The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - July 20, 2001

I am in Massachusetts for my niece's wedding on Saturday, then home for nearly two weeks! Should be just enough time to get my taxes done!

DOES ANYBODY CARE . . . REVISITED
Last week I shared a horror story of a luncheon experience in California. In turn, Leslie Strickland of The Bakery in Odessa, Texas sent this little report along. It shows how a similar situation can be turned around just with a little demonstrated personal concern.

I have positive feedback regarding a bad restaurant experience. I just returned from vacation in the South. We were dining at a fairly busy but no wait for a table national chain restaurant in Foley, AL. My husband, two teenage children and I were seated immediately by a nice hostess and given menus. Two waiters were serving the tables around us and three other waitstaff passed our table several times in the next 15 minutes. No one made eye contact or a move to serve us. I left the table and notified the hostess that we had not been waited on or even greeted. I was not angry or upset, just hungry. She apologized and one of the two waitstaff in our area greeted us, apologized for the wait telling us he hadn't been notified that he had received a table. He apologized numerous times during the meal for the inconvenience (which I thought was excessive) and we received great service, a delicious meal and when it was time to receive the check the waiter informed us that the Manager had picked up our check. We were not upset and told the waiter and the manager that it was not necessary, they insisted. We thanked them and left a very nice tip. I will definitely return there next time we visit. I have had very bad meals at other places where no one seemed to care. This was an eye-opener, the way managers should care about patrons.

NON-FOOD INGREDIENTS
I have been eating at a few restaurants on this trip that have reminded me again what a energy drop I get when I am served non-food ingredients. I don't mean that these items are not actually food, only that they have no flavor, no texture, no visual interest and do absolutely nothing to enhance the meal experience. Those of you who have been subscribers for awhile know that I feel this way about pre-grated parmesan-like cheese from a can. (It has all the interest and taste of sawdust!) To this, please add processed turkey logs. iceberg lettuce, underripe tomatoes and packaged croutons. To take shortcuts like this with your guests is, to my mind, criminal. For example, it doesn't take much more effort or cost that much more to use real turkey as opposed to the processed product. OK, it really does cost more and take more effort . . . but the quality of the sandwich you produce will be light years ahead and you will stand out from your competitors, most of whom are trying to make it easy for themselves rather than making it memorable for their guests!

Repeat as necessarythis restaurant is run for the enjoyment and pleasure of our guests, not for the convenience of the staff or the owners.

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