Sometimes life refuses to stop dishing it out even when you beg it to give you a day off
Let me give you a little background as to what prompted me to write this post.
A new bar recently opened in our town and they seemed young and enthusiastic – so we decided to support them.
The first visit quickly showed that we were in fact correct, the waitress was sweet and quick to serve. Even wearing a mask you could tell she was smiling
So what went wrong?
First black mark – waiting
It was slightly busier than usual and we were waiting for quite a while before anyone came to serve us. The usual waitress was no where to be seen, another one eventually turned up and took my order. An order that NEVER arrived. We were getting to the point of leaving when the usual waitress came on duty. She immediately smiled and asked how we were. Rather than complain at the beginning of her shift we just reordered and assumed the other waitress had forgotten – she hadn’t written it down and had move quickly to another table after us.
When we went to pay it turned out that she had no problem charging, having added the order to the table – just a problem with actually serving it.
We kept our cool and the mistake was quickly corrected.
We were irritated – but not enough to stop going there and supporting a new bar. After all they had not long been opened when Covid requirements closed it down.
Second black mark – walking away
I confess that I have an accent when I speak French. Working hard at my French was never really one of my top priorities. I can communicate – but I don’t sound French. To me this has never been a problem; in fact quite the opposite (probably why I never did anything about it.) My accent is a part of who I am. It also leads to conversation and discussions which are great ways to get to know people. So today I asked the waiter a question. I was only a few words into the question when he turned on his heel and walked away. Exactly the sort of behaviour which makes people angry. Moments later the kind waitress came over, I assume sent by the little git. We had a conversation IN FRENCH with no problems of understanding.
As it turns out she can speak English. I have never spoke English to her and we have never had a problem. It seems that her co-worker simply didn’t want to serve non-French on the off chance of having a language problem.
Third black mark
The little git with no manners described above had originally taken our order. I had asked for exactly the same thing I always ask for. However when I went to pay it was more expensive. We questioned it with the owner who started to tell us that we had been served a more expensive wine. I repeated exactly what I had ordered and perfectly timed our brilliant waitress appeared. She explained that we came regularly and always had the …… (whatever the wine was called….) The bill was immediately reduced to the usual level.
I can assume that because I had an accent he had assumed I was a tourist. He is clearly a believer in the ‘rip off a tourist because they will be too embarrassed to complain’. I always find it so hard to believe that people actually do this. Sadly there is a level of arrogance that makes some people think that its ok to have this attitude. In high season in a popular tourist destination there are some incredibly stupid people who still try this ridiculous stunt.
As you can imagine these are not the perfect way to start, spend or finish a relaxing drink. So these are my 3 tips on how to still feel like it is a chilled experience – even when the world appears to be against you.
Tip to keep your temper Number 1 – Breathe
Stopping the angry words from escaping does not mean stop breathing. Holding your breathe to hold your tongue is a guaranteed way to put your body in fight or flight mode. I can promise you that everything will go down hill after that.
Tip to keep your temper Number 2 – Explain
It is always obvious to us why we are angry, but it may not be to the person in front of us. An explanation is a pretty good way to start the education process. Also explaining gives the listener time to start thinking of an excuse. You know it may well be a lie, or at least not completely the truth; but they have to come up with an answer. While you are explaining they are speedily thinking. The longer you give them the better their excuse will be. A good excuse will be a lot less frustrating that having to listen to something completely unbelievable.
Tip to keep your temper number 3 – Rant
I am lucky that I have both this blog and also a very patient hubby. There is nothing worse than letting things fester. Always find someone to rant to. Social media can always be an option if you don’t have quite such an understanding partner. It is guaranteed that your friends will support your aggro and that will help you to process it.
So these are my three tips to keep your temper when customer service goes disastrously wrong
