U Rite There?
By Rod
Eime
I simply detest bad service and I make no apologies for it.
I’m just back from a couple of weeks in New Zealand
where I toured the countryside sampling a variety of businesses,
small and large, from Wellington to Christchurch.
The experience drove home to me why our Kiwi cousins are
sky-rocketing in the world tourism stakes. As far as down-home,
friendly service, New Zealanders leave us for dead.
Taking my two primary school-age kids for a meal at a popular
hamburger restaurant reminded me of the depths of our service
ineptitude.
Gone are the smiles, the cheery greetings and the genuine
effort to give the customer a positive experience. Instead
I got a surly glaze, a convincing rendition of that most hair-raising
greeting; “U Rite?” - and a free long wait.
And it’s not just poorly trained teenage drop-outs in
tacky takeaways that goad my ire. Dining at a half-decent
seafood restaurant recently, I drew the manager’s attention
to a crab with an unhealthy aroma of toilet cleaner. “I’ve
checked with the cook sir, and he says it’s fine,”
was the condescending response. Since when does a cook season
crustaceans with Harpic?
Now I’m the first to admit not all customers are deserving
of one’s best service effort. But I contend that when
faced with a difficult and unyielding client, your skills
in customer service are quickly exposed.
Contempt for the customer’s money is a sure-fire recipe
for financial failure, yet some Aussies clearly resent the
intrusion of cash-wielding customers eating into their leisure
time behind the counter.
So what am I really complaining about? The key is training:
training for managers and training for staff. There simply
is no excuse for poor service in a climate of high business
failure, troubling unemployment and increased competitiveness.
Staff can’t answer phones properly, can’t greet
customers, can’t spell and sometimes can’t even
talk.
Who hires these people?!
I call upon customers – and that’s all of us –
to revolt against shoddy service. Commend that waiter or staff-member
for good service and remind others that their standards do
not meet your expectations!
So when next challenged with, “You right there?”
respond in a loud, confident tone;
“Of course I’m right, I’m the customer!”
Roderick Eime is a freelance travel writer and photographer
but cannot forget his time in corporate management.
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