Hilton Trains Waiters in Photography, Calls them ‘Waitographers’
Hilton has launched the Waitographer, a novel solution to when a party of diners wants their picture taken.
When a table at a restaurant would like a photograph to mark the occasion, typically a smartphone is passed to the waiter, who will do their best to get a great photo.
Of course, waiters aren’t photographers, which means the photographs the staff take have varying degrees of success.
Hilton has sought to change that by training their waiters to become “certified mobile photographers.”
“There’s a saying: ‘pictures or it didn’t happen,'” reads the company’s dedicated website.
“How often do we find ourselves in situations where we want to capture a moment on our smartphones, a special memory, and we struggle to take it ourselves or ask a waiter to help us?
“There’s an awkward exchange as we do it again and again. Often not getting the picture to do the memory justice.
“We want to make sure that every memory at Hilton lives on forever and so we’re launching a new first — the Waitographer. New, unforgettable memories are waiting for you at Hilton, and so are our certified Waitographers.”
Professional Photographer Training Waiters
Hilton has even brought in pro photographer, Roger Moukarzel, to train the Waitographers, with footage showing Moukarzel giving enthusiastic classes to people who surely never expected to be sitting in a photography class.
“Don’t be afraid to try and get a better light,” Moukarzel can be heard bellowing. “Think about your picture and you will become a very good Waitographer.”
After completing the course the newly-qualified Waitographers are given certificates as proof of their dexterity with a smartphone camera.
Tinatin Nizharadze, who is one of the new Waitographers, and works at Hilton London Bankside, outlines her training.
“I believe that good lighting, framing, and a beautiful background are all key to taking a great picture of our guests as they enjoy new memories in our hotels.”
The left-field move from Hilton led some people to question whether it was an April Fool’s.
“I had to check it wasn’t April 1st, but apparently this is a real thing… ‘Waitographer,’ writes Matt Green on Twitter.
“If you‘ve been choosing hotels based on the quality of photos taken by restaurant staff, this is probably aimed at you,” adds Tom Marzipan.
