Customer 'service' rant #93 .....

[Fab Foodie]

Took DD#2 to Heathrow for her flight to Japan. Left home at 0530. All sorted by 0700 so decided to buy her a coffee and cake before she went through security. Been all a bit stressy up to then. Walked into the Cafe Rouge area and up to the counter to look at the pain au raisins etc on display. No queue or anybody else waiting or around.
Whilst cogitating in my sleepy daze I could hear a voice wittering beside me as I stirred my brain cell.
'Hang on a minute' I said 'I'm just thinking
Then was told again by the voice that it was table service
'OK, but please give me a minute'
More wittering about table first if I want to order
'If you keep going-on I'll go elsewhere ....'
She keeps wittering about table regardless and DD#2 shouts that we have to sit down first. So I find a table and sit down only to be told by the voice that I couldn't sit there ....
I walked.
Bollocked by DD#2 for causing a scene.

Cafe Nero was great.

Small beer I know, but all I wanted was a minute just to look, I new what I wanted, the voice was there and could easily taken my order whilst I stood, I should have been able to sit at a table of my choice.

My money, I get to choose ... or my feet, I get to walk.

 

[uphillstruggler]

I like your style, I would do the same, and get the same earache from my mob.

if I had the choice in the future between the two, guess which one would get my pennies. long memory.

 

[martint235]

Took DD#2 to Heathrow for her flight to Japan. Left home at 0530. All sorted by 0700 so decided to buy her a coffee and cake before she went through security. Been all a bit stressy up to then. Walked into the Cafe Rouge area and up to the counter to look at the pain au raisins etc on display. No queue or anybody else waiting or around.
Whilst cogitating in my sleepy daze I could hear a voice wittering beside me as I stirred my brain cell.
'Hang on a minute' I said 'I'm just thinking
Then was told again by the voice that it was table service
'OK, but please give me a minute'
More wittering about table first if I want to order
'If you keep going-on I'll go elsewhere ....'
She keeps wittering about table regardless and DD#2 shouts that we have to sit down first. So I find a table and sit down only to be told by the voice that I couldn't sit there ....
I walked.
Bollocked by DD#2 for causing a scene.

Cafe Nero was great.

Small beer I know, but all I wanted was a minute just to look, I new what I wanted, the voice was there and could easily taken my order whilst I stood, I should have been able to sit at a table of my choice.

My money, I get to choose ... or my feet, I get to walk.

Really? I'd have got a large beer just for the hell of it

 

[swee'pea99]

You remind me of the Bill Bryson I just finished, which includes some superb customer service stories. This one's from post-Soviet-era Yugoslavia. Lengthy, but worth it...

 

[I like Skol]

Stand your ground FF and the world will come to you! I had a similar lack of customer service experience in B&Q a few years ago. I nipped in early one morning to pick up some essentials for the days DIY. When I got to the tills I found that they were only the self scan tills open. I enquired about the 'proper' tills but was told they don't open until later but, "feel free to use the self scan checkouts". I dug my heels in and asked if someone could man a proper till because I don't use self-scan. They said this wasn't possible so I then asked to see the store manager. Suddenly a supervisor appeared and I did indeed get served the way I expected to when spending a not insignificant amount of money. At my next early visit some time later I found they had abandoned the unmanned till idea and now had at least one staffed till whenever the store was open. I can't have been the only one!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Stand your ground FF and the world will come to you! I had a similar lack of customer service experience in B&Q a few years ago. I nipped in early one morning to pick up some essentials for the days DIY. When I got to the tills I found that they were only the self scan tills open. I enquired about the 'proper' tills but was told they don't open until later but, "feel free to use the self scan checkouts". I dug my heels in and asked if someone could man a proper till because I don't use self-scan. They said this wasn't possible so I then asked to see the store manager. Suddenly a supervisor appeared and I did indeed get served the way I expected to when spending a not insignificant amount of money. At my next early visit some time later I found they had abandoned the unmanned till idea and now had at least one staffed till whenever the store was open. I can't have been the only one!

Good man. I do the same too.

 

[jefmcg]

I once sat at an nearly empty cafe, waited for 5 minutes, then realised that they didn't do table service. Still a bit miffed no one had told us. So rocked up to the counter and before I was served, some one else entered and they went straight to him, having never been aware of my presence and not bothering to ask who was first. At that point I left, fed up to the next coffee shop which was probably two doors away. The shop is now a Foxtons.

 

[Starchivore]

You remind me of the Bill Bryson I just finished, which includes some superb customer service stories. This one's from post-Soviet-era Yugoslavia. Lengthy, but worth it...

I haven't read any of his books but have nearly got one several times at charity shops. Are they worth a read? I'm not one for endless descriptions of places-type travel books. I liked that excerpt.

I enjoyed "A walk in the woods" which was based on his story of walking the Appalachian trail with a friend- did you see that? I'd recommend it, very very funny.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I haven't read any of his books but have nearly got one several times at charity shops. Are they worth a read? I'm not one for endless descriptions of places-type travel books. I liked that excerpt.

I enjoyed "A walk in the woods" which was based on his story of walking the Appalachian trail with a friend- did you see that? I'd recommend it, very very funny.

Yep, they're easy to read, well observed and funny.
On Paris 'I hope the Parisians like dog-shoot .... they sure have a lot of it'.

 

[swee'pea99]

Are they worth a read?

Oh yes.

On Paris 'I hope the Parisians like dog-shoot .... they sure have a lot of it'.

Not just dogs either...

 

[martint235]

I once sat at an nearly empty cafe, waited for 5 minutes, then realised that they didn't do table service. Still a bit miffed no one had told us. So rocked up to the counter and before I was served, some one else entered and they went straight to him, having never been aware of my presence and not bothering to ask who was first. At that point I left, fed up to the next coffee shop which was probably two doors away. The shop is now a Foxtons.

Cafes always confuse me because they all seem to have different rules: some you need to go to the counter, others it's table service, others it's table service but you need to pay at the till etc.

I've just started frequenting a new cafe in Welling (I hate Costa et al and this place does great coffee). They have a menu that says place your order at the counter but every time I stand up they tell me to sit down. I'm forgiving them for now because I want them to survive.

 

[Milkfloat]

@Fab Foodie It is your fault for going into a Cafe Rouge, plus of all places you chose an airport to do it.

 

[Ashness]

I haven't read any of his books but have nearly got one several times at charity shops. Are they worth a read? I'm not one for endless descriptions of places-type travel books. I liked that excerpt.

I enjoyed "A walk in the woods" which was based on his story of walking the Appalachian trail with a friend- did you see that? I'd recommend it, very very funny.

somewhere there is a description of a cricket match that I found hilarious at the time but cant remember which book

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Really? I'd have got a large beer just for the hell of it

I was concerned at a small one at 07:00 that more like a Wetherspoons customer

 

[Fab Foodie]

@Fab Foodie It is your fault for going into a Cafe Rouge, plus of all places you chose an airport to do it.

In my defence ... it was just there by the check-in desk, so seemed like a good idea at the time rather than trawling the building.