Is Customer Service Dead?
So this evening my better half and I decided to go to dinner. We like to support our local establishments and we have a favorite, but unfortunately it was packed so we decided to go down the street to another place. Choice number two is a bar and restaurant that has about fifteen tables and it’s probably just a step or two above a dive, but the food is good and reasonably priced, so off we went. It was 6:30pm and the lot was well over half full when we pulled it, but we decided to take our chances and see if there was a wait.
As we walked in there was a booth near the door we selected, but it was dirty so we staked our claim and waited for someone to come over and clear it. Ten minutes later we were still waiting and did I mention that both waitresses had passed us SIX times with out a single word of acknowledgment. Five more minutes had passed and finally the table was cleared, menus were provided and life was good again, or at least I thought.
Our order was taken and believe it or not it took twenty minutes for our drinks to arrive and another fifteen for the appetizers to arrive. For those of you who are keeping track that’s Fifty minutes from entry to appetizers. Surprise, the food showed up two minutes later. Did I mention how much I hate that! One bonus was the food was good as always and the meal finished with the check showing up just on time. Where I promptly paid the bill and gave $0.00 tip. Then turned the bill over and wrote a little note to the manager and or owner.
A few kind words or a smile would have turned or visit from horrible to acceptable.
Heck, is it too much to expect an apology for making us wait fifteen minutes to clear the damn table? Now I should probably mention that in a previous life I was a restaurant manager and maybe that’s what influences my ideas about how customers should be treated. I also realize that earlier in this post I rated this place just above a dive.
Granted this is just one example, but unfortunately it’s becoming more of the norm rather than the exception. Seriously, is a little customer service too much to ask for? Are my expectations just too damn high?
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March 27, 2010 at 2:14 am
I completely agree with you. I don’t know how many times we got dissed by the waiter or waitress. I remember one time we went to eat at a new sports bar around the corner. The food was OK but the service was slow. 45 minutes after we had finished eating and drinking everything on the table we still did not have our check. I went up to the bar and told the barmaid that she had 30 seconds to produce our bill or we were leaving. Oh how fast the waitress suddenly reappeared! No tip was left.
March 28, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Exactly what $0 tip is for.