Dominic CostaBir, India's leading Hospitality Trainer, has come up the hard way - started the business with Rs 350 - that’s all he had. Thankfully, as Director - HTI, he has a little more than that now!
Fun-loving 18-year-old (that’s what he thinks)! Troublemaker (that’s what we think)! Risk-taker! Fitness freak! (Actually, just a freak).
Loves to train. Ensures trainees and teammates grow, but be warned as he believes: No pain! No gain!
“Easy life produces weak men. Tough life produces tough, resilient and determined men. Why wait for life to change gears to get the benefits? I make it tough on myself, my team and my trainees. TorMentor is what I call myself. I set the bar high - then torment and mentor them to push their limits and achieve. Thankfully, my team and trainees respond - they grow and torment me too - that way, I grow too!”
HTI replaced traditional classroom-style teaching with activities, and games. Aspirants are thus participants in the learning process. For instance, to train restaurant waiters to stack side stations we demonstrate the right way, they practice and then they race. The performing team earns points for speed and perfection. The opposing teams earn points by spotting errors. Energy is high, laced with arguments, laughter, and learning.
Dominic and team HTI adopt a simple yet powerful motivational approach: “WIFM – What’s In It For Me? Waiters happily learn service techniques to boost their tips but avoid promotions. Because a Captain’ salary can’t justify the increased responsibility nor match their current take home due to hefty tips. But this is just an interim problem. Later, when promoted to Manager, the salary, benefits, status and potential are all exponentially better. So team HTI counters this attitude with 2 ‘Movie Scenes’:
Scenario 1: Imagine over a 30-year period you bring your girlfriend, then wife, then kids, and grandkids to your restaurant — on all occasions you are a waiter – how do you feel?
Scenario 2: You bring your girlfriend (you are a waiter), your wife (you are a captain), your kids (you are a manager), and grandkids (you are a general manager). With each promotion, your earnings and benefits increase. As a Manager your family can dine in style while your staff serve them.
Moral: Don’t just aim to earn — aim to grow – money will follow.This growth-oriented, experience-driven training style is HTI’s hallmark, turning skill development into a journey of aspiration and transformation.
