Have you ever been curious about what it would be like to work in someone else’s shoes? We know we’ve been! jingkids is thrilled to introduce an exciting new series where we send our teen interns on a journey to try out different jobs in the city for a day. Our adventurous young reporter will step into the shoes of various professionals, experiencing the highs and lows of their daily routines and report on their experiences, sharing insights and lessons learned along the way.
Join us as we uncover the fascinating world of work through the fresh perspective of a curious teen, discovering what it takes to thrive in different careers with this “A Day in the Life of…” series.
This time, we sent our 12-year-old intern Margaret Yang, from Beijing City International School, to Iberico by TRB to work for a day. Part of the TRB Hospitality Group, Iberico by TRB opened in 2023 and has been a favorite among foodies all over the city.
My father works in hospitality, and for seven years I lived in five-star hotels all over China. Going to buffets and Michelin-starred restaurants was part of my weekly routine starting from the day I was born. However, the idea of spending a day at one of those high-end restaurants working was daunting to me at first, partially because I have a stutter, which might hinder my communication with customers, but also because I have never had any experience in the service industry and felt that it could affect my actions and reactions in certain scenarios. Even though my worries affected my confidence in my potential performance, I decided to sign myself up for the challenge and experience it all.
Throughout my day, I would say that I experienced the typical job of a fine dining restaurant hostess and waiter. I welcomed customers at the reception desk, worked at the window serving dishes to customers, and was fortunate enough to meet a food blogger and even help her out!
Interacting with the blogger was the biggest highlight of my day, and since she came during dinner service, I had garnered enough experience and confidence by then to start serving up the dishes. I got to witness how professional bloggers film their content, and how meticulous every detail was (yes they did wait for all the dishes to arrive before they ate, and I got to assist with the placement of each dish because she had very specific requirements). She ordered the “Classic Spanish Set Menu for Two” (RMB 1,388) which includes some of the restaurant’s most popular dishes, such as the Seafood Paella (RMB 488 à la carte), Roasted Suckling Pig (RMB 358 à la carte), and Spicy Garlic Shrimp (RMB 78 à la carte). I have to admit, when I was serving up the garlic shrimp dish, the fragrance of the garlic and the sizzling oil sound was irresistible.
The restaurant’s set menu is advertised on Dianping, which is surprisingly the only platform Iberico has done major promotion on.
When I asked why the restaurant doesn’t have promotion on other social media platforms, Ani Liu, assistant to Ignace Lecleir, owner of TRB Group, said that TRB’s marketing strategy is heavily based on the positive reputation the brand has built over time from customers’ positive experiences.
The brand’s first restaurant, TRB Hutong, was created back in 2011 and located inside the hutong courtyard of a 600-year-old temple.
While back in the day people would rely on a restaurant’s own website to find out information, today, people flock to social media platforms like Xiaohongshu and Dianping, probably because all the posts created on these platforms are mostly done by customers, which reduces the probability of bias. This relates to TRB Hospitality Groups’ emphasis on detail and the quality of the service provided to customers.
Ani shared stories of instances that might have upset her boss on the aspect of service. For example, if her boss witnessed a waiter not pouring a female guest’s water first when there was a male guest at the table, he’d make a mental note to remind the staff of the service standard and procedures later that day.
I didn’t expect to see Ignace emphasize details so much, but as Ani and I were talking, in came Stephen Zhang, the restaurant’s Director of Operations for TRB Hospitality Group, “The color on this plate is starting to fade,” as he took the plate away to exchange it for a newer one. A perfect example of how Ignace’s attention to detail and persistence rub off on his teammates and inspires them to strive for the same level of perfection that he demands of himself.
I feel like it is appropriate now to also share one of my memorable moments working at Iberico. It starts with me leading a lady to the wrong table. The table that I led her to was different from what the restaurant had originally chosen for her and was reserved for a VIP customer who had not arrived yet. I did not realize my mistake until the VIP customer arrived and was surprisingly unsurprised by the seat he was given. However, before he arrived, I asked Sunny, my “trainer” of the day, what I should do, because if the VIP got mad it wouldn’t be beneficial to the restaurant at all, and I really, really didn’t want to make a mess on my first day on the job. But while I was panicking on the inside to the extreme, Sunny had the VIP customer smiling with just a few words after the customer asked about the seating difference. Ani told me that communication with customers is extremely important, as that is the deciding factor of a customer’s experience. And just like that, what could have been a major disaster for me was averted, and I learned a valuable lesson right then and there: When it comes to customer service, there’s always a way to turn a negative into a positive if you approach the problem with the right mindset, clear communication, and the genuine desire to make things better. No wonder customers always leave the restaurant smiling!
TRB Hospitality Group works on finding ways to make its dishes more enjoyable for every customer’s palate and make its restaurants more well-known in Beijing. The restaurant’s dedication to quality and detail in customers’ experiences already makes it superior to the whopping list of Spanish restaurants in the city.
After a tiring day spent working at Iberico, I learned so much about running a brand and creating positive experiences with customers. Now, as I got a taste of what working in the service industry feels like, I say with confidence that I have been oversimplifying the service at restaurants far too much all these years.
What seemed like a simple dish that was brought to me in a flash required so much systematic behind-the-scenes work. A simple change in seating, time, and dishes is so much more than just a sentence brought to the customer by the waiter. It’s the cohesive work of an entire team of people looking after every single detail of the restaurant.
If I have to sum up my thoughts with a metaphor, it would be that of an iceberg, where the majority of it is underwater, representing all the behind-the-scenes work and only a small portion shown on top, showing what the customers see and experience. So, with my newfound appreciation for the dedication and precision that goes into running a fine dining restaurant, I humbly invite you to come and experience Iberico for yourself.
Find it:
Iberico by TRB (Liangmahe)
53, Maizidian Jie, Chaoyang District
Tel: 186 1287 9305
Images: Margaret Yang, Iberico by TRB
