HAMPTONS MOUTHPIECE “We do the talking for you”….Whatever happened to the customer is always right…Does this not apply to the businesses in the Hamptons? I am just blown away with the level of rudeness and snobbery that exists in many restaurants and retail establishments in the Hamptons. Businesses need to understand that customer expectations have changed. Maybe they need to view these customer service statistics and really evaluate the changes they need to make in order to meet our needs. This is true for all businesses. Do we need to remind the business owners that the Hamptons does not shut down and go on Hiatus for 9 months of the year…Customer Service teach it and Embrace it It is the summer and this is busy season for the Hamptons…The traffic is crazy, the stores are busy..restaurants are full and the beaches are packed…. Many business owners have increased their staff this summer and will probably lay-off these seasonal workers at the end of the summer. Yes the Hamptons is considered a resort area and the traffic increases tremendously with the increase of visitors in the summer. What businesses fail to realize is that the people who live in the Hamptons year-round are their bread and butter, their mouthpiece for summer increased flow… On Saturday I visited a well known restaurant in Bridgehampton with friends around 5pm in the afternoon and it was somewhat empty because it was before the dinner crowd would arrive. We asked to sit at a table outside and informed the hostess that we would be ordering appetizers and drinks, she then told us that we could not sit at a table and had to sit at the bar because we were not ordering dinner. Her reason for this decision was because they had many reservations and those tables were only for people ordering dinner. I asked her what difference did it make what we ordered to eat, she had no idea how much we would be spending…She pre-judged us! We sat at the bar and I was ticked, my friends wanted to stay but I was angry that I was giving them my money..it took forever for our food to arrive and it was ok not great….as it turns out we stayed for 1 hour and guess what; those tables still remained empty...So what was accomplished; they had successfully turned me off and possibly lost my business forever and now I share this story with over 5000 of my friends….HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU? I am told by many friends this has happened to them…Now yes they are extremely busy in the summer months but like every other restaurant in the Hamptons after Labor Day the traffic decreases immensely….Now this hostess was young and probably was unaware that her statement was so damaging because she was only doing what she was told……Here is a novel idea Restaurant owners Teach your staff some COMMON SENSE and Customer Service….I am sure it could have been said differently to not upset us, Business owners even if your food is absolutely to DIE FOR you are not the only game in town and you will lose your customers if your customer service is HORRIBLE and you will be called on it! There is NEVER any excuse for RUDENESS!
Another story…Walked into a liquor store and I had never been in this one; even though I am told they have been in the same location for many years…I went there to see some pieces of Art….I said wow I did not even know you were here…her response to me was snobbish and somewhat dismissive “Well we have been here for many years” I said oh….and left without buying anything and instead went to a competitor and purchased from them where they were more welcoming….Now I may have been overly sensitive but I am the average customer and the smallest thing could lose you a customer…She could have said the same thing with the tone being different and not dismissive, I would not have given her statement a second thought and I may have stayed and purchased and further still recommended to my readers and friends…
Customer Service is vital to your survival and will separate you from your competitors…please remember this is a small town and everyone talks and anything negative could be detrimental to your success the other 9 months of the year…
T’il next time Hamptons Mouthpiece will talk about what you are thinking but feel like you do not have a platform to express it….
Comments are closed.