A couple of years ago, my husband and I would go to our nearest Outback every Friday night. Yes, In fact we were such regulars that if we weren’t there at our usual time, the hostess would call us and if we didn’t answer she would say, “I assume you are on your way.” Why were we so loyal?
The reason we went there was that that food was consistently good and the service was awesome. We felt like the most special guests you can imagine. If the hostess noticed something not quite right, it got handled, even if it was for a guest at a table. If the bartender noticed something wasn’t right, she either took care of it or made sure that another team member made things right and always checking back to make sure it was done to our liking. The manager would stop by and ask if everything was alright or if we needed anything. While we ae not demanding guests, (I’ve been a server), this team worked in tandem to ensure our every need was met. If a new server came in, the rest of the team made sure that he or she knew us and the new server fell right in line with his or her own great brand of customer service. But then things began to change.
The hostess left and started to pursue a degree. The manager was transferred. The bartender got another job. The new servers were lack luster, inattentive and only did the minimum. On one visit I was served an end cut of prime rib. Guests are not served this cut unless one specifically asks for it. Servers became even more increasingly non-caring and wrapped up in “other agendas.” Then one evening, we decided to take dessert home. When we arrived back at the house, we noticed that some items that practically make this dessert had been left out. I had to drive back to Outback and get it. Things went barreling downhill from there. Outback had certainly backed out of the service part of hospitality.
After these and other service breeches, we avoided Outback for a while. We thought, well, they have a new manager and maybe things just need to get more coordinated. So, die hards that we are, last week we went back to Outback. The parking lot had only a few cars so they were not busy. We walked in and there were three people behind the hostess stand. We were greeted properly, ahhh, a good sign we thought. We said, “We are just going to go into the bar.” We had no trouble finding a booth as no other patrons were in the bar area except for two people sitting at the bar directly across from our booth. The bartender served them and we were so close in proximity that she would have had to see us. The hostess passed by our table at least once, as did two other servers. The manager passed by our table without even a glance our way. He walked around the room keeping his eyes glued to the TVs hanging about the restaurant. We waited a little longer and finally we got up to leave. My husband made a quip about the service to the host as we left. His return reply was, “We thought you went to the bar.” The manager, by this time had worked his way around the room and held the door open for us as we left. How nice. Tandem teamwork? The terrible tandems – maybe. It’s doubtful this is the type of teamwork most organizations seek in their team members.
At any rate, we went next door to Chile’s. The parking lot was full. Hmmmmm. imagine that. We went in and were properly greeted by the hostess. Our server, Paul, came right over and took great care of us. Our every need was met, we had a delicious meal, left Paul a more than adequate tip and left with smiles on our faces. So Outback, back out of the service industry if you’re not going to go all in on service. Service? Oh you remember, that’s where your team at the very least acknowledges your customers, gives them a modicum of attention and the customer leaves with smiles…not smirks.
