The New Normal?
June 4th, 2022 I recently took a work trip to Wisconsin and Minnesota, where I was again reminded of the possible new normal we as a society face when it comes to the service industry. As a consumer, I am noticing establishments are still struggling to fill their rosters with employees…or should I say employees with buy-in. What I mean is maybe establishments are just happy to have help versus quality help. My first example is when I visited a Texas Roadhouse in Eau Claire, WI. I sat at the bar and had excellent service from the bartender, but I didn't finish my food, so I asked for a to-go container. Since I was staying in a hotel, I remembered as I was walking out that if I wanted to have some later, I needed to obtain some silverware. So I stopped by the hostess stand and noticed the hostess was engaged in a typical chit-chat conversation with a fellow employee and another person not in uniform. I wasn't in a rush, so I didn't mind waiting. I noticed by watching the interaction that even though they knew I was waiting for something, they continued with their conversation. After about 5 minutes or so, the hostess came over and asked me if I needed something, to which I responded just some silverware, and she promptly got it. Another example was when I was at Piada in Minneapolis (an Italian street food restaurant) the next night. Again, the server and cashier were kind, and the food was very good for fast-casual dining, but the state of the restaurant was in pretty rough shape. For example, napkins and trash on the floor, tables not cleaned off, nothing restocked at the drink station…you get the idea. Sitting watching other patrons wade through the logistics of rounding out their experience and noticing the lack of employee involvement took me back. The employees would have saved time and effort by taking the extra time upfront to clean up and restock versus responding to every inquiry. I feel, unfortunately, that the decline of employees is only going to continue as the worker shortage continues. So I'm left reflecting on this…if my family and I wish to continue to eat out at chain restaurants or shop at big-box retailers, we need to temper our expectations. Or we could choose to frequent places where the owners are directly involved in their businesses. For eating out, we will do the latter and visit establishments where the employees are passionate about their products and customer relations. Though it's a massive operation, we will continue to support Amazon when buying goods, as customer obsession is still at the forefront of all their business decisions. It's important to mention I never got upset, raised my voice, or spoke to a manager during any of the above interactions. I do not know what those employees were going through, nor do I mean to judge them as individuals. I felt compelled to write this because I think my observations are not isolated events, and I'm not sure if I want to accept what may be the new normal of customer service. As prices rise, we will go out less and be more choosey when we do. Finally, we hope to instill a strong work ethic in our children so that whether they are working at a fast-food restaurant or for a Fortune 500, they take pride in their work and the company they represent.