"customer is always right. customer is your boss. the customer who comes in, they are the ones who are paying your salaries. without them, who wants to pay you. we need sales, therefore we need more customers that's why we do all these promotions. we need to have good service. at the end of the day, we are still in the service line"
at the end of the day, we are a business. and businesses run. a business that runs in the service line, is using that a tool to make even more money. make them happy to make more money? i mean, sign me up. who doesn't want that. but apparently nowadays, many places that run in the service line, in my opinion tends to be confused of what it should do. the most common phrase you hear from businesses and all are "customers are becoming more demanding". no. customers are becoming smarter. ever since they've realised they've been targets of fear from the people up top, they found out that it works. fear works. so why not be a little more 'angry' when talking to service staff when wanting some their way. if the service staff don't do what they say or don't give them anything free or don't waive the service charge, they'll forever stop patronising that chain of stores. but of course, that's not really true. i've had customers said that to me many times, but most of them, i've seen them come back. but of course i'm not saying that most customers don't give a fuck and just like to lie out of their asses. it's just a small bunch. and of course, even that small bunch is important, as analyst and biziness people will tell you.
now the thing is that business are too afraid to say no. in the fear of not losing a customer, we tend to bow our heads and try to do by their bidding. more sauce? no problem sir. one more lychee, yes maam. change this to that while putting it separately on two different plates and you want to split the table? no problem maam. why not we just say no - period. you want more sauce? fuck you.
of course, we have to be polite. and that's where the service line philosophy kicks in. it always beckons the question, how do you say 'no' in the most beautiful manner? that's the challenge of the service line. we don't have to entertain ourselves to the shittiest of requests. customers aren't the boss. that's a wrong thing to think. the thing is people rarely have a clue of what they want, and thus if you let someone without a clue be the boss, you're pretty much fucked. and as well, customers tend to get complacent and try to push their luck each visit. and the most we ca do from then, cause we certainly can't change our minds all of a sudden, is to just bow our heads, smile and give him the thumbs up and say no problem.
that's the problem. we are too kind. customers are to wait. are to wait patiently. are to abide by the rules that are presented to them. they are to welcome no's from the staff. and most certainly, they are not gonna be bitches. after all, good food should be celebrated in all it's full glory that was meant to be by the people who made them. so shut up and enjoy it. and if you don't enjoy it, order something else. not everyone likes peanut butter. so don't say, "erm, i don't want peanut butter, can i have vanilla?"
but of course, as much as the staff would like to say "hell no, you're not getting any vanilla you bitch", they have to say with tact and a little bit of beauty. "ahh, ma'am, maybe if you don't like peanut butter, maybe you shouldn't order the peanut butter chocolate frappe? maybe go for the vanilla dream frappe instead, since i'm guessing you like vanilla."
yeah, that way everyone is please. everyone is happy. and in the future, noone will ever once again ask for more sauce for their pasta.
