To Hell in a Handbasket!

[Big Lou]

Made a dreadful mistake this morning when we went to our favorite mom and pop cafe for breakfast on a very busy Saturday morning. When I ordered "The Special" consisting of two eggs, grits, two strips of bacon, two small pieces of ham, one piece of sausage and two biscuits I assumed it would be fresh cooked to order. Unlike other times the only hot, fresh portion in this "Special" were the eggs. Everything else and I mean everything else was cold to the lukest of lukewarm. When i alerted the server to the dilemma she suggested that "If I wanted something fresh cooked she could bring me two eggs over easy." I'm convinced there must be a verse in the book of Revaluations listing such an event.

 

[capewind]

Would have returned it and gone elsewere...

 

[Waterbug]

In past recessions companies seem to me to have improved service and performance. Not this time. Companies just complain about poor sales. Years ago we used to eat out a lot, but less and less and now greatly we prefer our own cooking over going out. Same with many other things from movies to Home Depot an experience I also try to avoid. I guess it's all part of the race to the bottom.

 

[Big Lou]

I had the server take my meal away. Since we eat there three to four nights a week plus the occasional Saturaday morning or Sunday lunch I thought surely my meal would have been taken off the ticket. Instead, they compomted our breakfast drinks. They may have won the battle but won the war. The weeknight ladies compt our drinks and some deserts since we are faithful customers. Lose your legion of regulars then down goes your profit. We'll simply avoid Saturday & Sunday mornings.

 

[j.w]

So they cook a bunch of bacon, biscuits,grits, ham and sausage and leave them lay there under those funky light warmers waiting for some poor soul to come along and order them eventually and then they did cook the eggs fresh for you? Food comes cold and you don't eat it and you sent the meal back and they only comp you for the drinks? That's rotten and bet they stuck all your uneaten food right back under the warmer for someone else..............well maybe not but geez they might! I'd be demanding a full refund...........I know my DH would have refused to pay and especially since you are regular weekday customers. Glad the ladies of the weekdays at least gave you some free perks! Although it wasn't right what the weekend peeps did....................all that food is making me hungry..............I'm on weight watchers and trying to behave and now you've got me into the craving mode

 

[capewind]

you sent the meal back AND PAID FOR IT??? Wow. People are too nice! If it was unedible, it should not have been paid for!

 

[Craig58]

Yeah.. I would have expected a new breakfast, freshly cooked and the whole meal comped!

After all these years, some businesses still don't get the two most important:

Rule #1 The customer is always right
Rule #2 If the customer is wrong, read rule #1 again!!!

This is especally true for serevice businesses like food joints. I just had this converstation with a neighbor yesterday about customer loyalty and in return, business loyalty to their customers.

Craig

 

[Waterbug]

I can only give some insight into my own industry...

Many years ago when we had the first video working on the Mac, Apple did some focus testing on the video quality. Users said they would not accept small video of poor quality. Yet the quality of these test products were better than most of the cell phone videos posted on You Tube today. People not only came to accept very low quality, they've embraced it.

When cell phones first came out people didn't accept the low quality voice, dropped calls, etc. Now it's accepted and embraced. The most common words I still hear on cell phones..."can you hear me"? Embraced.

25 years ago when we created software applications it was not uncommon for the testing team to be 5 times larger than the design and programming team. We spent about 30% of our time working with the testing team to fix bugs. It was kind of assumed people wanted software that worked well. But poorly working software, like Microsoft operating systems, showed that while a few users would complain they would still buy product. Testing started to diminish. By 15 years ago I was working on large mass market applications from big companies that had zero testing. Today testing is hardly ever considered. Let end users do the testing. They may complain, but they still keep buying. Seems like companies can make more money by selling poor products. It's not really the companies driving this it is the customers. A company that test product has maybe double the cost and customers would rather pay less for less quality. Companies are only providing what customers want.

Seems like the same thing is happening in all businesses. Marketing and price trumps quality.

 

[Big Lou]

Very well stated.

 

[HARO]

There are four restaurants in our area that we frequent. We know the owners of every one, and if the owner is in when we arrive, we are greeted as friends. The waitresses are also well known to us, and will stop and chat when time allows. Meals on special occasions are often free, and service in general is excellent! We sometimes eat at other establishments; if service is slow, food cold, or the waitress is having a bad day and taking it out on her customers, we simply don't go back to that place. Service with a smile means a lot to us! And I might add that we always tip in the 20 % range, and always round up. Friendliness pays for wait staff. My wife served tables for several years, and her tips generally exceeded her paycheque.
John

 

[sissy]

Customer care seems to be customer no care .I have found it has gotten worse as the economy goes down farther and farther .I got the it is a business the other day and if you don't like it leave speech .I got a cup of coffee and it was cold ,I don't mind iced coffee when I want it and the bagel was so hard you could have thrown it at a window and broke it .

 

[Craig58]

Customer care seems to be customer no care .I have found it has gotten worse as the economy goes down farther and farther .I got the it is a business the other day and if you don't like it leave speech .I got a cup of coffee and it was cold ,I don't mind iced coffee when I want it and the bagel was so hard you could have thrown it at a window and broke it .

So much for that vaunted Southern Hospitality!

Craig

 

[sissy]

Well in the south you get it if you sound like them if not you are an outsider and all they want is your money .I have found that here over and over again .I was born in PA and raised in NJ and retired to VA .I may go back to NJ some day to live again since my parents moved me there when I was 4 .I moved to VA just before my 50th birthday .But if both of my sons are hell bent on living in NJ ,I may go back .This was my dream house but not really sure any more .I think my dream is where ever my family is at .My sons are 37 and 26 and they have dreams too .

 

[capewind]

Accepting low standards just opens the door to even lower standards. I dont play that game. If I am paying for a service, I not only expect, but demand a certain level of quality. If the standard isnt met, either I am NOT paying for it, or will negotiate a lower rate (not food related LOL). I have never been sued or had the police call for my refusal to pay for substandard anything. That said, I am "fair"... When possible, I will give whoever the chance to right the wrong, but if it isnt met, too bad, I am NOT paying for it. It really is that simple. We live in a tourist area, so especially in the food industry, most places just dont care. They are looking to get you in the door once time, and dont care if someone doesnt come back.