Ring the Bell for Service...

Bad service is old news on my blog. I have never been a fan of it and lets face it who really is? But,there are some instances when a person can just shake your head in amazement where neither customer nor business is right.

This particular complaint comes from a daddy who I guess was watching his little girl hard at work, you know earning money for college and all, learning to stand on her own two feet. He describes in his complaint the client as a person who was rude and a bit loud towards his little girl, who ended up leaving the establishment because his food was late, his drinks not as frequent as he would like and unfortunately left little girly  to pay the bill.

In all fairness I agree that this customer handled the situation wrong but daddy went even further to say that he hopes this guy sleeps well at night because he had done the biggest injustice to his daughter, making her pay his bill, costing more money than she makes in a day. So his message was clear.

I only wished it stopped there but this is where he shot himself in the foot by saying what no one else had told this customer. He goes on asking if this guy was at all aware that the kitchen was understaffed on that day, a bunch of staff did not show up at work causing the slow service. He made it clear if the client had asked for management the whole incident could have been avoided.

I disagree, reason being when you go to an establishment you expect what you pay for. If that is not available you should be informed about it first thing. Secondly if not informed immediately, the waitress could have gone and spoke to management and asked for help in adressing the situation. The thing is there was no communication between the manager, the client or the staff. In fact customers were expected to be happy with what was given to them.

There is a right way of handling a situation and a wrong way. Maybe walking out and not paying to me is wrong but it depends on the extent of the frustration. In the end it does all come down to service.


Welcome to the real world girly...truth is owners worry first about the cash before they worry about you. Oh and where does the customer fit in; guess that remains a mystery.

The SURPRISE party

You only get today, tomorrow is not today and today is no indication of tomorrow. You know those birthday parties where everyone shouts "SURPRISE" as you enter the room, well nothing prepares you for that and there is nothing to fall back on if you are not the party type or not in the mood for a party. It is out of your hands as to when, where, how...you simply fit in to the plan. If there is anything about the party that sucks you are sworn by yourself not to say a word and just go with the flow.

Life also does it, "SURPRISE" I mean. Today might be as normal as any other day and before you know it life shouts at you with a big smile and bright balloons. Sometimes you find those surprises that are good like a raise in salary, a big win or simply a planned vacation finally arriving. Life also has those not so good surprises. For example you buy a car from dealership X and expect a brand new car to bring you years and years of joy only to find out that life is going to be shouting surprise a lot more when it comes to that car. As soon as problem 1 is fixed another one comes along.

Enough said. But what do we do about the "SURPRISE" in service. When going to a shop or buying a product we expect it to deliver and exceed our expectations. If this does not happen do we speak up or simply let it slide by hoping that next time it might be better. The truth here is that life will shout "SURPRISE" each time you visit that shop or buy that product and eventually you will just not buy it anymore or go there anymore and what good does that do? Is it not right that we pop a balloon once or twice and say thanks for the "SURPRISE" but I think I will speak to a manager or phone the hotline displayed on the product. That way you lessen the chances of being surprised in a bad way and more likely to be surprised in a good way upon return.

There are some surprises that will never be in our control but then there are those that can be changed and not only when it comes to service. I think it is important to remember that at the end of every party it is up to us to thank everyone for coming, so we do have the final say even if it is only in a small way. Its just about finding the right words.

Is the wait worth it?

It is amazing how we as people can wait. Take a movie for example, if it is only being released a year from now we will still wait. If something is out of stock we will wait. If a friend or relative is running late we will still wait. When does all this waiting become a bit too much to handle? These are some points of view that might apply to you already, I know some of them does to me.

1.This has to be my favorite, standing in a line waiting to pay for your groceries. There are two people ahead of you and the third is busy unpacking. As he unpacks he starts by telling the cashier that either he does not want it anymore or that he simply realized the product is to expensive and wants it taken off. I know in most of our stores we need the manager to come and override to remove the item. A few products is fine but after that guess what, it starts to get to a person.

2.Waiting at an ATM. This is also one that gets very busy at month end or on weekends when people can do what they need to do. Banks are supposed to educate their clients on how to use service offerings that will make their life easier. They recently added a new service offering available at any of the ATM'S but what they do not realize is that some people will catch on, others won't. So now you stand in line watching the poor person cancelling his transaction and trying again and so forth. Sad, but true.

3. Sorry this item is out of stock but we can order it for you. That to me sounds like a promise, one that most stores often have difficulty with, why? Sometimes management tells the shop assistant or person in charge that the item will arrive in a week so person X tells you it will arrive in one week, so you as the customer smiles and walks out. A week later you return only to hear an apology from person X that the product has not arrived yet and management said one more week. Leaving person X Informs you that she will call you as soon as the item arrives. If it is during the next week you will be very lucky. You don't look to management for answers because person X helps you so who will get the blame when week two passes and still no goods.

4. Waiting for someone and they do not pitch. Irritating, oh yes. I agree stuff could happen that would cause a person not be on time or not show up at all. But if it gets too much, being told that he/she is sick continually,  forever spilling coffee as someone walked into them or plain and simple calls an hour after the scheduled time telling you sorry that he/she could not make it.

Agree that some of this, yes does come down to patience. But there is patience and then there is the crazy side of patience. And I think there are more stories to be told around this, plenty.