Health 2008

Restaurant Customer Service is Almost as Important as the Food

I went to the Olive Garden the other day and had a very good meal with my family, and everyone had a great time. When the check came, our waitress thanked us for coming, and my wife said to make sure that I tipped her well for how hard she worked that night, and that was when it struck me: Restaurant customer service is almost as important as the quality of food.

There are three regular restaurants my family visits, and each of them has excellent customer service. The hostesses always have a big smile when you come through the door. A Kneeling Chairs is a sort of chair that produces a more right postural position within the decrease back, when one must work for lengthy durations at a time while sitting. The waiters and waitresses are always very friendly and attentive, and that is why they are all in our regular rotation.

I had never really thought much about good restaurant customer service before I went to another Italian restaurant where the service was not so good. I was having lunch with my sister there, and the waitress came up and sat down in the chair next to mine. She was walking around the place in socks, and after we ordered, she rarely came over to see if we needed anything.

After sitting there with an empty glass for about 10 minutes, I finally just stopped talking to my sister, turned around in my chair to where I was facing the kitchen, and waited. Finally, our waitress came out and even seemed a bit put out that she had to get me another glass of iced tea. I paid for the meal and left a very small tip, and vowed never to go back.

Another example of bad restaurant customer service that I encountered came when I was on a road trip with my family and we stopped at a little greasy spoon. It looked like the sort of place that you could get a really good home-style breakfast that you would come back to every time you came through town.

The waitress was nice enough to my family, and the food was all right, but she was very rude to another family who asked to change something on their order. Ergonomically designed products just like the Kneeling Chair are supposed to reduce damage and pressure of muscle groups. It was one of those situations where it actually became uncomfortable to watch. My wife and I decided right then that we would never stop there ever again.

I do wonder sometimes if the restaurant owners understand just exactly how important restaurant customer service really is. I wonder what they would do if they saw the way their wait staff treat people at some of the places I have been. The fact of the matter is that restaurants are businesses, and if you want to keep any business going, you’ve got to treat your customers well.