I’d much rather have this than have the wait staff show up only 3 times:
[list=1]
[li]Take your order.[/li][li]Deliver your order.[/li][li]Give you the bill.[/li][/list=1]
Being an older couple, we eat out quite often, so we kind of know the best places at least here in town. Both my wife and I list service as the most important.
I don’t see this as a problem. I think there are negative and positive sides to this. I, for one, have used the church bulletin to pick out a place to go for service I don’t usually use.
The shit works. My born-again mother is 100% more likely to patronize a business owned, managed, staffed by other Christians. Then again, the last time she had to get new license plates she specified she did not want to see “666” appear anywhere on them, which cracked me up. Like her little Honda Accord was going to turn into Christine’s bitchier sister model immediately after screwing in the new plates.
Yeah, this sort of thing comes with the territory at repair places.
The example I cited earlier is kind of over-the-top, though (they get away with it because they offer many semi-one-of-a-kind collectors’ items).
I wonder what the response would be if you saw a sign in the exam room at your doctor’s office explaining in detail how to be a good patient. :dubious:
#1: If it’s a place that manufactures or sells/installs said product, they should at least be willing to give you a couple of references so you can check out the quality of their product/service. I personally would have qualms with having a company install or make something for me if I couldn’t get a reference out of them. #2: Even better is when the phone line is constantly busy, or they answer the phone, put you on hold for 15 minutes, then hang up on you. I’ve had friends who’ve worked for companies who did this to them when they’d call in to find out their work schedule. #3: If the sign is going out of their way to be snarky in a more than “asshole customers suck; we’re trying to be nice, so you try to be nice” way, then I’m reluctant to even make a purchase. Unfortunately, in some areas it’s nearly impossible to get away from confederate flag decals or other things that, when posted publicly around the reigster, would offend me. #4: This is a big no-no for me, unless their store is actually religiously oriented. That’s the only time I’ll shop there is if the products actually have some specific connection to their profession of belief. This does not include thrift stores that are run by a religious ministry. As long as they don’t attempt to prosletyze to me while I’m shopping, I’m fine with their beliefs because it stays as just theirs.
The horror stories I’ve heard from non-Christian friends about going to a place called “faith farm” in south Florida have been enough to make me extremely reluctant to go there. (A female friend of mine was looking around, didn’t need any sort of help, and one of the salesladies walked up to her, started asking questions about her beliefs, and then reached into my friend’s shirt without permission to pull out the end of a concealed chain, assuming that it was a cross. My friend quickly reacted by removing the woman’s hand before the charm, which wasn’t a cross, was revealed… and the saleslady got offended because she was told it was none of her business what was on the chain because it was concealed.) After hearing that story, I’d be reluctant to go there wearing ANY jewelry, let alone anything that’s related to my beliefs or ancestry.
It is possible that customers/paitents, ect may do common things that they wouldn’t even think would be annoying (that they could easily cease doing) that the people examining them, serving them, or whatever find extremely annoying and in some cases, make their jobs harder.
Wouldn’t you rather know about these things (in a humorous manner, as to not offend) so you can avoid doing them in the future?
I once (ONCE!) went to a business that had crosses and fishes and glugy little poems all over the place. I was a bit uncomfortable about the gaudy display, but they were the only place in town that offered the service I needed. Except, actually, they couldn’t do what they promised to do. Did they come clean as soon as they realized this? Hell no, they strung me along for two months. (“We didn’t get the part we needed, but don’t worry, it was just some sort of mixup at the warehouse. I’m positive it’ll come in next week!” This excuse wore a bit thin after the third time the used it.) Then they tried to trick me into accepting a replacement part that wasn’t what I’d ordered. Luckily I had the original part on hand, and could point out that their part obviously wouldn’t even fit, much less work. Then they said they’d reorder the part and try again. HA! Then they tried to stiff me on the refund and I had to sic my bank on them before they’d credit my card. (They claimed that they’d just forgot to send the credit through. Why I didn’t insist on seeing them phone it in while I stood there, I don’t know, except I was shaking with rage at that point, and not really thinking clearly.)
In short, a place advertising itself as Christian treated me in a very unchristian manner. So I see no reason to expect better from any other place that makes a big deal out of being a “Christian” business. On the contrary, I think that anyone who uses his purported faith in his Lord and Savior as a business asset is probably going to be a tacky hypocrite.
I don’t think advertising in a church bulletin is necessarily a black mark, though. Ad space is ad space–unless they are specifically pushing the religion angle. I’m curious why you’d trust an ad in the bulletin over an ad elsewhere, though–are the businesses vetted carefully for quality, or run by members of your church, or something?
Regarding waitstaff interrupting to ask how the food is, I think the key word is interrupting. There’s a difference between marching up to the table and cutting off the patron’s conversation in midsentence to ask if everything is OK, and stopping at the table briefly, making eye contact, and waiting for a pause in the conversation to ask about the food. It’s a simple courtesy, whether one is a waiter or not.
I am also not a fan of the “Are you still working on that?” brigade. (NB: The proper way to express this sentiment is “May I take your plate?”) We recently tried out a new restaurant that seemed to be offering a little more upscale presentation than is usual around here (their ad noted that they had an actual CHEF and served things like stuffed quail and creme brulee, in a town noted for its fast food and stuck-in-the-sixties supper clubs). The decor was in a nicely done rustic theme, the napkins were cloth, and the food was delicious and beautifully plated. However, the sweet young thing who was our waitress had a great fondness for the phrase “you guys,” which she used in nearly every sentence. “Where would you guys like to sit? Can I get you guys something to drink? What kind of soup would you guys like? Are you guys ready for your bill?” I am not sensitive to fingernails on a chalkboard, but this verbal tic of hers induced the same effect. I will say that her service was otherwise very good, and we left her a nice tip. I would go back there again.
However, I would have liked to make some sort of comment (couched in compliments about the good parts of the experience, of course) to the owner/manager about the waitress’s choice of address to her customers, but since two boys (middle-school age, I’d say) who were apparently her sons spent the evening horsing around in the entryway and part of the dining room, and playing with the (fortunately wrapped) mints in the bowl by the register before she came over and made them put the mints back in the bowl, I figured she wasn’t too interested in the nuances of fine dining.
Heh…yeah, Pepper’s. Where you never know what colour the hair in your food is going to be.
Seriously, that place has scared me since the 80s. They maid a point of hiring anybody, no matter what their appearance.
“Hey!” you may say. “Get that stick out of your ass! Their appearance doesn’t matter!”
Well, when it comes to foodservice, you bet your ass it matters! I’ve got no problems with piercings, tattoos, rainbow-hued mohawks, etc. Whatever your thing is, dude. It’s okay with me.
But when the greasy bastard making my food has hair hanging down hin his face no matter what the colour, I don’t want it. And the people there have never been the most hygenic. Big turnoff.
What sucks is, it’s the best-tasting pizza I’ve ever had. What’s a guy to do?
(and on preview, I see what andros has said. well, bite me andy.)
I never found a hair in my food there, colored or otherwise, and I never got sick from eating there. As a poor student, it was the best food I could afford.
I miss my Peppers. Fortunately, Asheville has the Brew & View, which more than makes up for it.
I had a doctor who did that! A list posted on the back of the door. It told you how to only talk about what you made the appointment for, so as not to take up too much of the doctor’s time. Another one said not to go out in the hall in your gown! The kicker was, this doctor would schedule 4 patients at the same time, so she was always behind schedule. It wasn’t the patients’ fault, it was hers! A simple problem could take hours with that doctor. Needless to say, she is no longer my primary care physician.
Based on two very bad personal experiences, if I see a “fish” symbol on a company’s business card I do the following:[ul]
[li]Place my right hand over my wallet[/li][li]Place my left hand over the family jewels[/li][li]Back away slowly, then turn and run[/li][li]Go find a different company to do business with[/li][/ul]
On to the wait staff issue. I don’t mind when the wait staff comes by to see if everything is OK. The only time it bothers me is when they ask the question just as I have taken a big bite of my food, and I can’t reply with my mouth full.
I have two interesting takes on Elysian’s story
March 1994 I fell off the back on a truck at work and shattered my heel. Amazing amounts of pain. I am in the ER (which was stone empty, I was the only sicky there) Doc looks at foot, promises meds, wait, get taken for X-rays, wait, moved back to ER, wait, doc comes in to give me the bad news, still no meds. By now 45 minutes has passed since I hit the front door of the ER and still no meds. At this point I am PISSED, and in major pain.
Orderly walks in and tells me meds will be there soon. I proceed to rip the orderly’s head off and shit down the hole as I tell him in no uncertain terms just what I think of his place of employment, I comment that Christmas is only 9 months away and I was wondering if my meds would come gift wrapped in time for, and his lack of brains. Many 4-letter words were used. None were repeated.
Anyway a couple of minutes later the meds arrived. Demerol is wonderful stuff when you are almost out of your skull in pain.
On my way out the door I saw the orderly and called him over and apologized profusely. And repeatedly. He was kind enough to understand that it was the pain talking before.
Just as a counterpoint:
Last night I went to dinner here in Seattle (I’m up on business) I get seated at the restaurant and in a couple of minutes the waitress comes by with a hand full of plates and four of those folders for the bill under her arm. She is clearly busy as hell. She starts to ask if I want a drink. I tell her to go take care of the other stuff, and come back with an ice tea, but really there was no rush.
About 3 minutes later, she is back and still out of breath. I tell her to take a deep breath and slow down for a second. She does and gives me a dazzling smile. We chit chat for a minute, she makes a recommendation and I order my food. A couple of times during the dinner, she stopped by to see if everything is OK. (it was)
Anyway when I get the bill back with my credit card I notice that she has written something on my receipt
Ahh, geez. I grew up in St. Louis, and I’m pretty sure it’s a Midwest thing to say “you guys” instead of “y’all” or “you two” or anything else. I noticed that I was doing it for the first time when I moved out to California years ago and my female friends started to point it out. I had never given it a second thought and it took a concerted effort for me to weed it out.
My point is that she probably had no idea she used a “verbal tic” that caused you such discomfort.
Surely there are other verbal nuances in Wisconsin that are more irritating than that one? Ya know? Yah?
