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Regular or Irregular?
By: Patrick Maguire
Book Chapter: Customer Hall of Fame
Posted: 07/27/2010
Restaurant workers are a unique breed. Cagey veterans are durable, resourceful and irreverently funny. They’ve seen and heard it all. They put their game face on and deliver great hospitality shift after shift, double after double, week after week. Despite their resiliency, it’s hard to always be the life of the party when they’re running on fumes, the laundry and errands are piling up at home, and funds are tight. The daily grind takes its toll on even the most seasoned servers.
A good friend of mine was working a double last week on an outside patio during the heat wave in Boston. When I touched her back and kissed her cheek to say hello she was sweating so much that she was clammy. The air conditioning was so ineffective at the restaurant that she spent her forty-five minute break in her car with the AC cranking. Despite her predicament, she was still joking and smiling—a true professional.
I’ve been working with and talking to restaurant workers for more than twenty eight years, and one thing that keeps them going, along with their sense of humor, is their good, repeat customers. Regulars can be lifesavers, or be the bane of a server’s existence.
Frequent flyer credits don’t guarantee you good regular status in a restaurant. Many repeat customers are loathed by the staff. The very sight of them evokes a visceral reaction nearly impossible to disguise. I’ve heard several of these gems bragging to their friends about what a “regular” they were, while the staff ridicules and curses them. A lot of bad regulars are clueless.
So what separates a good regular from an irregular?
I used to frequent a Boston restaurant so often that the GM put my name into the Micros computer system under “Maintenance” as a joke, and told me that he had punched the time clock for me if I was running late. (Hopefully I wasn’t high maintenance.) An extremely eccentric woman, with darting eyes, also frequented the same restaurant. She always sat alone with her book at the bar and rarely said a word to anyone. Without fail, if you sat close to her, she would lift her head from her book, stare into your eyes, and lean in to listen to your conversation, never looking away—very awkward and creepy. Naturally the staff dubbed her, “The Listener.” (All restaurant regulars have nicknames.)
At another restaurant I frequented, a very loquacious, clinging regular was notorious for sidling up to customers at the bar, befriending them, convincing them to let her try a bite of their food, and then eating a good portion of it. She was a mooch, and I was often a victim until I caught on to her ruse. I distinctly remember her saying, I love this place. Everyone shares their food. I bit my tongue, but wanted to reply, No they don’t, you steal it!
Kat, a reader and commenter on this blog writes, Regulars, the kind that make you smile when you see them sit in your section, who remember your name, just like you remember theirs, who take an interest in you as a human being, not just the purveyor of sustenance, are absolutely the best. The ones that have cared enough to ask for my name (I don’t generally volunteer it) and to remember it, who notice that I love my job and genuinely appreciate the way in which I do it, those people are the reason I go to work. These stupendous customers are probably about 20% of the total, just like the truly difficult ones, but they make it so much easier to deal with the other 80% and are always a great reminder of the reasons I’m in the service industry.
Serving fellow human beings food and drink is an intimate and personal experience. Great hospitality is a two-way street. If you frequent a restaurant, it is incumbent upon you to know if you’re a good regular or just a regular pain in the ass. Let’s open the discussion up to restaurant industry experts, and every other service industry worker to clarify the difference.
Please describe your favorite regulars. What do they say and do that makes them enjoyable to serve? What sets them apart from other guests?
Please describe the irregulars that make you cringe when they walk through the door. What makes them so difficult? Do they try to use their frequent flyer status to curry favor? Do you think they have any clue that they’re a royal pain in the ass? How do you and your co-workers deal with them? What are their nicknames and why? What would you tell them if you could?
Please forward this post to anyone who might want to join the conversation. Thank you.
Permalink | Posted in Customer Hall of Fame, Customer Hall of Shame | 11 Comments »
Rearranging the Furniture
By: Patrick Maguire
Book Chapter: Customer Hall of Shame
Posted: 07/17/2010
I was in a casual sandwich shop/bakery last week and witnessed another one of the “19%” of impolite, disrespectful or downright rude customers that we have identified and quantified thus far. Some days it seems like the number is a lot higher than 19%.
The joint is a Starbucks wannabe, casual place where people hang out at the counter facing the street on their laptops and electronic devices. I always sit at the diner-like counter, but there is also full table service. For some reason I see a lot of people paying their bills when I walk by, possibly waiting for their laundry to cycle through around the corner.
While I was enjoying my sandwich, a customer walked in and headed for a stool facing the street. After settling in he proceeded to unplug the light fixture that was hanging above his head, placed it on the counter and plugged his cell phone charger into the outlet overhead. He never asked permission or said a word to any of the employees.
The Chef/Manager was all over it and gently requested that he put the light back and use an unoccupied outlet. My server acknowledged my incredulous look and muttered, “You have no idea how much entitlement we deal with…” Yes, my friend, I truly do.
Almost every day of the week I am amazed. Not shocked, but still amazed at what some people think is OK.
Have you witnessed customers “rearranging the furniture” without permission? Don’t even get me started about the people with the double-wide, SUV-like, baby strollers…
Permalink | Posted in Customer Hall of Shame | 16 Comments »
Pushing Back
By: Patrick Maguire
Book Chapter: Confronting without Confrontation
Posted: 07/8/2010
I heard him as soon as I entered the store. He was a well-dressed ‘gentleman’ sitting to my left on the second of four stools facing the sidewalk. He was speaking so loudly into his cell phone, that a few other customers rolled their eyes or shook their heads, resigned to his affront.
Some blog posts take several hours to plan, research and write. Others, like this one, literally almost hit me in the face. I knew this day would come, and I was ready.
After ordering my sandwich at the deli counter in the back of the Groceria, I came back up front to pay the cashier. “Loud guy”(LG) was still yammering away on his cell phone, much to the dismay of everyone in the store. While paying, I muttered, Can you believe this?, to the clerk, who shrugged in agreement, as if to say, I know man, but what can I do?
As I grabbed some napkins just two feet from LG, I pulled out my cell phone and faked an incoming call, loud enough for him to hear me.
Hey Tommy. I’m in a store and can’t talk. I’ll call you in a bit. Loud Guy neither flinched nor took the hint. His volume didn’t drop a decibel, grating on everyone within earshot. The owner and cashier fidgeted behind the counter, but said nothing.
After taking a seat at the small counter on the other side of the entrance, I assessed the situation and worked through my options. I glared at LG in disbelief twice; then shaking my head, I muttered, Quiet, loud enough for the gentleman sitting 2 stools away to respond in agreement, but apparently not loud enough to have any impact on LG.
What made the one-sided conversation even more painful is that LG was haggling with a flower shop employee in a condescending tone.
Sixty-five dollars? Come on, can’t you do the whole thing for me for fifty?, he pleaded.
After agreeing on a price, he proceeded to read off his credit card information over the phone. He interrupted and corrected the flower shop employee twice as the card numbers were read back to him for verification. While he slowly repeated the numbers as if he were speaking to a child, I reached my limit.
I calmly but deliberately turned to LG and said,
Excuse me, out of respect for everyone you’re sharing public space with, could you please lower your volume or take the call outside?
The elderly gentleman sitting 2 stools away from LG immediately looked at me as if to say, Wow. Where did that come from? My ally, sitting near me snapped a look at LG, and blurted, I agree.
The tension in the store broke as the workers and customers all stared at the man as if to say, Seriously. How could you think that was ok?
Loud Guy gave me a patronizing smirk, but immediately reduced his volume to just above a whisper.
Now came the moment of truth. Would the guy finish his call and challenge me? Would he make a snide remark when he left? Surprisingly, he picked up his belongings and left without incident or comment and continued his call on the far side of the sidewalk.
After he left, a bit shaken, I turned to the gentleman sitting next to me and said, Thank you for your support. Most people would sit there seething but put their heads down when someone speaks up. He replied, You’re welcome. I always take my calls outside, in the foyer or in the restroom away from people. It’s all about awareness.
Amen, brother. Amen.
Permalink | Posted in Confronting without Confrontation | 26 Comments »
Best Customers Ever
By: Patrick Maguire
Book Chapter: Customer Hall of Fame
Posted: 06/30/2010
As promised, I will occasionally post a question from the questionnaire I’m using to gather research and stories for my book. If you’re interested in completing the full questionnaire, please click on the Submit Your Stories tab at the top of the post.
Unfortunately the stinging comments made by the 20% of customers who are impolite, disrespectful or downright rude, linger with us long after the customers leave. I’ve received emails from service industry workers sharing war stories from decades ago in vivid detail. Personally, I still remember the condescending comments made by customers when I was bartending like, Good thing you went to college, implying that I wasted my time pursuing a degree.
What entitles anyone to make judgmental comments like that? Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I’m a big fan of the underdog.
As my good friend, Greg Reeves often says, It’s really not that hard to do the right thing. How true. Too bad not everyone got the memo…
Shifting gears, let’s turn our attention to the positive experiences we’ve all had with great customers. Exceptionally gracious people can also make a lasting impression.
Question #12: What adjectives would you use to describe the best, most refreshing customers you’ve had over the years?
In addition to the adjectives, please include a brief summary of some of the best experiences you’ve ever had with customers, and what made them memorable. Enjoy the July 4th weekend. Thank you-PM
Permalink | Posted in Customer Hall of Fame | 14 Comments »
Lavatory Losers
By: Patrick Maguire
Book Chapter: Human-to-Human Service
Posted: 06/25/2010
During Game 7 of the Celtics-Lakers series at a restaurant bar, I made a couple of trips to the men’s room. On each occasion while I was washing my hands, guys walked right past the open sink next to me and back to the bar or dining room without washing their hands. After exiting the men’s room, using a paper towel to open the door, I returned to the bar and the usual hand shaking, high fiving and fist bumping ensued. I cringed thinking about the unwashed patrons contacting friends and strangers alike.
I’m no germaphobe, but come on, how can anyone exhibit such bad hygiene? Who are these people? People who don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom are disgusting, and there are a lot of guys who are guilty. I see it happen often, and they have no guilt or shame. How can you possibly come out of a stall, or pull away from a urinal, then walk right by other guests and exit a public bathroom without washing your hands? What should be a basic tenet of co-existing with other humans is not. It’s amazing that more people don’t end up infected as a result of bad hygiene. (A good friend of mine recently ended up in the emergency room after contracting salmonella.)
A few days after the Celtics’ loss, I was in the bathroom at another restaurant where I noticed this mandatory sign displayed on the counter next to the sink:
Theirs
The admonitory reminded me how important it is not just for restaurant employees and food handlers to wash their hands, but also for us public patrons to practice good hygiene with a good scrub.
So, to borrow the lyrics from the old 70’s song , Signs, by the Five Man Electrical Band, I made up my own little sign:
Mine
What are your personal observations and thoughts?
Why do you think some people are so negligent?
Have you ever called anyone out?
Are women as bad as men?
PS- Don’t be offended if you get the fist bump the next time I see you…
Permalink | Posted in Human-to-Human Service | 30 Comments »