My technical meanderings and other nonsense. Published since 2002. No, really. I'm *that* internet-old. I remember the days of For some reason I’ve always been very sensitive to external noise and distraction. One place this becomes more evident is your standard sit-down restaurant.
Over the years I have become very annoyed with certain habits and tactics of restaurant staff. Perhaps it’s because when I dine out I want some peace and quiet with the ability to carry on a conversation. It seems like these things always happen to me:
- Trying to seat me (and my party) near the kitchen, a door with a draft/breeze, a busy aisle, or a noisy wait-staff workstation (with phones, dirty dishes clattering, etc). I then usually ask to be seated elsewhere, but it gets annoying having to ask this every time.
- General noises produced by the restaurant staff such as dragging metal chairs around in order to sweep or mop underneath tables. Pick the chair up for crying out loud! Also, I shouldn’t have to witness the staff cleaning the restaurant while I am dining there. It’s just bad presentation. Wiping tables? Fine. Mopping the floor around my feet? Not cool.
- Hovering around my party’s table doing some mundane, useless task in order to look busy.
- Constantly coming back and asking, “Is everything okay?” (Unless she is cute.)
- During slower times, most restaurants will usually close-off certain sections and seat patrons all in the same area, causing a loud bubble of conversation and cramped seating, just so the wait staff doesn’t have to walk a little further between each of their tables.
The best wait staff is those which remain out of sight, yet still always around when patrons need them. In other words, if I am not caused to notice the wait staff, then they are doing their job.
I do not mind the occasional inquiry about how I am doing, and even some light conversation, but know when to get away and leave the patrons to dine in privacy.
I’m glad someone finally said it. Constant hovering, #4, is an annoyance on the rise in an economic downturn. Everywhere you go, retail establishments are littered with otherwise undistinguished middle managers attempting to justify their existences by following the same mass market business advice lemmings. You know, the cliche-ridden softcovers that advocate “excellent customer service”.
Customer service starts with recognizing the customer’s needs and responding accordingly. That’s worlds away from the thoughtless one-size-fits-all imposition of “Team, in these tough times we’re going to be known as The Customer Service Organization! We’re going to greet everyone who walks through our door, we’re going to give them personal attention, we’re going to raise the bar for the competition by positioning ourselves as THE experts in this field. We’re going to develop personal relationships!”
Seriously? Anyone who needs a retail clerk for affirmation is emotionally bankrupt.
Whatever happened to basic social graces? A customer’s body language and eye contact will make it clear when the customer wants assistance. Contrast that with every worker chanting the same unsolicited inquiry. “Can I help you find something?” merely because you were in transit within twenty feet of them. Pass by the meat counter, the bakery, the produce section; within five minutes you’ve endured multiple Normandys even though you’re deliberately not making eye contact because you don’t want to encourage them.
Then there’s the nutrition franchise where the muscle builder behind the counter has decided that creating value and differentiation means interrogating you on every item you bring to the counter. “Why are you buying that?” “If you want more energy, bee pollen is the way to go.” Did I ask for his ‘expertise’? Since when does a retail clerk have license to act like he’s my mother?
Home Depot is the worst. Early one weekend morning I darted in the exit, still groggy (not a euphemism for ‘hungover’). A woman I attempt to ignore calls out to me, hustling softcover books about chocolate (this was a couple days before Valentines Day). I continue to ignore her. She steps in front of me to block my path, pushes the book cover at me with both hands to make it unavoidable. Still not feeling obliged to engage in artificial, unwelcome dialogue I brushed past her and continued to hardware. Being the only customer in the store I was waylaid no fewer than six times in the few minutes I was there. It made me grateful for self-checkout.
Stepping out to pick up a few things at the store used to be my quiet time, a moment to catch my breath away from a house full of kids. No more. Pity the brick and mortar dinosaurs can’t fathom why more and more business is being diverted to online retailers.
I actually came here because of photoshop tutorial on rounded corners. Thanks for that clear and concise set of instructions. Looking around on your blog I came around to this post. How refreshing…Though I won’t add to the restaurant scenario because you covered it in enough gory detail, How about this for annoying? At the orange box store…at the cash register..”Did you find everything o.k.?” I really cannot stand self serving pious sales and marketing tricks..You are saying it because you have to…every time? every time?…
And the blue box store does the same but they take my credit card and always give me the third degree because is not properly signed in the back…Really?
Meanwhile here in Ma. at a dunkin donut a little brazilian clerk knows how i take my coffee. 4 creams regular sugar, not only mine but almost every patron that comes thru. They are hot ready at the counter waiting for me and other wary morning workers like me, and the cash register lady barely keeps up and says..Large? medium? One time I counted over 13 different people being served without them asking one single thing…like she’s clarvoyant..the ultimate coffee savant!! Now that’s customer service!!