A little rant about customer service.

[sb335is]

Feel free to read or not read this large wall of text.

So tonight I was chilling with my girlfriend at her house, come about 630, her parents offer me an ultimatum regarding dinner- Either I could go to the new health food to-go place, and it will be ready in 10 minutes- Or it will be delivered in 30. Being the nice kid I am, and its only a few minutes down the road, I accept the challenge, yes challenge, to go pick up the food.

So 5 minutes later I leave, I'm there in ten. My girlfriend goes to the register to pay (hehe) and it won't be ready for at least another 5 minutes. Okay, no big deal, thats about how long my patience is anyways.

So five minutes later the food is sitting there- A nice pizza, three entrees, a brownie, and some other shit. Next problem- Cash register won't open up, and the manager/owner has left for the night. (at 640pm at a new store, you're leaving your new teenage employee alone? nice). So the total is 46 bucks, all we've got is 3 20's.

So, about 5 minutes of her fiddling with the register, I'm about to go get this resolved by suggesting I either give her 40 bucks, take the food, and bail, the store loses 6 bucks over my sanity- Or I give them nothing, walk out, and they can eat all that food themselves. Nope, my girlfriend gives me an earful about how ive never had a job at a register and how this happens- And that I better not say anything. Okay fine.

v
v
v
v
v
v

So 35 minutes later after baby sitting this chick and watching my food get cold while shes on the phone with her boss, and her boss being extremely stiff and not willing to compromise on payment- Let alone offer me anything free, or compensation for my time, I finally spoke up and made her make me change out of the tip jar. Got home, had to microwave my burger and sweet potato fries (nothing like microwaved buns and potato fries). Now my girlfriends mad at me and told me to leave because apparently I was supposed to sit around all night because "ive never worked a job like that blabh blah blah"

Now thanks to the owner by phone, I'm never going to go there ever again, I'm going to tell everyone I know to avoid that place like the plague, and they're never going to see another cent from me.

Bottom line, if this was TwoTurboz health food to-go, I would have immediately let the customer give me the 2 20's, and a free entree coupon for next time within 5 minutes. Sure, I take a loss, but at least the customers happy and ill regain the loss (hopefully, expecting he likes the food HOT), and he won't tell people who will tell people exponentially to avoid my store. Like starbucks does.

Bottom, BOTTOM line
A service providers problem should NEVER turn into the customers problem. Unlike my girlfriend, I don't sympathize with the cash register operators situation, not because I've never been one, but because I don't care.

[Buegie]

Why didn't anyone make change for you from the beginning, either out of the tip jar or out of somebody's wallet? I think you were too patient, I would have put the $40 on the counter and just taken the food after about five minutes.

[BTM]

Should've taken the food, smashed it on the ground a la

and checked out Subway's lowfat options

[sb335is]

Originally Posted by Buegie

Why didn't anyone make change for you from the beginning, either out of the tip jar or out of somebody's wallet? I think you were too patient, I would have put the $40 on the counter and just taken the food after about five minutes.

We were the only ones at this stupid place. (I wonder why)

And I agree with you- thats what I was going to do before my girlfriend started going on her pity stories about cash register stories and how I better not and how the girls "super nice"

[jopa489]

You're completely right. I would have some patience for a few minutes (5-10 at the very most, like you) but after that it's no longer my problem. Jopa's health food to-go would also have taken the 40 bucks, apologized for wasting a few minutes of the customer's time, and moved on.

[sb335is]

Originally Posted by jopa489

You're completely right. I would have some patience for a few minutes (5-10 at the very most, like you) but after that it's no longer my problem. Jopa's health food to-go would also have taken the 40 bucks, apologized for wasting a few minutes of the customer's time, and moved on.

Funny part is when I got there my parents were getting seated (coincidentally) at a sushi restaurant three suites down. They ended up eating a full sit down meal in less time. FML

Can't wait till that place is for rent.

[JayKay335i]

Your girlfriends a bitch. The restaurant is garbage. You need to up the size of your man receptacles.

[Buegie]

Originally Posted by twoturboz

We were the only ones at this stupid place. (I wonder why

I meant one of the employees, I'm sure somebody had some cash on them to make change.

This stuff happens because many business owners don't realize that the cost to keep a customer is usually a hell of alot less than to find a new one. If the place would have just taken the $6 loss, you probably would have returned multiple times, more than making up for the initial loss.

[sb335is]

Originally Posted by JayKay335i

Your girlfriends a bitch. The restaurant is garbage. You need to up the size of your man receptacles.

last time that will ever happen. she tells me "omg she was going to give us a store credit!" Like i want to go back to that half assed operation they call a store- Especially after that long. What took her so long? I suggested at least 5 alternative ways. Such as giving me an IOU to come back and get the cash if we gave her 60.

Originally Posted by Buegie

I meant one of the employees, I'm sure somebody had some cash on them to make change.

This stuff happens because many business owners don't realize that the cost to keep a customer is usually a hell of alot less than to find a new one. If the place would have just taken the $6 loss, you probably would have returned multiple times, more than making up for the initial loss.

Yup, my food would probably have tasted fairly decent too.

[BMW F22]

I don't feel like typing a lot of stuff so I'll just say that sometimes you forget the simplest thing to do (which was to take the $6 loss) amidst confusion and chaos.

[JayKay335i]

Any business owner that leaves a new restaurant during the dinner rush is a moron either way.

[ghosthi32]

cinco de drinkooo

[jopa489]

Originally Posted by BMW E90

I don't feel like typing a lot of stuff so I'll just say that sometimes you forget the simplest thing to do (which was to take the $6 loss) amidst confusion and chaos.

I agree, but the OP suggested that to them at least twice among all the other things he mentioned. From the way it was described, the owner of the store was too stubborn to let the 6 bucks go.

[JayKay335i]

When can I drop my car off? I need at least a clay and 1 step polish.

[jopa489]

Geez, if it's not Collin derailing OT threads, it's you.

[MediaArtist]

Where in OC is this place? I'll make sure to avoid it.

[JayKay335i]

Originally Posted by ghosthi32

cinco de drinkooo

A girl said that right before she blew me behind the bathrooms tonight.

[chungdae]

Dump the girlfriend. Should have put her in her place. Hell you're paying for it, she has no right to say anything.

[Maestro]

If you every watch Kitchen Nightmares you would see there are more people running restaurants who have no clue what customer service is and I have no idea how they seem to stay in business. The best part of that show is these people request Gordan to come in and help and they rip on him during the show that he has no clue about their business.

I am usually pretty tolerant of places I eat at since I know things happen, it come down to how they treat you when it happens. I do not give the help or wait staff grief unless it is clearly them who has no clue, most times I hold the owner or manager responsible since they are the ones making the big $. The best way to show them you're not satisfied is not to show up again and tell everyone you know not to show up.

[MadDog]

Originally Posted by chungdae

Dump the girlfriend. Should have put her in her place. Hell you're paying for it, she has no right to say anything.

My understanding was that the girlfriend paid. The OP was more pissed off about the wait and the food getting cold.

[sb335is]

Originally Posted by MadDog

My understanding was that the girlfriend paid. The OP was more pissed off about the wait and the food getting cold.

Really her parents paid.... trust me if it was my cash I would have

[chungdae]

You're right, she did pay. Then you should stay quiet and let her handle it.