The Value of Service

I think a lot of it comes down to different things that people are looking for: if you're looking for atmosphere and an overall restaurant "experience," then good service is essential. However, some people dining out are just looking for good food, and couldn't care less about the person handing them the food. Those are two very different animals. Those are two very different situations. It is tough to generalize about "servers" when you have two totally different camps of customers.

That said, personally, I don't like to be served. My family never had servants when growing up, and I've always felt a bit strange about having a server (a servant) waiting upon me. I mean, I can get up and pick up the plate from the kitchen. I can bring the dishes back to the sink. I feel the class inequity. I don't like it. I think some people do like it, however. They get to feel like king/queen for an hour or so. I fully understand that desire. But for me, I generally just want some good grub.

I like places like the old "Southside" in New Albany. Although, their food selection left much to be desired from my perspective...

Cheers...

p.s. This post is by no means meant to be a slight to servers. I'm just expressing my inner feelings. 99 times out of 100 I'm just in it for the food and wouldn't mind pressing a button to get it. But hey, I spend my days and nights serving people!

To me at the most basic level service professionals are my "consultant" to the kitchen. They are not servants.

what else can I say

beating-a-dead-horse.jpg

I feel ya...

I had intended this to be an inspirational thread.

Yeah...

Stephen, to be honest I just glanced over it, as I have on all similar post over the past week or so, I meant no harm

Thought about this a bit today and came to the following conclusion: I eat out to experience/enjoy food that I cannot/do not (for whatever reason) reproduce myself at home/at the restaurant easily. I know what my food tastes like, I know what flavor profiles and techniques I use most of the time when I cook. I am more than happy to pay to experience what another chef is doing. Service is almost never a factor.

Places we eat in our standard two week rotation:
Thai Place - only 1 server speaks English I can understand - so obviously service isn't important there
Mexican Place - better English, but less inclined to talk - doesn't matter here
American Asian - Order at the counter - doesn't matter here
Sushi - I get that take out - doesn't matter here
Burgers - order at the counter - doesn't matter here
Pizza - take out - doesn't matter here

Now am I saying that service is 100% not important? Of course not, I appreciate the job the server is doing, or the person putting together my take out etc. I expect them to provide an adequate level of service (refill my drinks, pleasant etc). But it is almost never the deciding factor for me. Service is absolutely horrible/non existent at some of the above places, but I dig the food. Now there are other places with average food, and good service, that I don't/won't eat at. The obvious exception is special occasions: first dates, anniversaries, etc etc. Then I want service to be excellent, because I want everything to be perfect. I guess that food would be about 85-90% of my decision for where/what to eat. Service makes up that last little bit - its absolutely essential to a place that wants all their guests to have an amazing experience, but not important to a place doing day to day really good food, at an average price.

Thought about this a bit today and came to the following conclusion: I eat out to experience/enjoy food that I cannot/do not (for whatever reason) reproduce myself at home/at the restaurant easily. I know what my food tastes like, I know what flavor profiles and techniques I use most of the time when I cook. I am more than happy to pay to experience what another chef is doing. Service is almost never a factor.

Places we eat in our standard two week rotation:
Thai Place - only 1 server speaks English I can understand - so obviously service isn't important there
Mexican Place - better English, but less inclined to talk - doesn't matter here
American Asian - Order at the counter - doesn't matter here
Sushi - I get that take out - doesn't matter here
Burgers - order at the counter - doesn't matter here
Pizza - take out - doesn't matter here

Now am I saying that service is 100% not important? Of course not, I appreciate the job the server is doing, or the person putting together my take out etc. I expect them to provide an adequate level of service (refill my drinks, pleasant etc). But it is almost never the deciding factor for me. Service is absolutely horrible/non existent at some of the above places, but I dig the food. Now there are other places with average food, and good service, that I don't/won't eat at. The obvious exception is special occasions: first dates, anniversaries, etc etc. Then I want service to be excellent, because I want everything to be perfect. I guess that food would be about 85-90% of my decision for where/what to eat. Service makes up that last little bit - its absolutely essential to a place that wants all their guests to have an amazing experience, but not important to a place doing day to day really good food, at an average price.

See Aaron, I am the complete opposite. I very rarely go out to eat. So many years in the restaurant industry has kind of taken the luster off of eating out as an event. It has almost become an unnecessary expense. Therefore, when I do go out to eat I rarely frequent the kind of places you've mentioned above. Not that I think there's anything wrong with them, it's just not how I choose to spend what limited dining dollars I have. I would actually rather go someplace decent and be well taken care of. Y'know, what dining out is supposed to be.

And being a server, I will pick apart my server's performance in my mind until it drives me crazy. They won't even be that bad, but I'll find faults. I won't say anything, and I'll overtip regardless, but it will still taint my dining experience. So, I would rather pay a little more, a little less often, and eat somewhere that has a service staff that is on point. And I'm not one of those people who wants a server to entertain me. Actually, if I didn't notice them doing their job throughout my meal, they just succeeded.

I have worked in food service off and on throughout my life. It is a profession I am very proud of whether it be as owner, manager, or in service. I am also a very good (actually too good) cook and love to eat at home. But in a perfect world I would eat out as much as I eat in. I love restaurants of all kinds from a greasy but authentic taqueria to a fine upscale eatery. I love going with friends but am just as happy dining by myself. And I love to be waited on. It is pleasent to feel pampered just a bit, and by that I don't mean fawned upon, just taken care of in a way suitable to the place where I'm dining.
I I try to stay away from picking apart service, but if a restaurant's staff is consistantly rude or surly or indifferent I will stop going back after 2 or 3 visits. There are just too many other places that make me feel wecome to put up with that.
I really don't have much of a point to make since so much time has been spent recently scrutinizing other's worth and wondering if service can't be replaced by robots, except to say that I love restaurants and the people who are crazy enough to own them and work in them.
I trust the horse isn't dead yet.

I trust the horse isn't dead yet.

Eloquent resuscitation, Gary.

There are places I eat with better food than some other ones. But, one thing I will never do, is dine at a place with poor service. I don't care how good the food is supposed to taste. If the service is poor, then it's bringing down my overall dining experience. I don't understand why some people are able to look past this fact. And, if they are, it means to me they place no importance on service or servers at all. It boggles my mind when they state the opposite, but claim their apt to go to any place; regardless of service.

That's my take on this horse.

I don't go to a place because of the service. I go because of the food/chefs. While I expect that my basic needs be met, i.e drinks refilled and dirty dishes taken away, I don't desire a close personal relationship with my server.

I like counter service as well as table service and it all depends on my mood. Since this topic shifted to a disagreement of whether or not formal service is obsolete, I'd like to opine that I feel rushed at a counter because you're face to face with the "order taker" and likely have others standing and waiting behind you. Maybe there's a plausible resolution to this, but I've yet to see it. If I'm having a double dollar experience, I want patience and privacy to decide what I'm buying. This is where you definitely have to have a server, not because they are less than you, but because it's their job to help, and it's an earned position. So no, I don't want a drive thru at Seviche or an aggravating and non-informative wall menu. And to respond to Mark's claim that he "knows" several people that make well over 900 dollars a week waiting tables: No you don't. I understood PRECISELY what Stephen was talking about. Some like to exagerrate their income because they already feel inferior and this ficticious income justifies their choice in the chosen profession. Stephen and I and many others that read this forum and have multiple levels of experience in the field can totally attest to this. Sorry Mark, your friends are yankin' your chain. Don't have a figure, but a very small fraction of servers make more than 500 a week, and many make a whole lot less.