know your stuff!

I'm so tired of going to restaurants who have good food, a good atmosphere and then poor service. I have a restaurant here locally that I have been to several times because I genuinely like the food. I have never had a bad meal there. Unfortunately I have only had one good server in all the times I have been there.

So let me speak to all the servers out there!

SERVERS:

1. Make eye contact and smile when talking to your guests
2. KNOW your menu and your specials. Don't read them off of a list. Explain them to your guests.
3. Suggest items. Suggest your favorite appetizer, drink or entree.
4. Upsell. If you know what would make a drink better.... suggest it!
5. Anticipate. Be looking for ways to make your guest more comfortable.
6. Don't say, "I don't know" unless it is followed by "but give me a minute and I'll find out."

Okay, I'll stop for now. But servers, remember that YOU determine the amount of your tip.

Take note!

In Elkhart, Indiana we have a very large hispanic population. The Latino owned businesses are everywhere. As a lover of Mexican food, I often find myself in the taquerias and markets.
Sadly there is still prejudice alive and well in Indiana. Often I hear comments about "the Mexicans". There is a stigma attached to their businesses as if they are someplace to avoid and be afraid of. I couldn't disagree more!

My frequent experiences at these Hispanic owned businesses has been nothing but fantastic! The level of customer service provided should be a model for most of the "American" owned businesses in my area.

The service provided at Ricky's Burritos on Prairie St. in Elkhart is the best I have had in years. They are fast, personable, efficient and knowledgeable. I wish McDonalds and Burger King could say the same!

Here are some other opinions:
http://andrewtaylorrecommends.blogspot.com/2006/08/best-of-elkhart-rickys-taqueria.html

http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?id=370984

Am I welcome?

I try to be positive in this blog. My goal is to highlight outstanding customer service. But.... once in a while I have an experience that isn't positive, but I just think it needs to be shared.



Recently I took my daughter to a locally owned restaurant that is sort of an Elkhart "landmark". The restaurant has a long history that includes having served Al Capone more than once. We decided to give it a try. The handmade sign on their window said they were voted the best burger in Elkhart. I couldn't help but notice there were no burgers listed on the menu. Very odd.

this restaurant was obviously a family run institution. The best way to describe our feeling was this: Have you ever gone to a party or even where you felt like the "outsider"? You know, the feeling that everyone knows everyone and everyone belongs there... except you? That was it. The server (who was probably one of the owners) treated us like "outsiders". It became very obvious when some "regulars" came in shortly after us and she was an entirely different person. So, needless to say, we won't be back. Little did she know that we may have become a "regular" if she had treated us like one instead of an outsider.

Oh, I didn't bother to ask where the hamburger was on the menu. I figured if they didn't care enough about it to put it on the menu, then it was worth ordering.

Never underestimate the power of....

A SMILE! I'm amazed at how an experience at a place of business can be taken up several notches if the customer service person adds a genuine, warm SMILE! I've had a couple of experiences lately where the service wasn't all that spectacular, but the person taking care of me was warm, personable and had a nice big smile. Don't let the smile go!

Now there's a good thought!

"Any seeming deception in a statement is costly, not only in the expense of the advertising but in the detrimental effect produced upon the customer, who believes she has been misled."
--John Wanamaker, member, Advertising Hall of Fame

Best of 2007

What are the best customer service, shopping, eating experiences of 2007? I'll share some of my mine, but I want to hear yours first. Tell me about it.

a fresh response to something not so fresh!

I'll admit it... I'm a die hard bargain hunter, a total sucker for a red tag. Here in Indiana we have a great chain of stores from Michigan called Meijers. Meijers carries everything from from clothing to groceries. (Its my preferred alternative to the world wide chain out of Arkansas) One of the things I enjoy is doing my grocery shopping on Monday after the weekend rush. On Mondays I can get meat on clearance at because it didn't sell over the weekend. I have made many purchases like this and never had a negative experience...until last week. I bought a chicken and went to use it the next day but discovered it did not smell like anything I cared to eat. I threw the meat away and decided to just count it as a loss since I had not kept my receipt (I'm not in the habit of keeping my grocery receipts). Later that week I was in my Meijer store (Goshen, Indiana) and decided to just let the service desk know what had happened. I told the employee there that I expected nothing, but was simply letting them know that they might want to be more careful in the future. She promptly called her manager and asked him to come talk to me. I told him what had happened and assured him that I expected nothing in but was simply informing him. He asked me what I had paid for the meat and I told him it was merely $4 and no big deal. He turned to the customer service desk and told them to take $10 from the drawer and give it to me. Now THAT'S customer service. As far as he was concerned I could have been making the entire story up, but to him it was more important to him that Meijers go the extra mile and retain a loyal customer than to require me to have a "receipt". By the way, before he offered me the $10 I had already told him that this single "bad meat" experience would not keep me from shopping at Meijers in the future.

Thank you Meijers for a FRESH take on customer service!!!

http://www.meijer.com/home.jsp