. They are greeted the same as the next person behind them in line which helps this restaurant bring in different ethnic backgrounds and cultures to increase their demographic.
By demonstrating good interpersonal communication skills, and the three jewels of Daosim, Hooksey’s has become one of the most successful small business restaurants in the Durham Region. They not only care about the food that is being brought to the table, but also about the experience of sitting down enjoying the atmosphere and good conversation around them.