Well, not everyone….just Keith and I really. Ok, our kids too have become quite cognoscente of everyone’s food. When another small business person gives you their business, you want to give them some too. Most of the time it works out great….that is until you find yourself in an uncomfortable position of being the critic. A few weeks ago, we tried out a new eatery in a town not far from us. The owners had been to visit us and we were anxious to return the favor. The good news is that the food was AWESOME!!!! The bad news was that they needed waitstaff…..like badly! A paper sign hung on the door to prove it…”Wait staff, please apply”. It happens to all of us small business owners at one time or another….
You have a bad day….through no fault of your own, your trusted employees quit. Stinks! And yet, business needs to keep moving….gotta keep customers coming in. In this day and age of instant gratification/vilification…faceless patrons see fit to express their unhappiness thru social media. So there we were sitting at the table for quite some time before the owner came out to ask if we’d been served. I had my smartphone at the ready to tweet my unhappiness and then I saw his face. I’ve had that face looking back at me in the mirror plenty of times. Sheer frustration, sweat and sometimes a tear or two….so I put my phone away. They are just like us. Their business plan is to be good. To serve great food and develop a rapport with customers is what we all want. So you have a bad day and then in walks a critic….yikes. My advice (if I’m allowed to give any here) is next time your in a small business and something isn’t going according to plan….ask to speak to the owner. Chances are they are as frustrated as you are and can easily explain the mishap. If after that you are still unhappy, there’s an app for that!!!!