Second-rate service

A member of my team recently shared with me an experience he had over the weekend of #secondrateservice.

Here’s the story (in his own words):

“So, having finally picked a restaurant that all 4 of us agreed on, I called said restaurant (because of COVID) to book a table - only to be told they don’t accept bookings for <4 people.

Having spent so long deciding where to eat (think 15 What's App texts and 1 group Face-Time call), we went to the restaurant anyway. On arrival, we were asked “do you have a booking?" We said no. The security guard said, “hmmm, we’ll see if we can squeeze you in”. 

We were thinking whaat??? They told us they couldn’t take a booking?

The security guard told us there was a table for us outside, so we dutifully scanned the QR code, headed in and told the waitress that the security guard has told us there was a table available outside. She stared at us blankly for a second, then returned to looking at her phone.

We stood there awkwardly waiting for her to acknowledge us. Nope. Eventually, we just walked past her and seated ourselves outside. Not a great start to the evening!”

To me, this is a classic example of a business that hasn’t prioritised #customerservice. There’s no process in place, no frameworks and definitely no communication between different staff members. It seems to me management isn't aiming to delight the customer. Safe to say, my team member won’t be going back - and I certainly won't be going out of my way to try it either!