And it usually begins the moment you walk in to the restaurant. You are greeted (sometimes!) and seated, you get a menu, and then the fun begins. Will your server bring you water and bread? Do you see your server? How long have you been waiting before your server comes over to say hello? How many people do I have to say hello to before I get something to EAT???
It happens all the time. Sometimes without a glitch, and you pay the check, leaving a handsome tip, and all the way home you are thinking, what great food, what great SERVICE! Or...the food was great, the service, well, not so much. Or...the food was ok, the service was GREAT, or, you get it. A myriad of things can happen. That's why I started this thing. I've been increasingly underwhelmed with customer service in restaurants these days. And I should know, because I work in the business. I have managed some great waitstaffs, and I have managed out some terrible waiters. Restaurants these days seem to live and die by the menu. If the food is good, they'll eat it, pay for it, and come back for more. What about the service? Too many operators don't take the time to properly train their staff to provide not just good, but great service. And that's a shame, especially when you go out and spend over $100 not including tax and tip on dinner for two. Dining out shouldn't just be about not having to cook at home. It should be about the total experience, eating good food you wouldn't normally cook at home, and being waited on in an unobtrusive, comfortable atmosphere. I've heard it from my friends and family over the years, and I've heard the same things standing in line waiting for a table at the "hot" restaurant: why do they do this like that? well, there's a free table, why can't we sit down? how come it takes so long to get my food? I only asked for water! Where's my waiter? YES! I have heard almost all of them. Maybe you have one that stumps you. Maybe you have a question on your mind, about your recent visit to a restaurant that made you so angry, OR, you have a comment about getting GREAT service. I want to hear them all. The good, bad and ugly. I'll reply to your comments. I'll give you my objective, professional take on how the restaurant could have better handled things. That's what I want here. That's the view, from my table.
