My first rant of the year! Took a whole 7 days! LOL! Blogging makes me feel better, so here it goes.
Something has been eating at me and there is nothing I can
do about it. I have tried to do
something about it. I have given
suggestions. I have put my ideas out
there. Alas, I feel helpless and
powerless to change it. That bothers me. I hate seeing people who do things the proper
way get crapped on.
So – here is the hypothetical situation similar to what has been eating away at me. .
. .
You made reservations at your favorite restaurant. I mean, you love this place. Made them three months ago for this Friday. In that time, you got a gift card for $60 at
that restaurant that expires on Friday night.
You know that will cover the meal of both you and your child, time
worked out perfect for you to use this gift card on that meal. You have that reservation – and are just so
excited to go. The reservation is at
6pm. Your child, who is going to eat
with you, has to be across the street at 8pm – they have a role in the local
play and they have to be there at that time.
Should work out fine – right.
Your reservation is at 6. It will
be busy that night, but you shouldn’t need more than two hours at that restaurant,
right? That is why you made a
reservation, so you could get in and out in a timely manor.
Friday comes. You and
your child show up at 5:50. You give
them your name and tell them you have a reservation – they see that reservation
and say, “Have a seat, it will be a couple of minutes.” That is fine, you are a little early. You look around and see the place is
packed. The line to get a seat is so
long it is outside the restaurant. You are
so glad you made that reservation!
Sitting down in the lobby with your child you talk about the
play he/she is going to be in. You talk
about school/work that day. You talk
about what you are going to have for dinner.
While sitting you notice they are calling people back to tables. Hmmmm. . . . Well, maybe they had
reservations too. Time goes by, it is
now 6:30, you go up and say, “Just wanted to remind you that we are here. We had a reservation at 6pm for a table.” Lady says, “Yep, we have you here, it will
just be a few more minutes.” You sit back
down. Glad the play is across the
street.
More people are being called back. That is strange. You start talking to the person next to
you. “Yah, we have been here for over an
hour,” they say. “We heard this place
was good and decided to stop by and eat.
We were just next door and it sounded good.” They had no reservation, obviously.
The person on the other side of you, chimes in and says, “Same here. We were in the area as well today and just
decided to wonder in. “
At that moment the second person who spoke was called back
to their seat.
At this point your son/daughter is very hungry, and that is
turning into being hangry. If you had
known it would have taken this long you would have given him/her a snack. It is now 6:50 and you know at least one
person was called back before you who didn't have a reservation.
Time continues. 7:20
comes and the first person you spoke to gets called back. Now you are mad. You only have 40 minutes to be seated, order,
eat, and be across the street. Why is
this taking so long? You had a
reservation at 6pm. You were there on time. You planned in advance, yet people without a reservation are being seen before you.
By now you go back to the hostess, “Look, I have to be
somewhere at 8, how much longer is it going to take? My reservation was at 6pm.”
“Let me see. . . .” she looks at list. “There are only two more people in front of
you.”
“WHAT! I have to be
somewhere else at 8pm”
“Well,” hostess says, “maybe you should have come in sooner
if you had to be somewhere at 8.”
“We aren’t going to be able to stay, is there any way I can
get an extension on my gift certificate here so we can use it later, since you
can’t honor my reservation today?”
Hostess, “You mean you are upset that you aren’t going to
get a free meal from us. Come on. If you want your free meal you will wait, if
you can’t then you lose out.”
So – How would you feel if this happened to you? You came in on time for your reservation –
yet everyone who just walked in before you without a reservation was seated
before you. You are told that it doesn't
matter if you have a reservation or not, you will be treated the same as those
who walk in without a reservation. You are told it is bad customer service to make those who just walked in wait longer than you, even though you had a reservation and they didn't. You
are told that maybe you shouldn't have made a reservation that close to your other engagement. Then, you are told that because the meal was going to be free anyway you shouldn't be mad. Would it
make you mad? Would you ever go back to
that restaurant again? Just
curious.
