Good service vs. Attractive servers

[csnarpy]

Originally Posted by _Q_

If you think service in Calgary is bad, try going to Europe. Not one single waiter/waitress knows what they're doing over there and many of them will actually try to go out of their way to rip you off.

Service in Calgary is generally good. Sure, you'll get the odd crappy server, but for the most part, I usually get what I would deem adequate to good service. I think most people just heard that Calgary has "bad" service and they just blindly echo that sentiment.

In the end though, food quality and prompt arrival is way way WAY more important to me than service quality. As long as the wait staff is not noticeably making my dining experience bad, I don't really care how friendly/chatty/attentive they are.

Ya, because tip is already included in the price. If you tip in Europe then your giving beyond the 18%

As for service, if I get bad service then something becomes wrong with my meal. Get that sent back for a new meal, all on the house and usually a desert or a drink to go with. And then I tip the min. Server gets screwed and the restaurant gets screwed for hiring a bad server. Oh, and I win!

[malcolmk14]

I can count the number of times I've had outright bad service on one hand, and I go out more than the average person.

Unfortunately, I can also count the number of times I've had great service on the other hand.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

No idea how I forgot the most important thing:

Be polite and curious.

Being bitchy to the customer and rolling your eyes when you clearly mess up and the customer asks for their order to be corrected are bad ideas.

[Daradon]

Curious?

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Definitely the basics, which I've ever only had wrong a few times.

So what is(or isn't) happening for some people to claim that service in Calgary is awful? Or any particular examples of bad service that have made you go "that was awful"?

I've had 2 in the last month I would consider kinda bad.

Was at a pub (Newcastle) on Friday @ 6pm. Waited 40 minutes for Appetizers after we ordered (it was a poutine) and another 25 for our food. Didn't see the server once in the 40 minute span and it must have been sitting around for a while too. Had empty booze and water cups for about 20 of those minutes too.

Was at the Phantastic Phannnodslsdljkfdk Haus, waited 7 minutes awkwardly standing at the entrance to be seated with multiple tables open, servers made eye contact, but made no effort to seat us (GF and I were the only people at the entrance).

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

The service is crap everywhere, people who expect the server to be their slave will be disappointed more often than not.

Perhaps you're just talking about Calgary, but I think the service you get in the US is infinitely better overall in most instances...whether it be restaurants or retail. Compared to Europe though, the service here is spectacular!

I don't need a server to butter me up with fake banter or pretend I'm their favorite person in the world. I just want them to be prompt, accurate and reasonable accessible. The best servers are the ones you never really notice, yet always seem to be there when you need them.

If you show up somewhere, and nobody talks to you within a minute or two (even just to ask you to wait), that's bad service. If you have to ask someone twice for something, that's bad service. If you have to get up from your table to find someone to get the check, that's bad service. If your order is taking unreasonably long and you don't at least get an update, that's bad service.

I don't think any of those are unreasonable expectations.

[Turner]

Originally Posted by csnarpy

Ya, because tip is already included in the price. If you tip in Europe then your giving beyond the 18%

As for service, if I get bad service then something becomes wrong with my meal. Get that sent back for a new meal, all on the house and usually a desert or a drink to go with. And then I tip the min. Server gets screwed and the restaurant gets screwed for hiring a bad server. Oh, and I win!

Complete with special sauce from the chef.

[WhiteTiger]

I generally find that I get pretty good service regardless of the looks of the server, but I don't ask a lot.

Attractiveness doesn't effect the tip, but I appreciate the eye candy.

[Igster]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Definitely the basics, which I've ever only had wrong a few times.

Yes, those are the basics and it's amazing how many places simply can't get hardly any of them right. Usually it happens when the supposed "good looking" server gets more than a few tables. Then all hell breaks loose. It starts out well and then you literally have to chase after the server to get a drink, find out where the food is, pay the bill or even get the bill.

Then you find out all her tables are waiting while she is outside taking a cigarette break.

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Why would I care if the waitresses are hot or not? There are plenty of hot girls everywhere. If I'm in a restaurant, I just want my damn food served to me nicely and in a reasonable time.

Now the gym on the other hand... hot girls are great for motivation

[Maritime Q-Scout]

I think the sentiment boils down to the fact that people are happier when surrounded by people they find physically pleasing.

[rayne008]

Can't believe I'll be the first one to post pictures of some attractive servers.

NSFW!

[doctajones428]

Good service please.

I've had bad service a couple times (Medium rare steak served to me blue rare) (Leaving after 10 minutes of waiting for service after being seated) and they were very sour experiences every time

[Hugh Jahrmes]

My girlfriend is pregnant and because of this struggles and has told me she feels she hasn't been "good enough" at times. She has always made decent money, but her (self proclaimed) slightly slower service + baby bump has been magic. She is a very pleasant/genuine person though which I'm sure covers her occasional lapses.

[malcolmk14]

Originally Posted by doctajones428

Good service please.

I've had bad service a couple times (Medium rare steak served to me blue rare)

Is that bad service, though? I would think that's a kitchen error and how the server dealt with it would determine how the service was.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Is that bad service, though? I would think that's a kitchen error and how the server dealt with it would determine how the service was.

I'd argue it's a combination of both kitchen and server.

It's the server's job to relay the order to the kitchen. Then once it's made the server then should check the order to ensure it is correct.

If it's not right the server should inform the kitchen and have the replacement priority one.

If it makes it to the table incorrect of say that the server made a mistake.

[malcolmk14]

I disagree. If a table orders a medium rare steak, a server punches in a medium rare steak, and the server asks the kitchen before taking it out of the pass-through window "is this the medium rare?" and the kitchen says yes, that's a kitchen error. No server is going to cut into a steak to make sure it's medium rare.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

I disagree. If a table orders a medium rare steak, a server punches in a medium rare steak, and the server asks the kitchen before taking it out of the pass-through window "is this the medium rare?" and the kitchen says yes, that's a kitchen error. No server is going to cut into a steak to make sure it's medium rare.

There is no kitchen error or server error, same team, error is an error. That said, the server should also be able to tell by looking at it. Joint responsibility, like Maritime Q-Scout said.

As with all businesses, as a consumer I don't judge service by mistakes, but by how they handle and fix the mistakes.

[Street Pharmacist]

I was a cook at a streak house for a while and it never ceased to amaze me how many people don't know what medium rare was. So many people want medium or medium well but think that's medium rare. Grrr. I suppose that belongs in the gmg thread

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

I was a con at a streak house for a while and it never ceased to amaze me how many people don't know what medium rare was. So many people want medium or medium well but think that's medium rare. Grrr. I suppose that belongs in the gmg thread

74% of steak errors are customer mistakes. Simply not ordering right or understanding the doneness. "The customer is always right" is generally the biggest loss of income for a heavy steak selling restaurant.