Notes: Customer Service Is Only Part of the Problem

When I post reviews on the social networking sites I try to stay as open-minded as possible:  there are some things the employees have no control over and there are limitations to my cultural knowledge that I am still trying to understand.

Case in point, yesterday I visited a restaurant that called itself a Mexican establishment.  Since I was born and raised in the Midwest, I'm pretty naive when it comes to ethnic cuisine, but I'm getting better at it with the seven years I've lived in San Francisco.  The restaurant seemed to have authentic chips and salsa, and everything else, while tasty, seemed to have been Americanized.  I was disappointed.

I hesitate to mention the restaurant because according to Yelp, a lot of people feel the same way I do.  This consensus doesn't seem to bother the restaurant; my best guess is they figure that patrons can go elsewhere if they don't like the food.  The food was well-prepared, just not authentic, and I had to wonder how the experience might have been improved.

The service during my meal seemed inconsistent; the busboys were prompt, attentive, and efficient, but two people actually asked for my order without talking to each other first, and I didn't receive all of my change after paying the bill.  The waitstaff did check on me, but didn't seem very interested in the answer of whether or not I was satisfied.

How does the individual employee control the customer service experience?  The first step, I would think, would be genuine interest.  With genuine interest your customer tweaks your shortcomings for you, and the information can be passed on to management for improved food and service.  Customer-facing employees are the eyes and ears.  If they don't create the open dialogue with the customer, then the conversation is taken to Yelp and more than likely the cracks in the foundation of the business don't get fixed.