It Starts With Service

Service Isn’t an Afterthought—It Is Hospitality

By Kelly Shaw, The Ship Founder

Let’s talk about service.

Not the perfunctory “Is everything alright with your meal?” ten minutes after you’ve been trying to catch someone’s eye for the bill. I mean real, warm, switched-on service, the kind that makes you feel seen. The kind that’s effortless, intuitive, and quietly confident. The kind that turns a good meal into a great meal.

Because here’s the truth: You can have the best food in the world, the most beautiful interiors, and the most considered wine list—and still ruin the experience if the service is off.

Hospitality Is a Feeling—Not a Script

Too often, service is treated like a checklist. Smile? Tick. Water poured? Tick. Specials mumbled and gone before you’ve even looked at the menu? Tick.

But great service isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about reading the room. It’s about being present enough to anticipate what someone needs before they have to ask.

Do they want a quiet meal? Don’t hover. Are they lost in the wine list? Offer a gentle, thoughtful suggestion. Is it someone’s birthday? Don’t fake a smile—be warm, be real. Birthdays deserve to be celebrated!

At its best, service is intuitive. It’s emotional intelligence in action.

Why does service often feel ‘meh’?

Honestly? Because we undervalue it.

We’ll pour money into interiors (guilty), obsess over margins, invest in chef training and kitchen kit. But when it comes to service? It’s too often rushed, underfunded, and overlooked. Left to the youngest, least experienced, and often least supported team members—and expected to run smoothly on good intentions alone.

We say “hospitality is about people,” then treat the very people delivering it like they’re disposable. And then we wonder why it feels flat.

We Can and Must Do Better

As an industry, we talk a lot about hospitality being “all about people” but too often, that doesn’t translate into how we treat the people delivering it.

Service is undervalued, underfunded, and overlooked. We expect front-of-house teams to show up with warmth, grace, and emotional intelligence—while giving them the least training, the lowest pay, and the fastest turnover.

It’s not good enough. And it’s not sustainable.

If we want to rebuild hospitality into something more human, more joyful, and more resilient, then service needs to be central—not secondary. That means better training. Better pay. More respect. And a real understanding that the team on the floor isn’t just the face of your business—they are the experience.

At The Ship, we’re doing our part. And we’re still learning every day! We’re investing in service the way we invest in food, interiors, and story. We’re building a team that feels proud to be here, trusted to be themselves, and supported to grow.

Because good service doesn’t just happen. It’s built, nurtured, and deeply felt—by both the people delivering it, and the ones lucky enough to receive it.

That kind of service? It’s rare. It’s subtle. And when it’s done right, it lingers long after the last course.

We’re proud of our team, and would love for you to get to know them too! Pop by the pub to say hi and see our service in action for yourself.

Book a table today or simply stop by.