I work as a server in a very very busy restaurant in a sea side town and our clientele out of season is the elderly - as in older then me and Im 60. Elderly retired people who have lived in the area all their lives and like to come out and have a coffee and a bit of a chat to pass the day. They often have their grandchildren as well who they have picked up from school and are looking after them till the parents come home from work
I have never ever had a elderly customer be rude to me
Easter school holidays, the town is bunged, we have a queue 30/40 deep from opening at 10 till 4pm, we are non stop. Yet we still have to find the time to deal with the gentleman wandering into the kitchens looking for his lost medals, the lady who took a tumble outside the store and has badly bruised her face , get a first aider to her and calm her husband. We have to clear up more then enough mess from high chairs and tables where children have been sat. We still find the time to greet customers, ask if their meal is ok, do they require anything else, run back and forth to get something they do require that they have forgotten to pick up, carry trays for those that cant, help customers on with coats, run after them with their forgotten brollies . Make big fusses of babies, sit and chat to the old fella with Alzheimer's whilst his daughter is still in the queue, clear chairs and move tables to assist wheelchair users, and pass a few words whilst clearing the tables, have a bit of banter as we call it
However, in my place of work the ethos is "Customer Experience " , the customer has to leave us with a smile and feel good about their experience in store.
Our customers know they are going to be looked after so they come back to us again and again, they keep us going through the winter when most places have to shut. They expect good service and they are given good service
And I bloody love it. The chats and fun we have with the customers makes the day fly. They might be in a queue for 30 minutes to be given a table but there's never a bother, there's plenty of other places in town opened during holiday season, but they are more then happy to queue because they know they are going to be looked after and their custom valued
Sure there's days I come out of work so knackered, so sore , head thumping thinking I must be bloody mad , but the following day Im back there, smile on my face and back at it. So I might have had the biggest row with DH before I left for work, so my dog may be at the vets, so I may be worrying about a large bill, but our customers don't need to know all that. We are often short staffed, that's not the customers problem. WW3 could be happening in the kitchen, the dishwasher might have decided they have had enough and gone walkabout - the customer still gets the service
And our customers actually take the time to write / phone or email in and leave thanks. We get glowing online reviews and we get thanked to our faces