Over the weekend a friend and I went to a local, independent restaurant to hopefully enjoy a drink and maybe a light snack. When we arrived, a little before 9:00, we sat at the bar with the menu/wine list and fairly quickly decided upon a bottle of red. We were provided with water and wine glasses and served the bottle which we had selected. A short while later, in deference to the impending closing of the kitchen at 9:30, we added an order of arancini to our tab.
By 10:00, the other diners had vacated, except for a couple seated at a high top table. At this point, we were about ⅔ of the way through our Super Tuscan, with the arancini having already been eaten. The last diners departed and it was then just us at the bar, along with two servers. Suddenly, the previously dimmed lights were turned up to a level of brightness that can only be described as blinding. Really?
We politely asked if the lights might be readjusted since we had no intention of performing surgery on any of the nearby tables. We were somewhat accommodated with a half turn down of the dimmer switch, but the mood, and our experience, had already been damaged. We got a check, took our bottle of wine and left – as far as I’m concerned, never to return.
This was the second time in the last 6 weeks or so, when we’ve attempted to support an area business, this one specifically, and have been thwarted in our efforts. Twice, we’ve gone to this particular restaurant and have been ungraciously pushed out the door by servers who don’t seem to understand the nature of hospitality, and we won’t be back for a third occasion.
In 2020, when Covid upended the restaurant industry, I was completely supportive of the enhanced unemployment payments made to servers. I’ve lived that life and know, from experience, that front of the house employees rarely are compensated for hours not actually spent working. I imagined the new opportunities being provided to career servers with these government checks – time with their children and families, chances to cultivate gardens and take on neglected household projects, and was thrilled for those employees. They absolutely deserved every penny they received.
But, two years later, I find myself increasingly dissatisfied with the quality of service I’ve received in many restaurants. It’s almost as if hospitality employees have forgotten the important nature of their jobs and the fact that there is an anticipated exchange for that expected 20% gratuity.
I want some service.
After hunkering down at home for months, mastering new cooking and baking techniques, and filling my cellar wine rack, when I choose to go out to dine or drink, the X-factor I’m seeking is professional and attentive service. If it isn’t present, why should I be?*
Believe me, I understand I’m a dinosaur in many regards when it comes to my experiences and expectations as they relate to dining out, but I don’t think that my veteran status eliminates the responsibility of a server to attend to my needs. When I walk into a restaurant, I’d like to be greeted and made to feel welcome. If there are additions to the menu, I should be presented with them, either by directing my attention to where they might be listed, or verbally by the server. If I have questions about preparation, availability or ingredients, I would hope that they would be knowledgeably answered. It would also be nice to have my meal thoughtfully paced, without multiple courses littering my table before I’m ready to enjoy them.
If a server is willing to sell me a bottle of wine, I’d really like to be able to drink it where I bought it.
Assuming you’ve returned to dining out, are there observations you’d also like to share? Have you experienced notable service – good or bad since the pandemic began?
* I am aware of, and sympathetic to, the lack of potential staff in the hospitality industry in the current labor market. I just wish that those who choose to work in the industry, and those who manage them, would take their roles a bit more professionally.
