Dear Bruce,
I'm a regular customer.
I was sitting at a table, waiting for food to be served. On this occasion, something caught my eye.
A middle-aged man stood at the front counter. I recognized him as the host. He was having a casual conversation with an acquaintance.
At this moment, a delivery driver came to the restaurant to pickup an order.
When the driver approached the counter, your staff became silent. There was no welcome greeting, no smile, no kind gesture of any sort.
A January chill crept through the air...
Without saying a word, the host left a small piece of white paper on the counter. It was a receipt.
The driver looked confused.
After a moment of silence, the host uttered, "Don't you need to scan this?"
The driver was careful and made no assumptions. He asked if the order was, in fact, for his customer by name.
After the order was confirmed, the driver looked around, confused as to which bag was actually for his customer.
Using gestures, your staff silently pointed to the bag's location, sitting a short distance from the counter.
The driver replied with a polite "thank you". The host replied with silence.
There was no "thank you for confirming" or "have a good day".
Just pure silence.
This encounter rubbed me the wrong way. As the driver walked away, the host continued having a casual conversation with his acquaintance. Clearly, he has a mouth.
Why the cold reception to a driver?
From my view, I see two people working directly for the customer. Both are equal in the work level heirarchy. Yet, your staff's attitude toward the driver was condescending and rather disgusting.
The driver's behavior was polite and professional. What have they done to deserve such poor treatment from the host?
In the past, I have received orders from delivery people. They delivered when I was sick with Covid and when I was momentarily disabled from a horseback riding injury. More than likely, they will continue to deliver when I'm too old to dine out.
Your staff fails to understand the value of having delivery drivers. Without them, there would be no deliveries.
Drivers are not your slaves, nor are they your employees. They are your business partners who provide additional income to the restaurant.
Yet, they receive no respect or gratitude from your host. Why?
In all industries, there are lemons. Just like the one you decided to employ. However, we must never generalize a group of people based on a few lemons. Am I right?
To lump a group of people together and treat them differently is called discrimination.
Congrats to your staff for blatantly discriminating against delivery people. The host should be ashamed of himself.
Let me add this. There are many reasons why customers may choose to stay home and not dine out. Some choose delivery for convenience, others choose it to avoid rude staff.
Overall, the people you hire should reflect the face of the business. Show the same face to the driver, as you would the customer. No one likes anyone with two faces.
Not everyone is meant for customer service.
Ask the host the following question: How much does it cost to smile and greet delivery people with respect?
Does it cost more than losing a long-term customer?
The food you serve is warm. The way your staff treats delivery people is cold.
Give my gratitude to the host. Because of him, you have lost a long-term customer.
From now on, my friends and I will be dining at a different Chinese restaurant. read more