Sonic Drive-In on Corner of HG Mosley and 1845

This location here in Longview has only been open for a couple of months at best. I understand they are still new, but there has to be a point when they reach normal right? Well, if and when that day comes I will never know. Myself and others have talked about the poor quality of service there and have had an underdstanding that it is a new location. However, it is time to stop letting them get away with this as an excuse.

Most times I am there to enjoy a cold beverage during happy hour, half-price drinks from 2pm to 4pm. I love this. My usual drink is a diet-vanilla Dr. Pepper, ez ice. Not difficult really. This has seemed to cause a bit of confusion, so I have adjusted to a Diet Dr. Pepper, add vanilla, ez ice. Still there is something missing in the communication pathways.

I am sure that new employees learning a new computer system can get flustered, but really you just need to calm down, listen to the customer, and git-r-done!

Last night, around 10:30 I drove to this location to grab a bite to eat. Bite to eat, bite to eat, bite to eat...sorry, had a moment from The Terminal with Tom Hanks! :) It is summer time and they are open late! I got two chicken strip dinners. The lady gave me my total and I pulled up to the window. I handed her my card and away she went. After a song or two on the radio, she returned to the window with the dinners and said that they were making some gravy for us. She once again disappeared. A few minutes later, she returned to the front of the store with an empty bucket, a bag of gravy mix, and some hot water. She struggled with this for a few minutes and disappeared again. About 3 minutes later, the manager came to the window and asked me if there was anything else I needed. I still had not gotten my debit card back or the extra gravy I had ordered. These being given, I drove off and headed home...a short distance. Settling in on the couch, my hubby opens his practically empty box and discovers 3 out of 4 pieces of chicken, about ten french fries that were not even cooked, and a side of old gravy with the lid practically melted to the styrofoam. I opened my box and it was the same. I then opened the extra gravy containers and noticed that the outisde was not even warm. The mass of goop that emerged while taking the lid off was the consistency of mashed potatoes, not the smooth, creamy gravy that one might expect. Needless to say, I grabbed all the items, hopped back in the car, and headed for Sonic. I made the mistake of commenting to my husband when I left the first time around that this could end up being another post to my brand new blog...boy was I right!

I head straight for the drive-up window. I was greeted by the manager and I explain to him the contents of my box and tell him to just give me money back and that I will go elsewhere. He doesn't apologize until later. He asks for my debit card and the receipt. I hand him the receipt he gave me about 15 minutes earlier. It was, of course, not my receipt, but someonelse's. Great! He did say he could look the order up..so he returned the money to my card and aplogized, but not without laying the blame on a new employee. He informed me they had a new cook and he hoped I would return again.

As a manager, you should be keeping an eye on your new employees and helping them out so that they are providing what the customer desires. So shame on you Mr. Manager! As close as this location is, I will be avoiding it like the plague! There are too many other locations that are not much further and it WILL be most worth my time!

Until next time...

Here Goes Nothing

Ok folks...here it goes...I am tired of occasionally getting on my soapbox about customer service. So, today, after seeing Julie and Julia last night, I decided that I, too, can blog. My intention here is to blog about the service that I have received at various locations. I want readers to be made aware of the places in town that offer good service and not-so-good. I am hoping that eventually it could become a guide to customers, employers, and employees about what customer service is and how to achieve it.

I have thought several times about how this could turn out to be much like a mystery shopper, but I am hoping that it eventually turns out to be much more.

With that being said, I would like to start with my first two happenings this weekend.

Last night, my husband took me out to dinner to the Texas Roadhouse. We have been a few times in the past few months and the service there has been really good every time. Last night was a different story. Our servers name was Eric and he was anything but excited to have us there. As the hostess walked us to our table, I saw him with a group of co-workers and he rolled his eyes at the hostess as she seated us. I didn't take this into account until he showed up at our table as our server. We were not greeted with a welcoming smile, only a straight face and a quick, "What can I get you to drink?" We told him our choices and he just walked away. Now for most, this might seem normal. However, being a server and having been one for several years, this is not what one should expect. This is where I will take you on a little bunny trail.

I have only ever worked at one resteraunt and we are taught the 9 steps of service. The first of which begin with greeting your table (with a smile), informing your guest of any specials you might be offering, and then suggesting drinks (i.e. Would you like to start off with a tea or a coke?). The next step would be to suggest some appetizers and see if your guests would be interested.

So, back to the story, this never happened. He simply returned with our drinks and proceeded to ask what we wanted, again with a straight-face and a monotone voice. Without getting into bite-by-bite details, I will let you know that the rest of the evening proceeded in this manner. When we did stop Eric to ask for anything, he never said a word and when returning to the table with the requested item it was plopped on the table without a word and an abrupt exit from the table. He never came to check to see how our food tasted, never asked if we were going to want any dessert and simply flipped the check out on the table when he thought it was time. We were never thanked for coming in and dining with him or invited to join him again. Only out of the kindness of my heart, did I leave him a minimum 10% tip.

Some of you might be thinking...10%...that is pretty good. Well, in my server mind, it isn't. You see, most servers only get paid about $2.13 an hour plus their tips. So, I know how hard it is to wait on tables and not get any tips.

With this having happened, we were in for a repeat performance when we went to breakfast this morning. Kayla, at the Waffle Shoppe, could not have been any more pleased to see us then a teacher to see rain on the day of a field trip. The only reason I knew her name was because of the receipt she handed me at the end of our meal. No greeting, no smile, just looming over our table waiting for us to tell her our drinks. After dropping off our drinks, she proceeded to clean off a couple of tables behind us. We arrived at a time when the dining room was quite full and we really had no choice where to sit. Unfortunately, my husband ended up right next to the cart where they put their dirty dishes. Kayla was apparently clueless and thought that throwing the dishes into the buckets would have no effect on our table. Needless to say, hubby was hit more than once with projectile fluids from the dishes and buckets.

Several mintues later, she returned to get our order and didn't even say a word. She just stood there with pen and paper ready staring me down. So, we gave her our orders and she walked away. By now, my husband's drink was almost gone. The food took much longer than expected to come to our table. We were more than half-done with our food when she asked if my husband would like a refill. She came back with another drink and dropped it off so quickly I was not even sure it would stay on the table. I looked up and she was already at another table. So, I guess you get the idea that this wasn't going well either. It didn't and after my disgust, I have come to terms that if a server is not willing to work for the money I am "supposed" to be leaving them, then there is no reason to leave that money. It is not my fault that they are choosing to survive on their $2.13 an hour! Much to my chagrin, Kayla helped us at the register and my newly-made-up mind gave in and left her $1.00. So, better luck next time self!

Now, that I have rambled on for my first blog ever...LOL

I just want to be able to tell people about my experiences and let them know what they should and should not expect. We, as a society, have become painfully tolerant and are not even realizing that we are the ones suffering for it. Be bold, and stand up for what you should be getting. We are often in too big of a hurry or don't want to be criticized for telling someone that they are not giving the service they should. So, this is my goal...we'll see what happens!

Good Night!