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THE SOAPBOX: One Guy's Opinion
by Tom Lounges
SERVICE: What’s Happened to It?
Excuse me... Is it just me or does it seem
that most people in today’s
work force have forgotten that a little word called “service” is
the root of
any successful business?
It’s a word that defines something they
could all use a refresher course
in it seems. At least from my experiences of late. This is a
topic that has
been racking up points on the scoreboard in my head as quickly
as Michael
Jordan during a Chi-town pennant race. I am getting tired
of people wanting
me to peel off dead presidents so that they can get a paycheck, but
not
wanting to do anything to earn it.
What has triggered this little outburst from
me this month are a string
of experiences in the last few weeks where I’ve been confounded and
frustrated by just those kinds of people. Let’s see,
there is the local
night club where I hang out. On most nights, I swear I could
light myself on
fire and still not get noticed by the bartenders there. And that
is on the
slow nights. It’s a beautiful room and the management and
clientele are
cool, but the bartenders (yes...I did use the plural here) need to
take
“Customer Service and People Skills – 101.”
And then there are those places who are supposed to
be open for business
or are supposed to be featuring a service or product that has been
advertised
and when you get there, you come up short.
Twice in a week, I have found my hometown video
store to have locked
doors at five or even ten minutes before they are supposed to be
closed.
Pardon the hell out of me, but when you advertise specific hours, you
should
honor what you have advertised. When I commented on this, I was
told in a
rather snippy manner –– “You know, we like to go home too!”
In the words
of Steve Martin –– “Well Excuuuse ME!”
Last month, I looked up the dinner hours for a
local restaurant/bar in
the Yellow Pages. I had nearly two hours before the kitchen
closed, so I
grabbed the wife and made the 15-minute drive. When we got
there, we were
told they had just stopped serving dinner.
Perplexed and hungry, I asked for the manager.
Politely explaining how
their yellow pages ad contradicted what I’d been told, the little
twerp
seemed completely disinterested in my disappointment and in so many
words
simply said – “tough luck buddy!”
A similar situation happened again last
week at a local Baker’s Square.
We pulled up for a fast cup of java and a slab of pie (it was deadline
time
and I was desperately in need of the caffeine and sugar buzz) and
although
the hours clearly posted on the front door said closing time was
11 p.m.,
the entrance was locked. Here it was 10:45 p.m. and there were
still several
tables filled with people inside. The manager (I assumed...being
as he was
an older guy wearing a tie and standing behind the register) looked
right at
me through the window and quickly turned his eyes away.
If things like this happen once in a
while...so be it. But this has
been happening to me repeatedly and I’m getting pretty peeved about
it.
When I was managing a local record store and we
listed our closing hour
as 9 p.m., my door stayed unlocked until 9 p.m. Any
customers in the store
at the time of closing were not shooed out the door. I’d let
them know we
were closed, but that if they wanted to browse a little longer that
would be
okay. If I could help them find what they needed, that would be
even better.
As a retail manager, I knew that a little
courtesy and an extra few
minutes of my time would make that customer come back again.
Whether you are
a mom and pop business (like my local video store and that first
restaurant/bar I tried to patronize) or you are a corporate entity
(like
Baker’s Square), you need people to keep coming through your doors.
I confess that I have returned to the local video
store, because it’s a
stone’s throw from my house, and more times than not, I’m too lazy
to drive
across town to the other store where I have a rental card. I
have not
returned to that first restaurant/bar and have no intention of giving
them a
second chance, simply because of that manager’s “who gives a
shit?”
attitude.
As for Baker’s Square...the jury is
still out. Most likely my sweet
tooth will win over my stubborn streak, but when that happens I will
visit a
different store than where geek boy in the tie tried to pretend he
didn’t see
us.
Most times, when late night munchies strike,
I point my van in the
direction of The Steer Restaurant in Highland. There’s a waitress
there on
the overnight shift named Jamie who usually knows what I am ordering
before I
do. What I like best, is that there is always a hot cup of
coffee landing on
the table about the same time my butt is hitting the seat.
The food there is okay...but what keeps me coming
back to The Steer night
after night, week after week and month after month, is the incredible
service
I get from Jamie. To me, she’s the poster girl for the wait
staff industry.
Let’s face it, when you slave like a fool
at your job and you find
precious little time to slip away, it’s really not asking too much
to want a
little of the same consideration, courtesy and respect you give out
while
doing your job. I know there are a lot of people who
do take their jobs
seriously and who strive to give their customers good service, it’s
just that
lately I can’t seem to find any of you folks.
I only seem to encounter those who could care less
about my needs as a
customer. I guess that is just my lot in life – to be a loser
magnet.
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