09/14/2026
This is so very true. You never know what someone is dealing with behind the scenes, on both sides, guests and team
Members
A little perspective on customer service…
Calling out poor customer service is, of course, a subjective opinion. As a business owner, I absolutely understand that — but I’m also a customer myself when I visit other restaurants and businesses, and I have my own expectations around the standard of service I should experience.
At the same time, I’m empathetic enough to recognise that not everything in hospitality can be controlled down to the last detail.
For example, before you walk through the door, there might be a table of ten already ordering, or several orders may have landed in the kitchen within a very short space of time. Naturally, that can add time to how quickly your food is prepared.
Tables need to be cleared and reset. Areas sometimes need rearranged. Staff may be dealing with several things at once. These things take a wee bit of time — and that’s simply the reality of hospitality.
It’s also not unreasonable for restaurants to allocate timings to tables. Table turn is what it’s called, and it’s an important part of how restaurants manage a busy service and generate revenue. If you know you need longer than two hours, just let us know and, where we can, we’ll absolutely accommodate you.
And then there’s something else that I think is really important to acknowledge: people.
Mental health thankfully isn’t the hushed or taboo subject it once was. People working in customer-facing roles can be incredibly adept at plastering on a smile, getting on with the job and making sure everyone around them is looked after.
But occasionally — VERY occasionally — someone may be struggling, and we don't pick up on it quickly enough. During that spell, their customer service might dip.
That doesn’t make poor service acceptable, but it does make it human.
As an employer, supporting our team is incredibly important to me. I’ve undertaken a Mental Health First Aid course because I wanted to reassure myself that the support, guidance and understanding I was offering our staff was the right thing to do.
It was.
Hospitality is about people serving people. Sometimes we get it absolutely right. Sometimes we don’t. When we don’t, we should listen, acknowledge it and learn from it.
But perhaps we can also remember that there is a human being on the other side of the counter, just as there is a human being sitting at the table.
A little patience, empathy and understanding can go a very long way — in both directions.
Faith
