Top 5 Customer Traits
One stereotype about Israeli culture was that, while it created remarkable products, it was terrible when it came to customer service. I don’t think that bad rap about service is true anymore. But if the service industry here has done a 180, the folks on the receiving end don’t seem to have gotten the memo. In other words, to adapt an old Robert Frost line: “Israeli Customers are the Place where, when you go there, they hate to take you.”
I’m on a quixotic, perhaps suicide mission, to change that. As such, my modest list of suggestions for how the customer might shape his/her experience in a more positive direction. In no necessary order:
Be civil. It’s amazing the extent to which certain phrases such as “thank you,” instill in us service providers the desire to go the extra mile.
Show at least a modicum sense of adventure. Our soul food menu offers a lot more than hamburgers and mashed potatoes. Heading down a less well-beaten path offers the chef an opportunity to be more creative, which can result in an amazing experience, if you let it happen.
Tease out your innate curiosity. Most everyone can cook. Part of the adventure of eating elsewhere is the opportunity to explore. Just a little bit of curiosity goes a long way. If you’re genuinely interested in our food, you’ll get white glove treatment. Did you know that not one person in our two years in business has asked me anything about what constitutes southern food.
Try to be at least slightly communicative. Ordering/eating food is a social activity and a form of communication. I’m not looking for much at all, just something other than dead silence. “That peanut soup was nothing like I was expecting” is a great comment. Admittedly, it’s a bit enigmatic without a follow-up sentence, but at least I know there was a sentient being on the other side of the souop bowl.
Please don’t hesitate to give critical feedback. It’s how we learn and develop our craft. A word of advice: such feedback is generally accepted in a more understanding vein if you lead off with something positive. “Hey, Martin, the water was really good, but I think you need to work on the fried chicken.” is a helluva lot more effective than just jumping in with the critique.
OK, I know, it’s a fantasy wishlist. Even so, the vision is there to bring a bit of soul to this brash part of the world. Otherwise,m why do it in the first place?
