Quick-service restaurants, at least.
Many years ago--probably about twenty years now--at one quick-service restaurant where I worked the closing shift the manager on duty admonished me for setting some chairs on some of the dining room tables before we were closed. It was rude to customers, he said. In other words, the place should look fully operational until the second that the dining room doors are locked and all customers are gone, and anything less is rude. And it seems like no matter what restaurant I worked the closing shift at we had all of our products ready to serve until we were closed.
Well, the past several years I have noticed, to name a few things, one or more of the following almost everywhere I eat out:
1.) As much as an hour before closing time, chairs upside-down on the tables and vacuuming going on all over the dining room. Watch your step or you will trip over a power cord! An hour before closing time!
2.) Better get there well before closing time if you want iced tea. It is not uncommon now to get there, say, a half hour before closing time and find that they have thrown away all of the tea. And they make no apologies for it. Are you kidding?! The tea is often what I eat out for!
3.) Trash receptacles turned in a manner to keep customers from using them. I am not talking about five minutes before closing time. I am talking about more than an hour before closing time.
Make no mistake about it, they want to get closed and get home without delay, and the more you understand that, the better! And I guess they really want to save on labor costs.
Who wants to dine in the noise of vacuum cleaners?! Who wants to eat and talk with family and friends in a dining room where you have the legs of upside-down chairs in your view?!
Another thing that I have noticed is that restaurants are always dirty. It's not like they don't have enough help--I'll see plenty of people on duty standing around doing nothing. It's like they have no concept of people wanting to eat in a clean dining room.
Has anybody else noticed this, or is it just where I live?
Many years ago--probably about twenty years now--at one quick-service restaurant where I worked the closing shift the manager on duty admonished me for setting some chairs on some of the dining room tables before we were closed. It was rude to customers, he said. In other words, the place should look fully operational until the second that the dining room doors are locked and all customers are gone, and anything less is rude. And it seems like no matter what restaurant I worked the closing shift at we had all of our products ready to serve until we were closed.
Well, the past several years I have noticed, to name a few things, one or more of the following almost everywhere I eat out:
1.) As much as an hour before closing time, chairs upside-down on the tables and vacuuming going on all over the dining room. Watch your step or you will trip over a power cord! An hour before closing time!
2.) Better get there well before closing time if you want iced tea. It is not uncommon now to get there, say, a half hour before closing time and find that they have thrown away all of the tea. And they make no apologies for it. Are you kidding?! The tea is often what I eat out for!
3.) Trash receptacles turned in a manner to keep customers from using them. I am not talking about five minutes before closing time. I am talking about more than an hour before closing time.
Make no mistake about it, they want to get closed and get home without delay, and the more you understand that, the better! And I guess they really want to save on labor costs.
Who wants to dine in the noise of vacuum cleaners?! Who wants to eat and talk with family and friends in a dining room where you have the legs of upside-down chairs in your view?!
Another thing that I have noticed is that restaurants are always dirty. It's not like they don't have enough help--I'll see plenty of people on duty standing around doing nothing. It's like they have no concept of people wanting to eat in a clean dining room.
Has anybody else noticed this, or is it just where I live?
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