(Photo found on winninglovehate.com by Bryan Scott)
I was sitting inside the Princess Street Grill observing my environment as I waited on a friend to meet me for lunch. The diner wasn't clean. It smelled like old grease. My table wobbled. The menu's were greasy and crinkled. And yet I was comfortable. I felt safe and welcomed.
Perhaps it was because everyone around me was happy. The restaurant was filled with young families and a few business crews who were out for lunch. Everyone was laughing.
As people walked into the restaurant the busy servers would turn around and cheerfully shout from whichever table they were taking an order from at the time: Hello! Now I know what you're thinking: Hello? Who cares.
It's a big deal.
How many upscale restaurants have you gone to where you are paying large sums of money for quality food and service and upon your entrance, you stand and wait at the door because the sign says 'Please Wait to be Seated' and there's not a host in sight? And in those moments I can always feel the hatred from the busy servers as they glare at me over their shoulder while running yet another tray of dishes to the kitchen. To me the glare always suggested a cold: "I know". Why not just say hello?
One word, that's all it takes and instantly the customer feels welcomed.
So as I sat there thinking and obersving, I realized how often the friendliest service at restaurants comes from the laid back ones, not the upscale. You know the ones who have servers that are being paid large amounts of tip money for their 'friendly service'.
I agree, but have no idea why that is. Is it because they just don't care? Or is it because the people that go to laid back places are usually that way themselves? I've struggled with this issue, only because I am a waitress at one of these "laid back" places and when I go to your Moxie's or Boston Pizza (sorry, I can't think of any others, but the servers at Pizzeria Gusto are good) I get the worst service ever, and I mean ever.
ReplyDeleteI think it has to do with these three things:
1) laid back people work and play at laid back bars/restaurants
2)Places like Moxie's and BP are trying to be something their not; classy but reasonably priced. And what you get, a lot of the time, is snouty servers and slow service.
3)Restaurants that are actually high class have an expectation from the owners that their servers should be happy and efficient, and well let's face it the money they make there is enough to keep them smiling ;)