Kevin Dunn, manager of the fabulous Moro Restaurant in Wilmington, doesn't mind me sharing this tale he just included in an mass email. It's so PRICELESS, you must read it.
(Kev, you just may have a book in you.)
Read Kevin's tale and enjoy!
Behind the Scenes - Attack of the Coat People
This is one of the best stories so far to happen at Moro.
Let me set the scene.
This couple walks in and we ask for their name. When we ask'd if they wanted to hang their coats, the man said "no," the woman said "yes." The woman told him to hang his coat, too. He now gives up his coat.
On this particular night, there were six women having a little bachelorette party about 30 feet from where the Coat People were seated. The girls were loud and silly. We moved one table upstairs so they could get away from the noise. I went to the Coat People table and mentioned to them they also could move to another, quieter area.
The man says to me, "Will you wash my car too?"
I told him "With that kind of attitude, you can sit here the rest of the night."
Poetic Justice: When dinner was over for the Coat People, we went to run his credit card.
Guess what? DECLINED.
This was a beautiful moment.
I said to him, "Do you wash cars?"
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5 comments:
Guess we'll never go there. The guy makes a joke about washing his car, the owner gives him a snooty reply like that? They should have walked out and taken their business elsewhere. And the comment after their card is declined? Priceless. He really got them didn't he.
No wonder so many restaurants go under- because of better than thou attitudes from the workers. People go out to eat to have a good time, not to have staff look down their noses at them.
As a restaurant owner, I find this attitude rampant among patrons- restaurant workers are subservient to us- always.
Do customers forget that kindness begets kindness? Or are there so many mediocre restaurants out there that we've become dulled to the lack of hospitality?
The manager was trying to make a situation better that MAY have been causing the guests discomfort. The guest took advantage of his host's good nature (how many places would have done this for them??)and replied with sarcasm. Tsk tsk tsk.
And for you to say "I guess we won't go there..." just illustrates this poor attitude.
We are in hospitality, not indentured servitude. Why do patrons feel it necessary to denigrate hospitality workers? In matters like this, I always defer to my mom: "That's just bad manners."
The guy made a joke. The owner should have laughed it off, not made the comment he made.
I don't ever treat any hospitality worker as subservient to me but I don't kiss their butts. They have a job to do and I expect them to do it. I don't like it when I hear other customers talking down to staff, but it goes both ways. A customer shouldn't have an owner or wait staff making comments that denigrate them either. Like it or not, you are in business to server the customer whether they are right or wrong. One of your customers feels he's not treated right by you or your staff, they tell friends, word gets around, and your business suffers because of a smartass remark someone made. I choose to patronize your business. If you don't appreciate my patronage, or your staff looks down their noses at me, I go somewhere else.
Look at the recent review of that steak and mushroom place up in Kennett. You think people are going to go there when the reviewer reported the bad attitude of their server? Or the blog yesterday about the oriental place that couldn't get an order of soup on the table? That's just bad business.
Well- you do know something about restaurants.
So it's okay for the customer to joke, but not the manager? Customers are "always right"? What you lack is the perspective of having worked in a restaurant. I know Kevin, and he is not a snob or even slightly confrontational. If Kevin took a jab back, it was because the customer's "joke", as you call it, was not a joke but an uncalled for comment when his host was trying to make him more comfortable.
You're the person who wrote the same comments about "sucking it up" a few weeks ago, aren't you? You wouldn't last one day in a fine dining establishment.
News Journal- thank you for this forum so that restaurant owners can have a free voice without buttheads threatening a boycott because they feel we should shut up and smile at customers' rudeness.
Yes that was me. Why not tell me the name of your place so I don't go there either?
Why would I need to last 1 day in a so called "fine dining" establishment. I don't need a culinary degree to make a better meal at home than I could have in your restaurant. By the way, how many illegals do you employ in your kitchen?
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