Mothers Day is here! Well, on Sunday May 10, 2009. I have to travel, so I took my mom out with her friends for an early Mother Day dinner. I figured, less of a crowd, we would get great service. I made reservations, called ahead to ask for some special treatment. It was my mom’s favorite place.

We ordered appetizers and dinner. Thirty minutes later, after asking before five times to bring at least bread and water, no food had arrived. I asked for the manager. He never came by. I explained to our waiter & waitress that with Senior Citizens, there will always be special requests, and food needed to be brought promptly. (Medical reasons)

When the food did arrive, ALL of us received the wrong food. We were then told by the manager that they were busy, and that we needed to be patient. I asked for at least salads be brought out, then we could wait for the correct orders. I was told that for Palm desert, Ca this the way customer service is provided and we must pay for the food that was brought. The manager threatened to call the police.

Their were actually two police officers eating. Since I had previously worked in a maximum security prison, I felt at ease approaching them.
They told the manager that they were not going to pay for dinner, that they had the same issues my group experienced.

The death of customer service? At least at one restaurant. And certainly NOT the norm in Palm Desert, Ca. We returned home and had my mom’s second favorite meal, BBQ!

Can your team benefit from some extra customer service training? does your team need help in dealing with senior citizen’s needs?

Dr. Brian Grossman is a communication and conflict resolution expert with ten years experience in helping teams perform at their best. If you would like help in performance strategies for your group please contact Dr. Brian for a free consultation to assess how your team can thrive.