Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Good help is hard to find?


 A friend and I were discussing the sad state of service at restaurants in the Phoenix metro area.
 His contention was, it’s hard to find good help. I’ve heard this time and again from restaurant owners as well. You’ve never owned a restaurant, they say, so don’t judge us.
 But it’s my job to judge. And judge I will, and you should, too.
 Not every meal I eat out is on an expense account, and most people rarely get a freebie. So we should get frustrated and angry when we spend our own money on a dining experience and get crappy service. Yes, it’s a “dining experience.” If I want pure sustenance, I’ll order a pizza or open a can of tuna. When we eat out, we pay a premium for the holy trinity: food, ambience, service.
 Because I go out more than the average bear, I know excellent service exists. It’s not as prevalent in Phoenix as it is, say, in San Francisco, but it’s out there. As with most professions, it’s all about training and clear expectations. Most high-quality establishments test servers regularly on the menu and on protocol.
 I’m not a total hard-ass on this. I set a pretty low bar.
 I want clean menus (mmm, are these appetizers or does someone need to wipe this off?), flatware (I see the linguini special is popular tonight), glasses (nice shade of lipstick; too bad it’s not mine), dishes (this is a cool pattern, but I’d rather have the plain china), napkins (is this fabric supposed to have a yellow spot in the center?), tables (does my dinner come with a bread basket, or just the crumbs?) and chairs (nothing like having someone’s spillage stuck to your butt all night).
 I also want water glasses refilled, food delivered at the right temperature and at well-paced intervals, and dirty plates removed in a timely manner. A basic grasp of the menu and wine list is a plus. To talk to restaurant owners, you’d think training a decent server is akin to giving a degree in rocket science with a minor in bioengineering.
 Granted, there are rogue employees. Woe to the well-meaning owner who reads about misdeeds at his or her establishment on Yelp. My heart goes out to them. And it’s tough to demand excellence from college students who are in a job biding their time until they graduate with that lucrative degree in sports exercise … or journalism.
 However, it can be management’s fault for overloading sections or demanding too much – e.g., servers should not be in the kitchen making salads or plating desserts. Management can dock pay for petty reasons or demand “tip sharing” among the entire staff, which in some circles is known as “communism.”
 It is hard to find good help. It’s even harder when you set expectations low, don’t provide training, ask way too much and don’t reward people properly for a job well done.

Some Phoenix Places Where I’ve Eaten Multiple Times and Always Gotten Good Service (a random and partial list – what are yours?)

Amuse Bouche
Copper Blues
The Deli
FnB
Herb Box
Kai
La Petite France
Latitude 8 Thai Grill
Nello’s Pizza (Ahwatukee Foothills)
Postino
Zuzu

2 comments:

  1. agree on the above and would add:
    Rancho Pinot
    VinciTorio's

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  2. Ohhhh a contact for great restaurants! I will have to get advice from you next time I travel to the area!

    SINCE you give such great advice! Thanks for the comments on my blog - I am going to take your advice and give it a try again to contact TripAdvisor!

    Thanks! Chat soon!

    Ava Roxanne @MySkinConcierge

    www.MySkinConciergeBlog.com

    ReplyDelete