Hey Lady! I can’t find “Service With a Smile” on the menu
There’s a certain quasi-Australian chain of steakhouses…
Put yourself there, for a moment. Or put yourself at your own full-service restaurant chain. I walk in with a friend, hot and feeling a bit odd, probably waited too long to eat. It’s pre-dinner rush on a weeknight. Sometimes this place is awfully busy, so I’m skeptical in spite of the early hour, but Friend wants to go.
It’s delightfully cool inside, and when my eyes adjust I see there’s no line; the waiting area is completely empty, as is a good portion of the restaurant. Whew. I wait a minute for the host, who appears to be writing something at her station, while two servers stand next to her, silent.
Host: [Without looking up, in an unmistakably nasty tone] “How can I help you.”
Me: “We’d like a table?” (I feel less sure now, but what else would we have walked in for?)
Host: “For how many?” (How many do you see?)
Me: “Um, two.” (I’m starving but feeling very uncomfortable. Her tone is making me want to leave, but Friend seems okay.)
Host: “Name?”
I give my name, which can only be for one reason. I’m puzzled, so I ask how long the wait will be.
Host: “25 minutes.” (I look around, quizzically, at the nearly empty restaurant.) “But it should probably be less.” [She stares.] “Are you going to wait?”
Friend is already seated and waiting, so I say yes. She hands me a buzzer. After ten minutes I realize I’m too irritated to enjoy the evening if we stay, and we’re still not seated anyway. Not a soul has come in since we did, and there are now three servers with the host behind her station, all talking quietly together.
We left. Frankly, for the first five minutes I tried coming up with scenarios to help give them excuses for the rudeness and the odd behavior. For the last five I was convincing friend that anyplace was better than this place, because I had that aha! moment:
I don’t believe they do have some odd problem going on, and now I don’t care. If there were something wrong, she would have made the excuses herself instead of leaving me to imagine them for her.
Note to steakhouse with catchy jingle and lots of advertising: Customer Service. You’re doing it wrong.
Not a word or an action or even a tone were right.
Did you ever have an Experience where you wondered if you were on Candid Camera, because it was so absurd?
I hope I won’t have another for a while.
Lest you think it’s just these Pennsylvania chain places, Seth Godin had a similar Experience this week. Check it out.
Grow and be well,
Kelly Erickson
If you enjoyed this post, please Subscribe (it's free!) 
Comment 
Share 
Trackback 
8 July 2008, 7:50 am
This is timely – I was telling a friend of mine about this chain, and the other one that rhymes with “Peg” – how you feel like you’re part of a stage act, everything is so well rehearsed and the bill hits the table 2 milliseconds after you finish your coffee… “assembly line fine dining” you could call it, but it’s not fine dining. The last time we ate there was before our NZ vacation last year. We won’t be back.
And the other side of the coin, we frequent a nice little private steakhouse about 2 hours from our house – where they expect if you arrive to eat at 7 pm, you won’t be leaving until around 11 pm or later. Nice.
-Brett
8 July 2008, 8:07 am
It’s funny, if our own friends or family pulled any crap like this, we’d tell them in so many words where they could go.
But if it’s a business, it’s like we’re almost intimidated from speaking up (but WE’RE the ones paying their salary!)
We even try to make excuses for bad behavior. (For example, I might say “Oh, maybe they’re having a bad day, or their mom is dying of cancer or something.” )
But sooner or later, you gotta call them on this.
Maybe there IS NO excuse…maybe they’re just A-hole staff working for an A-hole establishment.
I usually get my revenge by telling everyone I know how badly I was treated and how I’m not going back.
Friar’s last blog post…More Things Old People Like
8 July 2008, 8:29 am
Brett,
There are times when assembly line dining (yes, let’s not say “fine”) will do. When you’re starving and staring at the place would seem to be one of those times, but clearly even under those circumstances this place could use a lesson in manners.
When I first moved here what I was struck by was the endless miles of shopping and chain eateries (tax-free Delaware is one big strip mall in places, though this restaurant is over the state line). It’s not impossible to find an independent place, but the convenience of chains everywhere can be tough to ignore. I’m with you, though. Find a little place you like even if it’s a drive—it’s well worth it.
Friar,
Yes, yes, and yes. I certainly did want to go the zen route and think of their issues (“maybe the manager quit and the chef is sick”). Even in the Land of Chains, this place has lines out the door almost every night (why I didn’t want to go) and having been there twice before on such nights, as Brett said, it’s a well-orchestrated Experience, so I couldn’t help but give them the benefit of the doubt for a moment.
Then, I kinda got that feeling… maybe they’re jerks with no underlying issues.
I usually get my revenge by writing a blog post.
You may trust me, though, after that day I did tell everyone I had a word-of-mouth conversation with that they should find another place to hand their dollars to, for about a week.
Regards,
Kelly
9 July 2008, 9:40 am
I have a real love/hate relationship with restaurants. I love the IDEA of going out and having someone prepare my meal and then do the dishes. Finding one that performs good customer service (let alone serves good food) on a regular basis on the other hand has been an exercise in futility since we moved to a location frequented by tourists.
Restaurants are the purest form of “customer service” model businesses. If you own a restaurant, your reputation is only as good as your last service.
You’re a perfect example of what happens when the service is poor. You, the customer, starts to spread the word and the next thing the manager knows, there are no lines for the evening service. He (or she) is left wondering what happened. Little does he/she know that last week when he/she took the night off, everything went to h*ll in a hand basket from the customer’s point of view.
Maybe they are jerks with no underlying issues… but if that’s the case, the LAST place they should be is in a customer service position!
Beyond Niche Marketing’s last blog post…Social Marketing is Like Showing Up Naked to a Cocktail Party
9 July 2008, 10:06 am
Beyond,
Ah, the power of my pen is not enough to stop their endless lines. I do think that the manager has a responsibility to hire wisely enough, that on the nights when he or she is not there, he knows *exactly* how it will go, without being there—perfectly.
Yes, I agree completely, the idea is often better than the execution, especially if you make a choice in a rush as we did that evening. Sometimes I think I’d be better sitting in my parking lot, right before I turn the key in the ignition. That is the very best moment of a night out: before the little things have gotten a chance to erode my expectations.
Then I remember. I do this for a living. I pay close attention to everything. The lines at this pseudo-Aussie chain prove most folks aren’t judging them as I do.
Thanks for your comment!
Regards,
Kelly