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UNDER SCUTINY: Poor customer service!
4/20/2009
By Stephen Alleyne
It’s never a good idea to go against one’s better judgment. About a year ago I vowed never again to patronise a South Coast restaurant following two separate instances of egregiously poor service that was dispensed to me and my guests. Saturday night I went back on my word and paid the price.
The last occasion I had gone to the establishment in question was minutes to 11 one night desperately in need of a bite. The greeting at the entrance was quite cordial, I must say. We were seated, then to be told by a waitress:
“Sorry we’re not taking any more orders for food at this time.”
“So how soon will you be taking orders for food?” I asked.
“I really don’ know. As you can see we real busy in hey tonight,” she replied.
I told her that it would have been beneficial to the business if her colleague at the door had been told that orders had been put on hold so that she could have informed customers before they had entered.
We promptly left and took our business to another South Coast location that’s in a similar line of business. And the service there was exceptional. So much so that I had to tell the server about the remarkable assistance her employer had been getting from the competition up the street. Despite those bad experiences, on Saturday night I decided to kill some time over a drink with some friends at this South Coast location before an early morning engagement.
Again, the reception was fine – a good first appearance. Having been comfortably seated, we ordered our drinks. However, we decided we would eat and the waitress came over to our table. “Good night. Wuh you’ll having to eat?” she said, keeping her eyes fastened to the notepad on which she was writing the order. No name (she wore a name tag that did not show her name). No smile. No comforting words. In my mind I contrasted her approach with that of the employees of Champers, one of the top restaurants in Barbados. Making eye contact with their guests, they would have said something like this: “Good evening or good night, my name is Jane or John Doe and I will be your host or hostess this evening. Are you ready to place your order, please?”
She seemed only too glad to take the orders; she took them and disappeared in the area of the bar and kitchen. About five minutes later she returned with an attitude. “Who ordered de rum ‘n’ coke? Who ordered de rum ‘n’ soda water? Who ordered de gin ‘n’ tonic?
Two things nauseate me when I’m around food: an overladen plate and poor service. The service on this occasion was … poor. The waitress poured water into our water glasses just before she served the meal but she never returned to the table to refill them. The next time she brought water to the table was after one chap requested to have water at the end of the meal. She filled all the glasses and slammed the bases of the glasses on the table.
That was when I gave her a jolting. I asked her if the restaurant had a suggestion box and thenceforth she was a completely different human. “No, sir, we don’t have a suggestion box. Is something wrong?” she asked in anticipation. I was honestly thinking about having a word with her manager or supervisor, but I told her not to bother that if I there had been something wrong I would deal with it. And that I did.
First, we refused to tip her. I believe a waiter or waitress should earn his or her tip. Secondly, the bill had her name, the table and an email address to which comments should be directed. I definitely have a few comments to email her employer.
There is a general problem with service in the private and public sector in Barbados. There are a large number of people in both sectors who behave as though they’re doing their customers or members of the public a favour when they seek their services. We often hear about public sector workers who read the newspaper or chat on the phone while members of the public plead with them for attention.
I recall some years ago a prominent lawyer made a call to a Government department for a vital piece of information he needed and no one answered the phone. The lawyer, whose office wasn’t far away, redialed the number and took his phone off the cradle allowing the phone at the Government office to ring while he made his way over to investigate why no one was answering. On his arrival the phone was still ringing while the receptionist chatted with one of her peers. Well, I’m not sure about the lawyer’s religious persuasion, but I do know that he was fond of calling on the son of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ when he was angry. And that morning his complexion turned ruddy as he invoked the Lord’s name and bawled her down in the presence all and sundry.
So poor service is an endemic problem and employers are well aware of this. To deal with the issue of service one large supermarket has taken the initiative to place a sign at all its cash registers showing what is required of its cashiers. They must greet customers, ask them if they have a Magna Card and wish them a good day. The first time I experienced this type of treatment I found it strange, but then I saw the sign prominently placed at the cash register. I smiled.
Barbados is a service oriented country and all workers must know this. No employer should have to coerce workers to be nice (or NISE). The moment workers in the services sector find that they are no longer capable of giving the best quality service, they should not wait for customers to complain or their employer to say goodbye. They should step off the ship gracefully.
(Stephen Alleyne is an attorney-at-law and a former member of the Royal Barbados Police Force. Email: swalleyne@hotmail.com)
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