Is it just me? or do you find it irritatingly smarmy when salesfolk at local import stores greet you at the door, shove a basket into your hands and invite you to “Enjoy!” Do I look like a Kardasian? Shopping is probably an adventure sport for some, but I just wanted to come in and see if the store had any more of those square dinner plates I love. “Enjoy?”
The takeaway for me was that I was being aggressively nudged into spending money. No one today—well maybe with the exception of Richard Brandson or Gwyneth Paltrow— “enjoys” parting with their money.
Okay, if you can’t relate to that, try this:
Last month I had a wonderful, accomplished,delicious lunch at a certain restaurant. A few nights ago we returned for dinner. Whoa, total sea change in terms of ambience (Marie Callender’s meets Outback Steakhouse), service (none, absent) and quality of the food (overseasoned in one case, and not completely cooked in another). I don’t like raw carrots and “just opened the can” flavor in my slow-simmered stews. Sorry. That’s just me.
How could these two experiences coexist within the span of a mere month?
I’m guessing the restaurant is without a resident chef. Perhaps as a result of sequestration cost cutting.
(That was a joke.)
But the lost $75 was no joke.
“No one today—well maybe with the exception of Richard Brandson or Gwyneth Paltrow— “enjoys†parting with their money.”
Christina you need to get out of Santa Cruz more often. Luxury goods retailers, realtors catering to the wealthy, art, jewelery, vintage cars, sales are booming with record high prices and look where the stock market is? Sure this little town is probably hurting still but San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York among others are doing really well. We tried to get a reservation at Gary Danko for 5pm on a Sunday night, an aunt’s 90th birthday celebration five weeks in advance, no way fully booked. We did end up eating there, a last minute cancellation but who would have thought you needed to book months in advance at that time on a Sunday?? And by the way the food and service were absolutely faultless.
Your experience at the local restaurant, that unfortunately is nothing new. How about taking the previously mentioned eldery aunt to dinner locally, at 5pm we are the second party to arrive. We get served our wine and first courses and then wait for over an hour and a quarter for our main course to arrive, a simple dish that arrived overcooked and ruined, meanwhile people arriving after us have eaten and left. During the wait there were lots of apologies instigated by my anxious looks and questions but no one ever took the time to actually go into the kitchen to find the problem while their ninety year old customer is waiting patiently for her food. Sure if we were by ourselves we woud have bailed but my aunt was really hungry.
Lots of very nice people but very poorly managed, enjoying their work but a total lack of focus on the paying customer. Exclusive to Santa Cruz? hell no but it happens here way too often for a town that really needs the business.
I’d love to know which restaurant this was!
Totally agree with Judi G. It reminds me of when we lived in Australia–a lovely country to live for 5 years and raise our boys when little; however, I often referred to it as The Land of the Great Uncleared Table. It seems that Aussies are so egalitarian that they cannot abide to ‘wait’ on other people, so only do it when pushed by the necessity of making a living. Hence, in the years we were there–1987-1992, and we ate out a lot–the service was terrible, except at very high end restaurants. Our Aussie friends, who would travel to the US, would always comment on how great the service was in America. But since living in Santa Cruz, you often get the feeling that the waitstaff cannot be bothered to do the minimum to make you comfortable. And the 90 year old aunt story is a case in point. Having said all this, I do think in the 19 years we’ve lived here, service in most Santa Cruz restaurants has improved greatly.
I would not blame restaurants locally for average service. The service problem is again the same one that dogs restaurant survival here in Santa Cruz County: the local population will not pay for good service and top quality food but expects it nevertheless (Bottom Feeding mentality). Top quality servers do not land here in Sants Cruz. The money is just not here. The area has a reputation among servers outside Santa Cruz for low check averages and small tips. Almost every restaurant I deal with constantly bemoans the lack of a professional cadre of severs in Santa Cruz. Whereas, there is such a cadre of pros in Monterey and San Francisco and the service is generally superb across the board. Most restaurants here will tell you in a candid moment that they feel lucky if they can recruit one or two pros to their ranks. I would say that only a few restaurants here have more than one or two pros working for them and they just happen to be the busiest; the best servers go where the money is, no surprise. I contend, we will get better service and food if we, the dining public, step up and pay the required prices that restaurants need to survive and tip generously when we do receive good service.
As always Bob, I have to agree with you. I’m stunned at how people seem to be shying away from dining out. Last time I looked, the price of food in stores was high enough that restaurant menus looked quite competitive.
My priorities seem not to be in line with most Santa Cruzans, for whom pizza and a free glass of water seems to be the hot ticket. I just hate it when people won’t even order something to drink with their meal. Life is just too short…..
C.
Both the restaurant scene and the economy would benefit greatly if the local population were more open and welcoming to tourism but that’s another issue. I agree there is a lack of experienced professional staff here but I also think owners need to be more active in managing and training their employee’s to improve their customers experience. Those skills have to be taught and the point made, that if implemented properly, would boost both the business’s and employees net income.