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Thursday, June 5, 2014

Poor Service at a Buffet?

I went to one of two local Chinese buffets for lunch today, and I, for one, don't care for Chinese.  However this one time I really just wanted some decent Chinese.  Hell, I would have settled for slightly better than mediocre!  The place I went to though, let's just say they used to be a lot better and I'd have been better off making it at home.

First, I should say this rant isn't a review about the place though it was a barely mediocre meal.  No, the fact that it's a buffet means that one would except less than stellar service, however when the place is dead, the tea tastes weeks old, and you have to stare at a random server for several minutes before getting service, I doubt you can really say that it was the best experience.

No, the fact of the matter is that it was a horrible experience that I would fear repeating.  I don't care that the employees were obviously more comfortable in a language other than English. The fact that my husband had to wait for several minutes before getting his drink refilled is wrong.  This isn't the first time either and I've worked in a luncheon place before.  Yes keeping up on refills can be hard if it's busy and they are doing more than just clearing tables, doing busywork, seating people and taking their drink orders.

Apparently, when a person has their kids with them at work in this place it's perfectly okay to ignore the customers, you know who those are don't you?  Customers are the people who make up the whole reason you have a job that lets you pay the bills.  The tips they leave are based upon the service they received.  It's not a definite thing, but when those whose pay is supplemented by tips that are based upon performance, it usually leads to a better experience overall.

If the service or fare is bad why should a person leave any kind of tip much less return for a repeat performance?  I can't tell the number of times that I've needed a refill and not gotten one at buffets!  And it's not like they happen to be swarmed at that moment either.  In fact, every time I've been to Golden Corral, things have been busy and I've only ever had to track down someone for a drink refill once.  I'm twenty-seven years old and have four siblings, most younger.  I don't remember ever having issues when we'd go to Ponderosa either.  In fact, it's been rare, but when it happens and starts to seem a regular thing it gets annoying.  Then a couple came in after us and when we were beyond ready to go, they get their check, but we were still waiting for ours!

Is the really good service reserved for families and those who look they'll tip extremely well?  If so, maybe it's a good thing we rarely go out, because we usually give a decent tip.  Always a minimum of ten percent unless the service and fare are so bad as to upset us terribly.  I've been on both sides and yes I look at just how busy the place is before giving them the benefit of a doubt.  If it's extremely busy, then yes, I give quite a bit of slack, but when there's a total of five tables at a buffet and the servers are staring right at you and even ignore when you ask for something specific (like no ice in soda or extra sugar packets), well in that case you really don't deserve my repeat business.

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