Calgary Customer Service....what happened?

[jharp]

Originally Posted by the_hound

And most likley racist and high on cocaine ....

nm

[Julio]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

I believe if you do want beer, don't get it from the concessions but rather get it from the people that carry beer around. Those people make commison on the beer they sell and make tips, people in concessions don't make any commision or tips. Or just stand outside the concession door and wait for one of them to come out and they'll be more than glad to serve you

Buying from the beer vendors is a very good idea...they are good people. But two things..don't sand outside the door they come out of, they get in trouble if they serve right there because it's such a tight spot in the Dome.
And they DON'T get commission on their beer sales. Nobody does in Alberta on liquor sales, because it's illegal, so tip them if they are good.
And hey, if it isn't the usual slothness in the concessions, tip them.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by OilersBaby

The standard for tipping here is DOUBLE the tax.....that's how much we're "supposed" to tip in San Jose, CA.

That's what I use here in Calgary too. The best part of the GST reduction is the 2% decrease in tipping .

[KevanGuy]

Originally Posted by Julio

And hey, if it isn't the usual slothness in the concessions, tip them.

THis is something I've always wondered about. Why are people compelled to tip someone if they give them beer but not pop? I mean, just about the same amount of effort is involved.

[fanforever1986]

i rarely ever tip. I dont feel bad about walking out of a place spending less money, in fact I feel better about myself.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by fanforever1986

i rarely ever tip. I dont feel bad about walking out of a place spending less money, in fact I feel better about myself.

Horrible attitude. These people have hard jobs and are often underpaid. And you feel better about yourself? Unreal.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by fanforever1986

i rarely ever tip. I dont feel bad about walking out of a place spending less money, in fact I feel better about myself.

If you need to do that, to feel better about yourself, then you're a sad lonely little man.

[photon]

And you better not go to the same place twice.. people remember those who don't tip. If it's a place I frequent and I get bad service, I'll still tip out of fear These people handle my food without my seeing it.

On a positive note, we went to The Keg on Macleod tonight for our annual Christmas dinner, and I must say the service was SUPERB.

The steaks were done perfectly (all four). The waitress who helped deliver the food accidentally spilled some sauce from a dish on my wife's coat (hardly a few spots), and we had a visit from two people about it, the main waiter and someone else, both to apologize and make sure everything was ok. Then a table next to us accidentally knocked over a glass of wine
and some got on my wife's coat (again, not that much). We didn't even mention it and a few minutes later the store manager came over and gave us a card saying we should get her coat dry cleaned on them!!

Last year we were at the same place and a couple of the steaks were a bit undercooked, they fixed them right up and they gave us free deserts as well.

Seriously, excellent service, and it feels even more amazing seeing how crappy the service is elsewhere.

[PYroMaNiaC]

Shop or lunch in a small, family owned business. Truly. Their livlihoods depends on good customer service because that's the only way they can compete with the Walmarts or the chain restaurants. They usually aren't busy enough to be able to afford to tick anyone off and they value their customers enough to try and encourage repeat business. If the establishment is small enough, the family members are probably the employees with maybe one or two part time kids that they know to help out.

You'll be pleasantly surprised.

[wooohooo]

Originally Posted by Julio

Buying from the beer vendors is a very good idea...they are good people. But two things..don't sand outside the door they come out of, they get in trouble if they serve right there because it's such a tight spot in the Dome.
And they DON'T get commission on their beer sales. Nobody does in Alberta on liquor sales, because it's illegal, so tip them if they are good.
And hey, if it isn't the usual slothness in the concessions, tip them.

Hmm that's interesting, in my young days... I used to do concessions like that but not beer, those popcorn and malt ones but regardless it was in the same room as the beer concessions. Those people are crazy, doing anything to sell those beers.... they're also given sections and if one of the other beer people 'accidently' went into their section, they'd yell at them, talk to their supervisors and then the supervisors would then yell at them and then they'd get some of their tips taken away. Serious business, but from I guess tips alone, they can make A LOT of tips! Those guys are the most intense people i've ever seen, but they get the job done!

[edn88]

Call me crazy, but the best way to combat an overheated economy is to consume less. And if we cannot do it on our own (and we cannot) then the result will be an increase in prices that will in turn help us consume less.

I hate the service at most retail places these days, so I have a choice - I can put up with it, or I can serve myself, but actually cooking for myself etc.

Beyond that, most big box stores are self serve anyway, now Home Depot is almost 100% that way. And if you really don't like going into stores, the internet is a great way to go.

Finally, let your $$$ do the talking. If you go to a store and get crumby service - don't go back - find a better place. There are still great stores in this city - you just have to be a little less picky.

[Superflyer]

The best way to tip I ever saw was on 3rd Rock from the sun. They went for supper and John Lithgow put a stack of bills on the table. He said this is your tip, if we get bad service we will take some away and if the service is good we will add to it.
I thought that was the best thing ever, that way they can see it and they if some is taken away you better bet that they will work to get it back.

[Phanuthier]

At restraunts, I used to tip 10% - double GST, whatever that worked out too, and I thought that was fine. Started dating a (now former) server, and she said tipping is minimum 15-20% Talked to another friend who's serving, and she said tipping is 10-15%. I now tip ~15%.

At bars, I top lower, $0.50 to $1.00. Never understood why I would need to tip more at a bar, how hard can it be to take the cap off and hand you a beer?

[Reggie Dunlop]

Originally Posted by PYroMaNiaC

Shop or lunch in a small, family owned business. Truly. Their livlihoods depends on good customer service because that's the only way they can compete with the Walmarts or the chain restaurants. They usually aren't busy enough to be able to afford to tick anyone off and they value their customers enough to try and encourage repeat business. If the establishment is small enough, the family members are probably the employees with maybe one or two part time kids that they know to help out.

You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Good advice. The product is usually better to boot.

They usually have longer term employees too (although given the times, maybe that's changing).

What chafes my chaps are "Tip Jars" that you encounter at cashiers in all sorts of places now. You browse the store, pick up the item (in other words do all the "work") and encounter the little jar and sign. This is different than the "Take a Penny, Leave a Penny" scoop trays.

Frick, you see "Tip Jars" at 7-11 now. Fer what? Recommending the Slurpee du Jour? Sorry, as much as I feel for your lowly plight as a 7-11 cashier, what value-enhancement or experience-enrichment to the customer has taken place?

As for tipping in general, I'm a round 'er up, round 'er down type to a dollar figure. Depending on the situation, it hovers around 10 to 15 percent.

[Engine09]

Either I'm lazy or cheap, but I tip 3 or 4 dollars everytime I go out. I don't even bother working out the percentage.

[Nicole]

I don't think any server shoud EXPECT a tip. A tip is given based on the type of service recieved and I have had so many bad servers in the last little while that I sometimes don't even leave a tip. There have been times though when I have tipped up to 30% b/c the service was absolutely incredible and with the 'lack' of good customer service lately, I think it's important to show your appreciation when you do get it. Another thing I have noticed that is kind of interesting is that it is usually always male servers that have given the best service.

[OilersBaby]

Originally Posted by Phanuthier

At restraunts, I used to tip 10% - double GST, whatever that worked out too, and I thought that was fine. Started dating a (now former) server, and she said tipping is minimum 15-20% Talked to another friend who's serving, and she said tipping is 10-15%. I now tip ~15%.

At bars, I top lower, $0.50 to $1.00. Never understood why I would need to tip more at a bar, how hard can it be to take the cap off and hand you a beer?

You guys only have a 5% tax?????????? That's low..you're lucky! Ours is 8.25%, so tipping double the tax works!

[albertGQ]

Our GST just got lowered from 7% to 6%

[Dion]

If I don't like the service I don't leave a tip. I also tell the server why he/she didn't get one.

[llama64]

Originally Posted by Nicole

I don't think any server shoud EXPECT a tip. A tip is given based on the type of service recieved and I have had so many bad servers in the last little while that I sometimes don't even leave a tip. There have been times though when I have tipped up to 30% b/c the service was absolutely incredible and with the 'lack' of good customer service lately, I think it's important to show your appreciation when you do get it. Another thing I have noticed that is kind of interesting is that it is usually always male servers that have given the best service.

Quoted for truth.

You pay a base price for service at a restuarant. This price is built into the cost of your meal. A tip is for service that went beyond average and should not be "expected" by the server.

One of the things that really bugs me is the tip jars at a coffee shop. Why are we tipping a coffee server? What makes them different then someone stuffing my Big Mac into a paper bag? I'd argue that the fast food worker is likely working harder too.