Through the eyes of Amy...
Last week, I went to a small restaurant with a couple of my friends for lunch. We made our orders and quietly chatted among ourselves while we waited. We have not seen each other for a long time and it was a time for us to catch up.
When the waiter came with our drinks, they did not leave right away. Instead, they attempted to make conversation with us. Surely, it was great that the waiter was going above and beyond; however, it felt a bit awkward. The waiter then left to get the rest of our orders when another employee called out to them.
When the waiter came back, they had a different demeanor. They could not help but tell us about how much they disliked the other worker. Perhaps the waiter expected sympathy or for us to be part of a retaliation when they began to tell us gossip about the worker.
Such customer service, or lack thereof, was not what had been expected and was a surprise to us all. After quickly finishing our lunch with a few more interruptions from the waiter, my friends and I made plans to meet again on another day. The next meeting would be at a coffee shop as opposed to a restaurant.
Perhaps that small restaurant would improve employee conduct in the future with a customer feedback program. Gossip is not something for the dining table; excellent customer service requires all employees to understand this.
