Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Best Customer Service in the Triad

Thanks to everyone who called in this morning to offer their opinions about the best customer service in the Triad. Here are your favorite businesses for customer service:

-Stokes Tire in King (part Mock Beroth Tire and Automotive)
-Harris Teeter, Cloverdale Avenue, Winston-Salem
-Wachovia Bank
-Brueggers Bagels, Friendly Shopping Center, Greensboro
-Lowes Foods, Greensboro
-Time Warner Digital Cable/Phone
-Moose Cafe, Triad Farmer's Market
-Chick-Fil-A
-Cagney's Restaurant, Reynolda Road, Winston-Salem
-Taco Bell, University Parkway, Winston-Salem
-Food Lion in Thomasville
-Fire Mountain Grill, Kernersville
-Power Medics, Tommy Cranford
-Sutton Flooring, Steve Sutton
-Piedmont Aviation Credit Bureau
-Something Different Restaurant, Asheboro
-Phillips and Cuthrell, DDS, Winston-Salem
-Lowes Foods, Robinhood Road
-State Employees Credit Union
-Gullions, King
-Just 4 Kids consignment shop in Walkertown (in the shopping center with Lowes)
-Starbucks
-Downtown Wachovia Bank in Asheboro
-Zaxby’s and Chick Fil A on Dixie Dr. in Asheboro
- BB&T Main Branch in High Point

Finally, I love what Amanda had to say about our responsibilities as Christian customers...

I also wanted to point out that while it's wonderful to receive good customer service, there's yet another flip side to this whole issue. I waited tables to pay for college and graduate school and I can say that my six years of experience (sometimes on my worse days I call them my six years of purgatory) in the food service industry has led me to tell people many times that the best way to get good customer service is to be a good customer. In other words, recognize that the world doesn't revolve around you (as I used to tell my friend Angie in college, "Ang, it's the universe, not the Angie-verse!") and even if your food is bad or takes too long to come out or whatever, you can bring it to your server's attention in a pleasant manner. You don't have to be ugly about it. Why would you be ugly to someone who sees your food before you do and has a certain amount of control over how long it takes to come out to you?? And, having worked at three different Cracker Barrels during that six years, I can honestly say that church people are some of the worst about expecting servers to bow and scrape to their every whim. Church people tend to come in huge groups on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday nights, are loud and rowdy, don't understand that food for large parties takes longer to get together, don't understand that it's practically for one person to bring 16 drinks out at one time, leave horrible tips (sometimes they leave only tracts!!), and then, if you're working on a Sunday afternoon, ask you why you didn't go to church that morning. (The reason would be that employees have to get to the restaurant at about 10 am if everything is expected to be ready by noon for the people who don't want to cook on Sundays; I grew up in South Carolina and the only businesses open before 1:00 pm on Sundays were restaurants, which really ticked me off because it seemed very hypocritical to me.)

Anyway, so that's my soapbox. If you're a Christian, show the love of Christ by not trying to turn servers into servants, recognize that servers still are only paid $2.13/hour and need tips (they're not "extras"), be patient, be merciful, and realize that the world really doesn't revolve around you. Then you're more likely to get good customer service. :-)

2 comments:

jeff marshall said...

just wanted to include wachovia bank in randleman, nc and la fiesta mexican resturant on bridford pkwy in greensboro to your list for best customer service in the triad.

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to tell you about a great customer service place... Just 4 Kids consignment shop in Walkertown (in the shopping center with Lowes) is one of them. The owner is so friendly when you come in. She is also very helpful. She has one other person that works for her and she is very friendly also. I always compliment them and thank them for being so helpful and friendly because you don't get very many people like that anymore.