Garfunkles at Gatwick Airport

This visit is included in our Campaign for Real Service. I visited Garfunkles at Gatwick airport, for breakfast at about 6.30am. As is the case with airport restaurants they were very busy and I had to queue for a table. I was seated after about five minutes, the table was clean and ready. Within approximately two minutes of my being seated, a waitress came and took my order which was hot chocolate, bacon and eggs. Another two minutes passed and I was served the hot chocolate, followed shortly by the bacon and eggs. The service was polite, speedy and efficient. The food however, was a bit “iffey.” The eggs were like plastic and I actually had a hard time cutting through them with the utensils provided. Interestingly the knife and fork were made of stainless steel! (It occurred to me that I had already gone through all the security channels and could easily have taken the knife on board with me!) On second thoughts, as I was having trouble cutting through an egg, I doubt whether it would have served much purpose to any hijacker who wanted to be a nuisance on board. The bacon was nicely cooked but the eggs! I could have used them to play basketball with as they would have bounced quite nicely. I finally managed to eat them minus the plastic white and was filled enough to last me until the meal was served on board. The service was good, it was polite and efficient however, the food needs attention. The service gets an 8, the food a 5 and the cleanliness of the restaurant gets a 7. However, considering the huge volume of people they serve in such a short time, they do very well.

Market Street Grill.

Last week we met a friend for lunch at the Market Street Grill, one of his favorite lunch venues. We had an enjoyable time. Some years ago the Gastronomy group (Market Street Grill is one of their restaurants) asked Lord Roberts, to visit their restaurants to evaluate their training needs. As a result he train some of their hostesses. It was therefore, interesting to return and see if anything had changed.

Using our original criteria, food, cleanliness, wait service, hostess service and managerial service, here is our report.

Cleanliness: The market street grill is always clean and bright. We have one complaint however, and it is the same one as before; the waiters carry a towel in the back of their belts for wiping the tables. The cloths we saw were dirty but our biggest question is this. The cloth hangs down their bottom area-isn't that unhygienic? That same cloth that flaps in the wind so to speak, is used to wipe the table where food is served! Enough said.

Food. I can recommend the food. I had a grilled Idaho trout and it was delicious. My husband enjoyed his halibut.

Wait service: We had a very pleasant waiter. He was quick witted and quipped gentle humor back to my husband's. We did actually tell him about our campaign but it didn't seem to faze him, he was confident in his attention. Our only complaint was that his uniform needed a trip to the laundry. There could be many explanations for that, either the restaurant is responsible for the uniforms and don't send them to the laundry often enough. Or, he has only one uniform and too few hours between shifts to attend to it, or lastly he is a student and time is too short. Whatever the reason, the detail needed attention.

Hostess service. No complaints; she was courteous and pleasant.

We cannot report on the manager as we didn't see one.

Over all 7 out of ten.

Campaign for Real Service - The Outback Steakhouse

12Apr2008 Filed under: General Manners Author: Lady Roberts

Today we visited the Outback Steakhouse in Sandy. Our evaluation areas were: Quality and presentation of food, cleanliness of restaurant, hostess service, wait service and manager’s service.

FOOD: In the food category, although Outback doesn’t serve anything truly out of this world amazing, they have a tasty menu and with sufficient choice to make it interesting. They are currently celebrating 20 years of being in business and have a special menu for that occasion. We always enjoy the food there.

CLEANLINESS: The Outbacks we have visited are always clean.

HOSTESS: The hostess greeted us in a friendly manner and complimented us on our co-ordinating attire. We explained it was quite by accident that we were wearing the same colors and that we actually hadn’t noticed. She said her parents do it as well. She was friendly without being too familiar. My husband told her it was his birthday and she wished him in a very genuine manner, a happy birthday and said that dessert would be on them tonight. She was pleasant and attentive and let us set the pace to reach our table, which we appreciated. Sometime we feel we have to jog to keep up with the hostess, to reach our table, at our age that is disconcerting.

WAITER: The waiter came, he was pleasant and all started out well; he brought our drinks, we placed our order, eventually he brought our bread and all seemed to be going well until the salad arrived and the dressing, instead of being on the side, had been poured over it. O.K. we are all allowed one mistake but when the sweet potato came with the brown sugar and butter on top and not on the side, I felt a little disappointed. I realized it was my fault. I usually remember to ask it to be served plain. My server hadn’t thought to ask me if I wanted the honey butter. He offered to replace it but that takes time so I just scooped it off and we enjoyed our meal. When the bill came there was a charge we didn’t understand and came to find out that, although we could have two sides and my husband had only one and soup as the second side, there was an extra charge we hadn’t been told about. The waiter’s style we decided, was so laid back in his service that he failed to pay attention to details that would have made our dinning experience not just average but excellent. Attention to detail when we serve others is what makes the entire experience exceptional. An example of this came at the end when he returned the bill. The bill came to $31.55. I gave him $40. When the change came back he missed returning the 45 cents. When I mentioned it to him he looked at me blankly and gave no apology or explanation. Another failure to attend to details.
MANAGER: The manager came round to the tables (for which she received a plus), asking if everything was all right. We said it was and then asked if they had a seniors discount. We were a little surprised not so much by her answer which was in the negative, but in the disdainful way in which she answered us. Usually when we ask, people are only too happy that we have, even if they don’t offer one. In fact, Outback is the first restaurant we have visited, to not have one.

In conclusion our experience started off in a positive way with pleasant service, good food, nice atmosphere and the manager visiting our table to check on us added to quality of service. Where they fell down was in the lack of attention to details from the waiter and the wrong change without an effort to correct the problem. Over all Outback in Sandy got 7 out of 10.

Campaign for Real Service

I am asking each of you to join us in a “Campaign for Real Service.” My wife and I went to a new restaurant and we were quite excited to try their menu. The service we received there however, left us surprised. The young lady who served us was so familiar that she actually sat down on the bench next to my wife to take our order. She also told me I was wrong when I expressed my disappointment at being served instant potatoes. Later she returned to tell me I had been right but the damage had already been done. This and other experiences has prompted my asking you the question: When was the last time you received good service from an hotel, restaurant or any other place of eating? I am listing below areas that might get you thinking. We are anxious to hear your comments.

1. When was the last time you received really good service at a restaurant?

2. What kind of reception did you receive from the Host/Hostess? Were you welcomed warmly and sincerely? Were you escorted politely to your table or were you left behind to find your own way? Did they chat with you in an interesting manner? Lastly, I have to ask this question because it is a pet peeve of mine, was your host/hostess chewing gum?

4. Do you feel that the pay per hour for a server ($2.13 in some establishments) has any impact on the service you receive?

5. Do you feel that management and owners are to blame for bad service in restaurants etc? Why?

6. Do you feel that age and maturity of the servers influences the quality of service?

7. Do you think that restaurants should offer better training for their servers?

8. How do you feel about leaving a tip for bad service?

9. What would you like to see improved in the service you receive in restaurants?

Lady Roberts and I will be visiting some restaurants over the coming weeks to observe the service and to determine whether it was good, bad or indifferent. We will write about our experiences and name the restaurant we attended. In the meantime, please send in your comments to us on the above questions and help us to start our “Campaign for Real Service.”