Comments

It should be cumpulsory, like military service in Italy. Not just for senior managers, but on the flip side, for impatient, grumbling customers as well who don't realize the effort required to produce a quality product and service.

A healthy producer-consumer relationship requires effort on both sides, and there's nothing like a dose of waiter/waitressing to get a glimpse of both sides.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 10, 2005 10:09 AM

Fabulous idea.

I worked behind a bar part-time for 7 years to help pay the mortgage.

How wonderful it was ....

There was no 'committee' or 'customer services team'..... when the customer says 'the beer is crap'

Looking your customer in the eye, you either deal with it direct to the customer's satisfaction otherwise one of two things happens;

1 The customerleaves swearing or
2 You get the beer over you!

I never received a 'drenching' ...but came close once or twice

They can't teach that in classrooms Tom :-)

Posted by Trevor Gay at August 10, 2005 10:12 AM

My experience as a waiter taught me invaluable customer service, multi-tasking, and environmental scanning skills. I can't imagine not having that experience and periodically want to take a short-term, part-time job on the side just to refresh myself.

Posted by Jeffrey at August 10, 2005 10:23 AM

Never been a waiter, unless you count serving dinner most evenings to my five kiddies. Been a bartender for a couple years though. Got to see at a very young 17 all sorts of grown-ups and had some very interesting conversations with the regulars, but it was the out-of-towners passing through that I learned the most from, in particular a Las Vegas piano player who in one night taught me a lifelong lesson on the value of providing good customer service - tips! This was in Ireland where no matter how good your service was, you didn't get tipped. This guy came in and for some reason tipped me a pound on the first drink and a fiver on the second, more than I earned in a night, even though I really hadn't given him any better service than any other customer. All I had done was listen and pour him drinks. He was very encouraging, asking when I was coming to America and suggesting I try New York. By the time he left I'd earned more than a week's salary from his tips. But more than that, he'd painted for my young eyes a beautiful picture of America; that thoughtful, patient service is encouraged and is paid for too.

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 10, 2005 12:03 PM

Whadda Idea!!!! Sounds cool to me!

We all know the story...it costs 5 times as much to bring in a new customer, than to keep an existing one. When people become your customer, they want to be loyal. So, why do they leave? Most of the time, they leave because of small oversights and lack of attention to plain, old customer service.

Good customer service is the lifeblood of any business. You can offer promotions and slash prices to bring in as many new customers as you want, but unless you can get some of those customers to come back, your business won’t be profitable for long.

Good customer service is all about bringing customers back. And about sending them away happy – happy enough to pass positive feedback about your business along to others, who may then try the product or service you offer for themselves and in their turn become repeat customers.

How do you go about forming such a relationship? By remembering the one true secret of good customer service and acting accordingly; “You will be judged by what you do, not what you say.”

So, to conclude, all i like to say is whether ur a waitress, Mktg Manager, Cust Service Rep, CEO or anybody who interacts with your customers, jus keep in mind the following: -

a) Build Business to Customer Loyalty
b) Provide true customer service
c) The Customer Is always Right
d) Be honest with your customers
e) Educate your staff to be equally as concerned about your customers as you are

Posted by K.Sriram (from India) at August 10, 2005 12:11 PM

I live just down the street from Zingerman's Bakehouse (another Zingerman's business) in Ann Arbor and am inspired everytime I walk in there by a sign prominently displayed above the entrance to the baking room:

"We are passionately committed to the relentless pursuit of being the best bakery we can imagine."

From the wonderful service I've always gotten there - and the terrific baked goods they produce - this statement clearly is not just a hollow slogan. Perhaps because the company's founders began on the front lines, they have been able to instill that passion for excellence, with credibility, in their staff.

Posted by Beth Stoner at August 10, 2005 12:37 PM

It'll never happen. Being in customer service, including as a waitress, is seen by nose-in-the-air managers as a demeaning job that anybody can do, and they're beyond that now.

Thing is, the higher up you go, the more people skills you need. And I can't think of any better way to get those people skills than in a job where public contact is your job.

I think the reason it's not taught at Harvard or Stanfurd is because you just can't learn this in a class. You gotta absorb it via osmosis in a job at a call center, Zingerman's, Cal Worthington Chevrolet, Rainforest Cafe, or Wal-Mart. (Note: that eeeeevil book "Built To Last" mentions that all new employees at Nordstrom start on the floor as salespeople.)

Posted by Ron at August 10, 2005 12:54 PM

Ron, I agree, there's no better way to get people skills than doing a job where you have to deal with the public and in my view the best experience anyone can have in business is a stint in sales because it's the best way to learn business.

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 10, 2005 2:36 PM

Last time we hired someone for receptionist-front office in our small firm we took the waitress of 5 years over the better educated candidate. Our needs there require people skills, and she has them.

Posted by Ted at August 10, 2005 3:55 PM

Ok, what restaurants have you been eating at? Sure, I occasionally come across great service. But 7 out of 10 times I barely get eye contact or a thank you at a restaurant. Maybe it's because I live in So. Cal and the service people are all pining away for either the surf or a career in "entertainment".

(Yes...I do get your point, though.)

Posted by Tom F at August 10, 2005 6:59 PM

Totally agree re working as a waiter/waitress! I learned invaluable coping and people skills dealing with drunken rodeo cowboys when working my way through college as a cocktail waitress and bartender in a country/western "live music" club (aka honky-tonk) in rural Oklahoma. Boomer, Sooner Indeed.

Posted by Mary Schmidt at August 10, 2005 7:21 PM

I agree. Until you've done it, you can't begin to understand all that's involved, especially behind the scenes. Nonetheless, on occasion, and after over 10 years of being out of the business, I still have dreams of being slammed, multiple items being "86'd" and no clean silverware. But it was worth it, literally.

Posted by julia at August 10, 2005 10:40 PM

The great thing about waiting tables compared to management of any kind (or teaching!) is the IMMEDIATE accountability. You do a great job, you get great tips. Do a crappy job- crappy tips. No way to disguise the latter situation with BS, jargon, or the like.

There's no substitute for immediate feedback (especially when it hits you in the wallet).

...

Posted by AJ Hoge at August 11, 2005 5:11 AM

I just think that all CEOs should have to wear aprons and hair nets to eliminate physical perceptions of power and status...making them prove their worth in their actions rather than by their power ties.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 11, 2005 7:00 AM

Tom O', would color should the aprons be? Solids, dots or stripes? Or maybe a combination? Careful how you answer. There may very well be a potential employer tuning in (probably Microsoft) who are bound to like the idea of the hair nets, but the color of the aprons could prove decisive. My vote is for putty. It'll match the furniture.

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 11, 2005 5:22 PM

Personally, I would go for the classic solid white with thin black edging and pockets for a pad and pens.

I'd be going for the opposite effect that a good power tie, like http://www.thinkgeek.com/apparel/ties/69be/ will muster.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 11, 2005 6:01 PM

No colors?

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 11, 2005 6:42 PM

Tom / Noel - hmmm - this looks like the world of Japanese management, where everyone wears the same colour overalls and it all looks single-status but there are certain subtle distinctions like where you sit at the table and where your office or work station is situated. Personally, I think everyone should have really lairy, technicolour overalls of their own choice. No reserved parking spots. No Director's dining rooms. Clean toilets everywhere. And everyone should work on the factory floor cleaning team for half a day per month.

Posted by Mark JF at August 12, 2005 5:39 AM

absolutely! the "color" should be introduced by action rather than style. For the same reason, I like the idea of school uniforms. In Ireland, where all schools have uniforms, there is very little conflict amongst school children because they aren't comparing who has cooler sneakers and they demonstrate their worth in action rather than style.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 12, 2005 6:50 AM

I really like the techicolor overalls idea but it might work better with a straw hat instead of a hair net.

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 12, 2005 7:08 AM

Why hats? Why not require everyone to get their hair highlighted and dyed?

Posted by Mark JF at August 12, 2005 7:25 AM

Well if the McDonalds uniform design idea catches on, a P. Diddy bling bling style might be all the rage in corporate headquarters throughout the country.

I'm sure you've heard about the Warden from Oklahoma (?) that parades his convicts around in pink underwear. Now, would Mr. Gates consider something along that line for his execs?

By humbling appearance, there will be feverish efforts made to be taken seriously through action!

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 12, 2005 10:09 AM

I agree. To hell with the hats. Let's shave them bald. Might improve their cranial capabilities if there's no hair between their brains and the blue yonder. I can see Bill Gates now, decked out in his multi-colored apron, bald as a coot, giving a Powerpoint presentation to institutional investors. Sure to send the stock flying!

And do you know why that warden dresses his convicts in pink underwear (and incidentally, also paints their cells pink)? Because the color pink has been scientifically proven to eliminate a man's aggressive tendencies. He's using it to help control violent criminals and so run a more peaceful and pleasant prison. Last I heard it was working.

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 12, 2005 10:52 AM

Exactly Noel. They've been using pink in mental asylums for years now as a measure to calm potentially aggressive 'guests'.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 12, 2005 3:09 PM

I'd like to be able to say I haven't been in a mental institution, but I have. Visiting friends. One was taken to a 'public' institution. Another to a private 'hospital'. Both were awful places. Neither used pink. The walls were a depressing gray-green in the public place and a Martha Stewart-like almond in the private.

Have you read One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest? I thought the book was much better than the movie. Ken Kesey's characters were in my view on a par with with any of the greats, though I think he was a one hit wonder. Wikipedia says he wrote another book that was made into a movie (Sometimes A Great Notion) starring Paul Newman and won two academy awards, but I hadn't heard of it.

Mr. Kesey died in 2001. There's another person that I would love to have met and spoken with and now never will.

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 12, 2005 3:28 PM

I suppose that I shouldn't have made it sound like the use of pink was widespread in asylums, Noel. Like the jail using the color in Oklahoma, there were/are perhaps only a few using it in asylums. I agree, having been in institutionalized environments over the years (my sister has schizophrenia) that the majority of them are not so concerned about color schemes...as most jails aren't concerned with redecorating thier cells...even though something as simple can have dramatic effects!

Loved One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, but never heard of Sometimes a Great Notion...looks really good though (1971 and filmed entirely on location amid genuine logging communities in Oregon)

Synopsis

Newman's second directorial outing presents Ken Kesey's brawling family drama of lumbermen in the Northwest. Fonda's the patriarch of a timber business in Oregon that includes his sons, Newman and Jaeckel. The old man puts his business and his family's lives in danger when he refuses to honor a strike by other logging companies. After threats and the destruction of their trucks, the family, now including half-brother Sarrazin, make a desperate decision to float their logs downriver. The family is further sundered when Newman's wife Remick gets involved with Sarrazin. A stirring drama that deserves another viewing. Academy Award Nominations: Best Supporting Actor: Richard Jaeckel; Best Song ("All His Children").

Cast

Henry Fonda, Richard Jaeckel, Linda Lawson, Cliff Potts, Lee Remick, Michael Sarrazin

Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 13, 2005 4:41 AM

So Paul Newman directed and starred in it. Always liked Paul Newman. He wrote a book about building his Newman's Own range of salad dressings which grew into a food product empire, ALL of the profits from which were (and still are) donated to charity and used to build summer vacation camps for sick children (The Hole In The Wall Gang camps all over the world). The book's called Shameless Exploitation and was written with his pal, A.E. Hotchner. Someone on this forum mentioned it a little while back and I bought it.

If you're interested in reading what it was like for two well-intentioned and down to earth blokes to build a business from scratch, a business dominated by much bigger competitors, and succeed at doing it beyond their wildest dreams while at the same time build something even more worthwhile for kids, you might enjoy Newman's book.

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 13, 2005 7:36 AM

Hooray for you...no more boring business books, please.

I'm personally taking your advice to heart. Who knows, perhaps you'll endorse the one I'm working on someday.

And, yes, everyone should walk a mile or fifty in a front line job before they ever get handed the reigns in management. It certainly paid off for me...still does.

Hoteliers can teach a thing or two to those IBM'rs as well...I make an attempt to wipe out the Verizon types through education, www.michaelchaffin.com online ordering viagra australia

Posted by Michael Chaffin at August 14, 2005 10:46 PM

Tom O'Leary and Noel - I was trying to sleep but too many projects running through my mind so I got up and pulled up this site to see what the guys were up too - both of you gave me such a big laugh - I loved your bantering...I remember my first day as a waitress in a very popular rest. in New York. It was packed with business men. I was carrying one of those large platters that carries several plates on it out of the kitchen into the dining area when a rat paused at the edge of the aisle and then ran right over my feet. I saw him and at that point, lost my composure and the platter lifted off and went sailing up over the heads of the customers and landed on about l5 customers..The broken crockery and burgers and fries and soup and salads and drinks were dribbling down the heads of helpless customers...there is just not too much you can say in a situation like that...Sorry just doesn't make it...It took about an hour to clean the mess up, comp their lunches, reorder, promise to pay for the cleaning bills, mop, wipe, clean, etc. etc. and that was just the first day on the job. O' for the good ole' days. Amazingly, I didn't lose that job..and my customer service skills (I told jokes while I was cleaning) kept all those men returning to see what disaster awaited me the next day. Remind me to get rid of all the pink in my wardrobe.

Posted by suzanne g. at August 15, 2005 1:27 AM

Tom O'Leary and Noel - I was trying to sleep but too many projects running through my mind so I got up and pulled up this site to see what the guys were up too - both of you gave me such a big laugh - I loved your bantering...I remember my first day as a waitress in a very popular rest. in New York. It was packed with business men. I was carrying one of those large platters that carries several plates on it out of the kitchen into the dining area when a rat paused at the edge of the aisle and then ran right over my feet. I saw him and at that point, lost my composure and the platter lifted off and went sailing up over the heads of the customers and landed on about l5 customers..The broken crockery and burgers and fries and soup and salads and drinks were dribbling down the heads of helpless customers...there is just not too much you can say in a situation like that...Sorry just doesn't make it...It took about an hour to clean the mess up, comp their lunches, reorder, promise to pay for the cleaning bills, mop, wipe, clean, etc. etc. and that was just the first day on the job. O' for the good ole' days. Amazingly, I didn't lose that job..and my customer service skills (I told jokes while I was cleaning) kept all those men returning to see what disaster awaited me the next day. Remind me to get rid of all the pink in my wardrobe.

Posted by suzanne g. at August 15, 2005 1:27 AM

Look forward to reading your book, Michael and hope you'll comment here often.

Suzanne, did they catch the rat?

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 15, 2005 5:19 AM

No rat was ever caught..but day two in that restaurant was even more scary..I worked with a young guy who had a side splitting sense of humor and wore glasses that were honest to God bottlecaps. They looked like funny glasses you see on Halloween. They were at least an inch thick. His glasses had a screw loose and they fell off his face and he stepped on them..he feels his way into the kitchen and told me what happened. Now he was blind without those suckers. He was servicing a party of 10 and there was another hugh platter filled with plates, glasses, etc. and he says I need the money, please help me. He lifts that platter up and says "I'll just hold on to you and you lead me to the table." The rest is history. I was his eyes the rest of the afternoon. I don't know if anyone got their right order that day since the guy couldn't see what he was serving. Needless to say, I drank rather heavily at the end of the day. I think he and I drank enough white russians to fly there by ourselves. I will never forget that restaurant as long as I live. It was my first job in NYC and I had never waitressed in my life. I'm not sure if it taught me invaluable customer service skills ( I had to have a bodyguard when I left at the end of my shift to protect me from the customers), multi-tasking (O'yeah!) and environmental scanning skills (what the heck is that, Jeffrey??) what it did teach me was there had to be another way to make money.

Posted by Suzanne G at August 15, 2005 9:05 AM

Suzanne, you'd love Fawlty Towers with John Cleese! I'm not sure they ran it in the States, but it was a big hit on this side of the water - all about life in an English B&B (one of the episodes is all about a rat). I think they filmed the entire series in a matter of weeks and for my money it's one of the funniest shows ever made.

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 15, 2005 9:15 AM

Noel...I'm laughing just thinking about some of the Fawlty Towers episodes here! I second your motion! The Office (UK Version) should be required viewing as well!

...and speaking of Fawlty Towers...

During one wedding reception at the castle, everything was running smoothly as usual (after a few hundred, it becomes somewhat robotic even though I was certain to tell the staff that each one is different, because each couple is different, etc.). Well, I announced the bride and groom into the wedding breakfast and the team went into swift motion, taking orders, pouring wine, etc. I tallied up the orders for the chef, and barked them out: 67 crab roulette, 79 mushroom roulade, 89 Beef, 57 Salmon! "You're kidding, right" said the chef. "No", said I. "Well, we have a different feckin' menu in here than they have out there!" "Oh shit!" One of the best lessons one can learn from hotel/restaurant work is CONFLICT RESOLUTION!

overnight united states viagra Posted by Tom O'Leary at August 15, 2005 5:22 PM

Fawlty Towers played in the States and is also available on video and DVD. The anagrams were a funny touch, but most couldn't be repeated here! I'm not sure something like this would play well in the US today due to the hyper-sensitivity everyone is forced to display about foreigners and others. But, pay no mind to me, I'm from Barcelona!

Posted by Manuel at August 16, 2005 7:50 AM

When I'm not writing magazine columns, I manage a store in one of the UK's most popular tourist areas, selling a mixture of fashion and practical clothing and equipment aimed at the walking/outdoor pursuits market.

At the moment our customer base is quite varied - enthusiasts, occasional walkers, bird watchers, climbers, cyclists, tourists, those enjoying retirement, mums in search of jackets for kids returning to school and an ever-increasing number of chavs...

As ever, we've been short of staff recently due to illness and we've been run off our feet by the number of customers coming through our doors at times, but we still offer what I believe to be very good customer service.

We're honest about the products we sell, we let people know the potential pitfalls as well as the benefits of items such as waterproof shoes (yes, they keep the water out, but when it gets warm, sweat issues become evident...)and do recommend other retailers in town when we're faced with a request for products that we don't sell or are out of stock of at any given time.

One thing we have noticed recently is that we've had a high proportion of female couples shopping in our store and that the numbers are increasing. We're putting this down to word of mouth from two or three couples who visited the store three or four months ago...

In our store, team work also counts and I'm as likely to be found sweeping the floor as I am examining weekly sales analysis sheets. Okay, I'm the boss, but I don't ask anything from my staff that I wouldn't do myself which is possibly why I get staff members volunteering to work extra shifts on a weekend at short notice in order to keep sales running through the till by keeping those levels of customer service at the high end of the scale.

Cheers

Keith

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Posted by Keith Rickaby at August 17, 2005 2:14 AM

Manuel, you're one of my favorite characters.

Posted by Noel Guinane at August 17, 2005 2:30 AM

How right you are Tom! Big boring business books just don't cut it unless you're an academic. I bought 'The Little Red Book of Sales' on your advice and it has been extremely helpful, and also, just love Marcus Buckingham's 'The One Thing you Need to Know' that you also recommended. Thank you very much.

In Australia, the service edict is "She'll be right mate". Well, she won't be right because we need to lift our service levels so that our fantastic tourism opportunities aren't lost. Has anyone had a great Australian service experience? I'd love to hear about it!

Posted by Margaret Harrison at August 25, 2005 11:01 PM