OT: Poor Restaurant Service

[Langmuir]

Maybe it is just me with a string of bad luck but I have had incident after incident of poor service at restaurants over the past several months. This has happened in the Philly suburbs, in Centre County and Delaware beaches. I gotta think something is going on in the industry. A common theme is that on Friday or Saturday night, the place will not be packed but the wait staff complains that they are very busy and shorthanded.

An all to common occurrence is an issue of getting drinks. One place we ordered our drinks as soon as we were seated. We got our appetizers, no drinks. Our dinner came, no drinks. It was over 30 minutes and the drinks never came but the waitress apologized about every 10 minutes saying the bar was very busy. I eventually asked to see the manager. Within two minutes the drinks came, but never did see the manager. The waitress offered free dessert, I said no give me the drinks for free which we got after she talked to the manager.

Another place which called itself a restaurant and bourbon bar also had an issue with the bar. After dinner, I ordered a shot of some fancy bourbon. Waited about 10 minutes and the waitress said the "system" at the bar was down and they should be able to get it back up soon and get me my drink. I told her to forget and just get me the check. WTF, when did a "system" become more important than serving customers? Poor me the damn drink and figure out your system later.

I do have to compliment Mad Mex in Willow Grove who gave us poor service by nobody coming to take our drink order for 15 minutes and our appetizer order never came. They recognized the poor service and without even asking comped the drinks and gave us 50% off on the food.

Anybody else notice a serious decline in restaurant/bar service lately?

 

[LionDeNittany]

Yes I have noticed but I do not believe it is only in the restaurant industry.

There is a decline in service across all industries.

Typically the restaurant industry, with higher pay, is less effected... but as a small business owner it is happening everywhere.

Hiring new people is difficult as well.

One story I have shared before is I caught an employee watching TV, a show on their PC and texting... all at once. I mentioned that the PCs are only for schoolwork and they complained to me that someone else was doing it.

LdN

 

[JWB389]

The old adage "it's hard to find good help nowadays" is ringing true. With close to full statistical employment, it is hard to hire good people. I see it everywhere I shop/eat in a customer service setting.

Wife and I were at a retail establishment in the Lehigh Valley recently. At least 5 employees walked past us and completely ignored us before we could grab somebody for help. It was funny because it was obvious they were desperately trying to avoid eye contact.

 

[NittPicker]

I agree it's a trend across all service industries. Nobody seems to understand what the word "service" means. It's even happening in the realm of public service. Right or left, it doesn't matter. The concept of truly being in service to others is lost on those who are supposed to be doing it. Sometimes it seems the opposite is true - they feel you the customer should feel honored if you're simply acknowledged.

With that in mind I'm trying to break myself of the habit of saying "thank you" when I pay a cashier and leave a store/restaurant. They should be thanking me for being a paying customer and therefore helping keep the business afloat.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

I'm usually more surprised by receiving good service in a restaurant, bar, or retail store.

"Lower your expectations," as a wise man once said.

There are several Centre County establishments I refuse to patronize due to their poor service and/or food.

 

[MJG-90]

Home Depot used to be a fantastic place to shop for DIYers. They had actual plumbers working in plumbing, electricians in electrical, etc.. You could ask questions and get good answers / advice. Now I ask a question about a product, the employee reads the box and makes a determination of that info. I could have read the box. In fact I probably did read the box. But I often need more specific info than what is on the box.

And that's if you can find someone. I went in to buy a grill. I stood around the grill area with another couple for a good 15 minutes. Several employees walked by and told us they'd get us some help. Help never arrived. Finally, I called the store phone number and asked to speak to a manager. The manager came over and helped us out with no real apology for cluster____ that those stores have become.

Bob Nardelli really screwed that place up. Of course the stock is way up, so I guess he did what he was supposed to do. (EDIT: I should note that Bob hasn't been CEO for probably 10 years. My point was that the change to the current, non service oriented model was started under his leadership).

 

[Mister Magoo]

Those businesses are stuck with the kids we give them. Or, many of the locals in
rural America are meth heads. Good workers get the good jobs. Other businesses
are stuck with the stoned leftovers.

 

[stf110]

Home Depot used to be a fantastic place to shop for DIYers. They had actual plumbers working in plumbing, electricians in electrical, etc.. You could ask questions and get good answers / advice. Now I ask a question about a product, the employee reads the box and makes a determination of that info. I could have read the box. In fact I probably did read the box. But I often need more specific info than what is on the box.

Home Depot has become a notoriously horrible place to work over the past 5-10 years, so holding onto those knowledgeable employees has become next to impossible. Just about everyone knowledgeable I knew who worked there in the past has quit and moved on to elsewhere doing other things.

 

[BBrown]

I agree it's a trend across all service industries. Nobody seems to understand what the word "service" means. It's even happening in the realm of public service. Right or left, it doesn't matter. The concept of truly being in service to others is lost on those who are supposed to be doing it. Sometimes it seems the opposite is true - they feel you the customer should feel honored if you're simply acknowledged.

With that in mind I'm trying to break myself of the habit of saying "thank you" when I pay a cashier and leave a store/restaurant. They should be thanking me for being a paying customer and therefore helping keep the business afloat.

+1.
and since we are all venting or ranting, allow me to rant on about "self checkout" lines.
Fine, you want me to do "self chekout" then take 10% off my bill, seeing as how I'm saving you thousands in salary and health care by doing it myself.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Maybe it is just me with a string of bad luck but I have had incident after incident of poor service at restaurants over the past several months. This has happened in the Philly suburbs, in Centre County and Delaware beaches. I gotta think something is going on in the industry. A common theme is that on Friday or Saturday night, the place will not be packed but the wait staff complains that they are very busy and shorthanded.

An all to common occurrence is an issue of getting drinks. One place we ordered our drinks as soon as we were seated. We got our appetizers, no drinks. Our dinner came, no drinks. It was over 30 minutes and the drinks never came but the waitress apologized about every 10 minutes saying the bar was very busy. I eventually asked to see the manager. Within two minutes the drinks came, but never did see the manager. The waitress offered free dessert, I said no give me the drinks for free which we got after she talked to the manager.

Another place which called itself a restaurant and bourbon bar also had an issue with the bar. After dinner, I ordered a shot of some fancy bourbon. Waited about 10 minutes and the waitress said the "system" at the bar was down and they should be able to get it back up soon and get me my drink. I told her to forget and just get me the check. WTF, when did a "system" become more important than serving customers? Poor me the damn drink and figure out your system later.

I do have to compliment Mad Mex in Willow Grove who gave us poor service by nobody coming to take our drink order for 15 minutes and our appetizer order never came. They recognized the poor service and without even asking comped the drinks and gave us 50% off on the food.

Anybody else notice a serious decline in restaurant/bar service lately?

More common in franchises in my experience.

 

[Carl Spackler]

We have also witnessed the degradation of the service at restaurants relatively everywhere we go. Now we are pleasantly surprised to receive superior service anywhere.

Last Friday evening began by my wife telling me not to get mad at the waitress as I "commented" on her lack of service from the start. I didn't think I was angry so I believe she issues a preemptive strike to slow me down, smart girl. We entered and the sign said seat yourself. So we selected our table. A smart looking young lady approached and I thought this might be an exception tonight, I was mistaken. She took our order but did not ask for a choice of bread. I didn't think of it but my wife mentioned it at the salad bar. I saw the waitress on the way back and mentioned it to her and requested she approach my wife with a choice of bread, she did, then served it, without butter, that did arrive, after I had to ask for roughly 15 mins. She was not so busy that she had time to have an extended personal conversation with the couple at the table to my left, which I noted to my wife.

Well it went on and on. We did not make a big deal over it but the tip was proportionately reduced, not cheap but less that I would have left a good server. This consistently happens, almost everywhere. Some of the staff obviously are required to cover too many tables and are harried and some are like last Friday. I believe some spend too much time on the smart phone. If I was the boss I'd have a box to store them in for all staff to be retrieved on the way out, off the clock.

There seems to be a wider gap between the work ethic type and the slacker type in the younger work force than there used to be. At least that is my observation and my wife's too. She see's it at her work place. Some millennial's are fantastic, work their fannies off and others work hard at not working at all. Of course its always been that way but the gap is more distinct, less middle ground now than in the past imo. Then there is the subject of supervision or lack thereof but I don't want to start that one without having more typing energy remaining.......

I supervised for 25 years and tried to be firm and fair, not generally punishing a crew but bringing in an individual to discuss a problem yet praising a good job in public to reinforce the action. My wife brings home horror stories of zero supervision in an office/lab of less than 2000 sq. ft. with two supervisors who never walk the workplace to see what is happening to reassess the workloads and reassign to create efficiencies and cost effective strategies reducing overtime, etc. Her stories drive me crazy.

 

[pandaczar12]

+1.
and since we are all venting or ranting, allow me to rant on about "self checkout" lines.
Fine, you want me to do "self chekout" then take 10% off my bill, seeing as how I'm saving you thousands in salary and health care by doing it myself.

The benefit of the self checkout line is that I can it can get you out of the store more quickly. There can be more open stations if you don't have to pay someone to stand there. The problem is people don't know how to use them. Even worse, people think that the limit in the express lines don't apply to them. I don't care if someone has 13 items in the express lane. But a cart full of groceries happens way too often.

 

[AvgUser]

A common theme is that on Friday or Saturday night, the place will not be packed but the wait staff complains that they are very busy and shorthanded.

In a related matter, is the default and non-changeable message for any and all automatic call directors (ACD) scripts that the business is experiencing unusually high call volume and there will be an extended wait? I get this message even if I call as soon as the phone lines open. Grrrrrr, I hate that!

 

[Obliviax]

With the economy improving these jobs are a dime a dozen. You want to be a waiter, you can get a job and make similar money in one of a dozen places. Outback, Ruby Tuesday, Fridays...you name it. Your manager asks you to pick it up and you quit and have a similar job in two days. As I understand it, there has been a change due to some rules now. Seems wait staff also have to buss tables. I believe that these places pool tips so the wait staff has to share tips with everyone else (dish washers, bussers, etc.). So the common remedy has been to make waiters also bus tables.

Anyone hear anything about this? I haven't been paying attention but have noticed the wait staff getting bogged down doing things other than making sure the tables are taken care of.

 

[pandaczar12]

I have someone on ignore in this thread and it reminded me... Speaking of areas of decline, even our resident board trolls have gone way down hill. They are probably only checking in on BWI between waiting on tables.

 

[BBrown]

The benefit of the self checkout line is that I can it can get you out of the store more quickly. There can be more open stations if you don't have to pay someone to stand there. The problem is people don't know how to use them. Even worse, people think that the limit in the express lines don't apply to them. I don't care if someone has 13 items in the express lane. But a cart full of groceries happens way too often.

Those are all true and I will fully admit I don't know how to do it when I have produce.

 

[JWB389]

Home Depot has become a notoriously horrible place to work over the past 5-10 years, so holding onto those knowledgeable employees has become next to impossible. Just about everyone knowledgeable I knew who worked there in the past has quit and moved on to elsewhere doing other things.

I've posted here in the past that I worked for a short stint in the HD Supply Chain network. After Nardelli left, they put a huge push on establishing themselves as a premium customer service organization. It sounds like they weren't able to sustain that in the eyes of most consumers.

While I was there, they completely revamped the supply chain. I got to experience the growing pains of that process. Not fun at all. I was just a square peg in a round hole at that place. It was just an odd environment.

 

[stf110]

+1.
and since we are all venting or ranting, allow me to rant on about "self checkout" lines.
Fine, you want me to do "self chekout" then take 10% off my bill, seeing as how I'm saving you thousands in salary and health care by doing it myself.

Self checkout makes me more likely to shop somewhere then less because if I am just getting a few things I can be in and out and not have to actually be stuck in line with a bunch of bozos trying to write a check, or argue over expired coupons, or who swear they are entering the correct pin number, or them idly chit chatting to the cashier for 5 minutes about random crap. I

 

[Mace54]

A nice place opened up down the road from me less than a mile from my home. Won't say the name. First time there I ordered a lemon-drop martini. The barkeep proceeded to make it with fresh lemon juice. Puckered me up pretty good. I educated him on the proper recipe. We went there at least once a month for the next year. Loved the clams casino appetizer. Six clams on the half shell with a nice tomato sauce and bacon. In about 10 months they reduced it to three small clams. The last time I ordered it was when it came to our table and smelled horrible. It was bad clams or bad bacon. Quality and service slipped at this place. Never returned. I'm a loyal customer if I get steady quality and service.

 

[Mace54]

Don't get me started on Home Depot. I had them quote a job to do seamless gutters on my home back in May. They still have not started the job. I called them at least ten times, and they have only returned my calls twice. Horrible, horrible service.

 

[PeetzPoolBoy]

This country could benefit from a deep and prolonged economic depression so that people once again learned the importance of having a strong work ethic.

 

[psu1969a]

I'm usually more surprised by receiving good service in a restaurant, bar, or retail store.

"Lower your expectations," as a wise man once said.

There are several Centre County establishments I refuse to patronize due to their poor service and/or food.

"several Centre County establishments I refuse to patronize..." . You are a generous soul. We are going to restaurants/pubs in Bellefonte, Hublersburg, Lock Haven and Altoona trying to find editable food and decent service. Will say the service at both Original Waffle Shops and The Tavern are very good.

 

[sluggo72]

Those are all true and I will fully admit I don't know how to do it when I have produce.

if I have to use those things, I make sure everything has a bar code, and if for some reason it doesnt, I either dont buy it or go to the other line. Same thing buying beer (which you can buy in a grocery store) when you scan it , you have to wait for someone to verify you are 21, most times they arent 21!!!

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

We have a restaurant in rural America. We kicked out the meth heads and decided to hire clean people, some young, mostly retired and pay them respectable wages with a percent of the net added on as bonus. We (my wife and I) figured that the employees were just like us and wanted reward for their effort. We are also on premise (not a franchise that has brought back feudalism to the work force) with arms length ownership.

Another policy that helps us keep good employees in our business is that "The customer is not always right." Customers that are assholes, rude, abusive in any way of any employee, spouse, other customer or onlooker is summarily identified and walked to the Exit sign after being informed they are never to enter our premises again. Too many customer butt kissing lackeys with negative outlooks toward their employees own and run restaurants. The result is they get bad employees... go figure!

 

[LionDeNittany]

if I have to use those things, I make sure everything has a bar code, and if for some reason it doesnt, I either dont buy it or go to the other line. Same thing buying beer (which you can buy in a grocery store) when you scan it , you have to wait for someone to verify you are 21, most times they arent 21!!!

The 21 year old thing doesn't really fit within any other constraints in this country. I love this video for an explanation on why it still exists:

 

[sluggo72]

Don't get me started on Home Depot. I had them quote a job to do seamless gutters on my home back in May. They still have not started the job. I called them at least ten times, and they have only returned my calls twice. Horrible, horrible service.

not trying to bust chops here, but why would you go HD for seamless gutters? There seems to be many of them out there, just asking.

 

[PS4814]

I blame management for the poor service at restaurants/retail. They are the ones running the show, hiring the staff, providing the training, evaluating and "correcting" if things go wrong. I'm a believer in the "When the cat's away the mice will play" motto and if there is poor service that's a reflection on the type of supervision that is taking place. This usually occurs due to the Peter principle whereby people are promoted to their level of incompetence - leading to many people in management positions without the skills necessary to lead properly.

 

[ForesterGump]

I must be fortunate, or maybe I'm not so picky. At home, I go to mainly the same places, so they know me. I have never had problems. The wait staff in these places are usually older, and carry on a good banter with the customers. I think this may be where some of the younger staff misses out on the customer service.

I was at Ocean City, MD in the beginning of the month. I didn't have any problems with wait staff there, either. If drinks are a little late, I roll with it. I'm not going to allow things make me upset and make an unpleasant situation.

I try not to hit a restaurant or bar during their really crowded times. I always engage the wait staff in conversation. It makes a more pleasurable experience for all parties.

The worst customer relations I've ever had is in the financial sector. It takes a long time for them to get things straight on accounts and they have hoops to jump through.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

"several Centre County establishments I refuse to patronize..." . You are a generous soul. We are going to restaurants/pubs in Bellefonte, Hublersburg, Lock Haven and Altoona trying to find editable food and decent service. Will say the service at both Original Waffle Shops and The Tavern are very good.

Yeah, the Bellefonte Waffle Shop is a total trainwreck. I can't speak for the downtown location, but North Atherton & West College are pretty good IMO.

Otto's is one of the few places in town that has consistency on the rare occasion I make it there. I don't understand the fascination with The Field, HVBC, and Champs. Pathetic service and mediocre food abound at each of them.

 

[BBrown]

The old adage "it's hard to find good help nowadays" is ringing true. With close to full statistical employment, it is hard to hire good people. I see it everywhere I shop/eat in a customer service setting.

Wife and I were at a retail establishment in the Lehigh Valley recently. At least 5 employees walked past us and completely ignored us before we could grab somebody for help. It was funny because it was obvious they were desperately trying to avoid eye contact.

Its funny but the few fastfood places around me that have very good service have mostly "elderly" people waiting on the customers. The one Fastfood restaurant that seems to do an exceptional job of training their wait staff is Chick-Fil-a
The worst is Popeyes.

 

[MJG-90]

Quality and service slipped at this place. Never returned. I'm a loyal customer if I get steady quality and service.

This is far too common. A place opens and they are staffed properly and everyone is doing their best to please all customers. Then the newness wears off and the number of customers declines. The establishment panics and reduces staff (to lower levels than they should), raises prices and lessens their product.

 

[Carl Spackler]

The 21 year old thing doesn't really fit within any other constraints in this country. I love this video for an explanation on why it still exists:

View embedded media

Banning T?, does than mean mandatory castration to play big league ball? Ironic isn't it. To play ball you can't have any? Or is it only T-ball?

Congressman Nostrilitis is confusing me. I can understand he may not know the exact fact for every question queried but to know none may be a record or is he just one of the herd? Thanks for posting the video Ldn.

 

[MJG-90]

Otto's is one of the few places in town that has consistency on the rare occasion I make it there.

I went to Otto's once. They overcooked my burger (why can't any restaurants make a medium rare burger?). They wanted to make me another, but I was on my way to a hockey game and didn't have the time to wait. They comped my beer instead, which was a pleasant surprise. I'm used to getting a discount on my food. The two beers were as much or more than the burger if I recall correctly.

I'll go back to a place that treats me right. Unfortunately, the wife isn't a fan of places like Otto's, so I haven't had the opportunity to return.

 

[Zone-Blitz]

The absolute worst fast food chain is Moe’s Southwest Grill. I love their food, but every store has food all over the floors, tables, dirty bathrooms and kids working there who are more interested in chit chat or checking their phones instead of serving or cleaning . I rarely ever see a responsible adult working there as a manager

 

[JWB389]

This is far too common. A place opens and they are staffed properly and everyone is doing their best to please all customers. Then the newness wears off and the number of customers declines. The establishment panics and reduces staff (to lower levels than they should), raises prices and lessens their product.

Something I've noticed at work (not in retail/dining). I have a customer service group that reports to me. Customers are having higher expectations of service relative to what they are willing to pay. Example without getting into too much detail, my company offers a FREE service that requires us to coordinate with outside suppliers. People go nuts if execution isn't perfect. I've had people work their way up to me and actually complain that they were not happy with our service. In every case, the caller fails to understand the service commitment and that they are not paying for it.

 

[swordsman_l]

Had pretty poor service at a restaurant in Dewey Beach this wknd. Waitress wasn't slow, but just no help with the menus (describing entrees in a bit more detail) and borderline rude.

I usually tip 20+% for good service. I wasn't sure how much to give her. In the end it was about 15% because I saw busboys and servers working and I didn't want to stiff them.

 

[BBrown]

I'm usually more surprised by receiving good service in a restaurant, bar, or retail store.

"Lower your expectations," as a wise man once said.

There are several Centre County establishments I refuse to patronize due to their poor service and/or food.

I will defend some of the restaurants in State College though. My sister owned a restaurant for more than 20 years in Shippensburg. It was a nightmare for her hiring help. College Students are constantly quitting without notice, not showing up or have other things that seem to outweigh their commitment to their employer. So I can understand why one time the service at Champs is great and the next time it sucks.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

I went to Otto's once. They overcooked my burger (why can't any restaurants make a medium rare burger?). They wanted to make me another, but I was on my way to a hockey game and didn't have the time to wait. They comped my beer instead, which was a pleasant surprise. I'm used to getting a discount on my food. The two beers were as much or more than the burger if I recall correctly.

I'll go back to a place that treats me right. Unfortunately, the wife isn't a fan of places like Otto's, so I haven't had the opportunity to return.

Interesting--sorry to hear that happened. I usually get a burger and haven't had a problem. The only trouble I've had there is slow service, which is frustrating. Food has been on-point, but nowhere is perfect.

At the other restaurants I mentioned, poorly-cooked food and abysmal service is the norm--which thankfully hasn't been my experience at Otto's.

 

[BBrown]

The absolute worst fast food chain is Moe’s Southwest Grill. I love their food, but every store has food all over the floors, tables, dirty bathrooms and kids working there who are more interested in chit chat or checking their phones instead of serving or cleaning . I rarely ever see a responsible adult working there as a manager

LOL, yea thats the other thing I see, where the "Manager" or "assistant manager" is still in their teens.

 

[ThePennsyOracle]

I will defend some of the restaurants in State College though. My sister owned a restaurant for more than 20 years in Shippensburg. It was a nightmare for her hiring help. College Students are constantly quitting without notice, not showing up or have other things that seem to outweigh their commitment to their employer. So I can understand why one time the service at Champs is great and the next time it sucks.

Still though, it's on management to ensure good service. When I order a burger done medium and it comes out barely wounded, it's a kitchen problem. Similarly when I ask what type of bun goes with a certain burger, am told "regular" but manage to get an onion bun (gross), that's a service problem. HVBC is owned by the same person and I get the same experience there too. In other words....it seems that the management, which isn't a bunch of college students....isn't stellar either.

Perhaps the worst of all is Bonfatto's in Bellefonte. The food and service there are truly ghastly.