The Truth Can Be Harsh

Shortly before Christmas, I was on a flight to Albequerque, New Mexico. I took my Food Arts Magazine to pass the time on the flight. This was the Year in Review issue. They had news and quotes from 2006. One quote that I thought summed up some of my personal feelings about eating out, was titled: "Best restaurant customer request." The quote is: "Sir, may I have a table near a waiter?" WOW, how true this statement is! In our family we like to call them the disappearing waiters/waitresses. For now I will state that I have over 30 years in the restaurant business. I think that I may be slightly qualified to comment on this topic.

How many times have you gone to a restaurant during slow and peak times, and been ignored by the waiting staff? They have to finish their story that they are telling a co-worker, or if the management allows, they have to finish that cigarette they just lit up. This is where I blame the management. We live in a fast paced age. Everybody is so busy being busy. However, in this day and age, things just never get done. I do not make this statement to insult any one's intelligence. Restaurants are of the food service industry. The key word is SERVICE! Here is the key that unlocks this problem: it's called TRAINING! And few restaurants get it.

Large chains have the hardest time understanding the "service/training" concept. However the independently owned restaurants are also plauged with this dilemma. Large chains have their focus on two things: the bottom line, and table turnover - which makes the bottom line bigger. And because they don't put any emphasis on training, they get another bonus known as employee turnover. With this bonus they are too busy hiring people, and scrambling to cover shifts instead of training their staff in the first place. This only bolsters my theory: "Everybody is too busy being busy."

The next time you go to a restaurant that you may have had problems getting service in the past, remember the best restaurant customer request for 2006.. and use it!

--Maverick Chef