While in Florida last week, we were treated by the Village View church staff to a great dinner in The Villages. The restaurant was the Nancy Lopez Legacy Country Club. Great ambiance, inviting decor and delicious food.
Now, when I eat out, I always want to know the server's name. There's a good chance I'll want something during the meal, and I'd rather not call out, "Hey, you!" Plus, when I extend a personal connection with the server, I'm also laying down a service test: Will he/she meet me at that level? Will they serve with genuine care and connect on a human level rather than a mission of task?
That evening, I located the name badge on our server's shirt. Nice touch. It was gold. Impressive. Then I read his name: "Trainee". Not so nice touch. Not impressive. Now, I might just have to yell, "Hey, you!"; that would have to be better than "Hey, Trainee". This restaurant chose not to partner Mr. Trainee with a visible, near-by Mr. or Ms. Trainer. Rather, they announced, "This guy's new. And we don't you to remember his name. In fact, there's a chance the experience may be so bad, that we'll never get to the point of creating a real name tag for him. He's in a probation period. Thanks for helping us with the test."
Now, before I sound too much like a hard-core critic and pretentious snob, I should add that when I see someone in training, I pull out some extra grace. I know they're new. I know they will make mistakes and not serve with the same ease and/or timeliness as a comfortable, competent veteran server. I get that.
So, when he wasn't sure of the answer about our first question off the menu - "What's the fish of the day??" - he went to the kitchen for the answer. I was pleased with his willingness to say, "I don't know, but I'll find out."
However, by the 8th time (no kidding) that he went to the kitchen for the answer, I was losing my patience - not with him, but with the management. This poor man was hung out to dry. He was ill-informed and under-trained. He didn't know the vegetable of the day, the soup of the day, the fresh catch... essential things to creating an adequate experience for the guest - me.
This management team may have considered that if he learns by asking, his training experience will be complete. Maybe. But they failed to consider the experience of the patron who never accepted to be part of the training program. Nor did they consider the frustration and embarrassment for this man who was left feeling incompetent and unprofessional.
It was another great reminder that when our guest services teams in our churches are ill-informed, we hang them out to dry. We frustrate them, because they feel incompetent and unprofessional. And, we sabotage the experience of our guests, who leave wondering who's leading this chaos.
I don't live in Florida; if I did, I'm not sure I'd go back to the restaurant.
And I'm sure there are guests in our churches who never return because we don't know our own menu or how to order from it quickly and easily.
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