Today we met with Karri of Chambar to celebrate their prestigious win for best service, and talk fine dining, corporate culture, and giving back.
Any foodie who has visited Vancouver knows the name Chambar. In a warm and inviting room that manages to be both elegant and casual, Chambar has been serving guests innovative Belgian food and cocktails for over 12 years. We spoke to Karri Schuermans, who handles strategic operations and marketing for Chambar.
Business Name: Chambar
Award: Best Service Experience
Location: 568 Beatty St, Vancouver
Winning an award for best service experience overall is a huge achievement. How do you inspire yourselves, and your staff, to create an environment that fosters this level of service?
In order to inspire leaders, we need to be inspired. We recently did a brainstorming strategy session, which was a great way to bring our managers together and involve them in the future of the business. They all had great ideas on enhancing the guest experience and moving Chambar forward as a cultural contribution to the city. We’re always looking for ways to improve the guest experience both in being genuine and details. Great service is mostly a reflection of good intent, and well orchestrated operations.
What’s the best piece of service advice you’ve received?
The basic “do unto others as you would have done unto you” is probably the best. I think we all want to be treated with genuine warmth, and made to feel special.
Describe what sets Chambar apart in the restaurant industry:
Mostly our culture. If you’re going to spend the majority of your waking hours working, it should be something you enjoy. The restaurant industry is far more loose in terms of corporate culture, so we work hard to have efficient operations to allow for creativity and spontaneity.
Running a successful restaurant in Vancouver is notoriously difficult. What keeps you up at night? What keeps you motivated?
We’re motivated by continually evolving, and by the relationships we gain through farmers, suppliers, and – of course – our customers. We strive to be a cultural contribution to Vancouver, and find ways to add meaningful details to all aspects of the business. Financial or legal issues generally have a higher stress level and keep me awake at night; these issues are harder to not react to.
We love Chambar’s #SweetRelief event because we also believe in giving back! How did you become inspired to support Liberian beekeepers?
We are approached weekly to donate gift certificates for various causes, and after discovering that these gift cards sometime didn’t even make it to these events, we created our own giving values and then sought out a cause that met our criteria. We work hard for our money, and want to ensure the causes we support both monetarily and through fundraising efforts match our values.
Chambar Giving Values:
- People are empowered.
- Efforts are addressing the real cause.
- Actions are contributing to a sustainable future.
- Activities inspire people to raise their own ethic.
- Requests are made without obligation, guilt or coercion.
- 100% of funds are used for the cause.
In March 2016, we raised over $80K during a 24 hour marathon fundraiser at Chambar. The funds raised were to support Universal Outreach Foundation.
And just for fun – where’s your favourite cup of coffee in the city?
When not at Chambar, Revolver!
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This past fall, Inclera was proud to be the 2016 Payment Processing Sponsor of the Golden Owl Awards honouring the best of Vancouver’s nightlife and dining, and we’re highlighting the best of the best on our blog.