Customer service, who cares?Why it is that businesses consistently claim to value customers, yet consistently deliver mediocre or at best: average customer service? Service in most restaurants in Sri Lanka – be it a standalone or in a hotel, is commonly a reactive response, where under pressure, you do just enough to get by or keep even with the competition, (between not being any worse than anybody else and not being any better than you have to be).
I remember walking into a popular restaurant (whose name when abbreviated can mislead to mean United Kingdom), and sitting down at a table in a section that had several empty tables. Noticing the manager hurrying over, I remarked to myself ‘Gee here is one attentive person’, only to have the fleeting sense of anticipation squashed when he grimly announced “You can’t sit here, this area is reserved”. There was no board to that effect, although a “Please wait to be seated” sign was placed nearby, facing the entrance in solitude. So we moved to another table in another section of the restaurant. The restaurant wasn’t even half-full at that time and during the 45 minutes that I was there, I observed several other patrons, who unmet at the entrance, unknowingly sat at these empty tables ... only to be ‘shooed’ away for breaking the manager’s unwritten 'no sitting here' rule!
Our burly server wore a black T- shirt whilst the majority of the younger and pleasanter looking waiters wore yellow coloured T-shirts. I later found out that our server was a Captain. Did we get a cheery smile and a heartfelt good evening for selecting the place? No Sir! Cold body language, a frosty look oozing Jack Nicholson charm which silently screamed ‘choose whaterverr’ accompanied the perfunctory handing out of the menu lists. It did not get better looking through the menu. There were three of us and the two menus we received looked ‘abused’. Food when it arrived was dumped on the table and was grudgingly cleared once we finished, with nary a word from our Captain – not even to enquire if we enjoyed the meal. Even the ‘Can I speak to the Manager?’ (The six most dreaded words in any customer service scenario, a phrase loosely translated in customer service speak to ‘kiss this customer goodbye’), was met with no show of emotion, merely a nod.
The manager struggled to answer my complaint that the restaurant had got it wrong in designating this employee a Captain who was an ideal role model for providing mediocre service...Eventually, the poor chap blurted out momentarily in frustration, that our server although relatively new to the service industry was senior to the other waiting staff in the establishment, and, hence the reward of promotion! The conversation ended there and I requested for the bill. Upon observing the 10% Service Charge that was billed, the 1990’s hit song ‘Money for nothing’ by Dire Straits flashed through my mind. Incidentally, even as we left, the section that was supposedly ‘reserved’, continued to remain empty; Someone sure got their timings all wrong!
Now what was I contemplating? Ah…Yes, that’s it. 'Why is service deteriorating in the hospitality industry? If only it was something so obvious".
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