Gad, great article. It will be interesting to see how the industry evolves through this, I hope with a new appreciation and respect emerging for this other cadre of "front line" workers for the lifestyles we all enjoy. You made me think, "huh, maybe I should go get a part-time restaurant job" (for first time since being a student) to help the cause locally!
It seems that the root cause of the friction between service workers and customers is a long-standing imbalance in the power dynamic between the two. While the service industry at large could certainly benefit from restructuring in the delivery of those services, I think some social reengineering is needed.
When looking at any interaction between hospitality workers and customers, there is a stark difference in the amount of oversight and accountability that each party has. Regardless of industry, hospitality workers have a multitude of incentives such as customer tips, raises, livelihood, and fundamentally, day-to-day sustenance and satisfaction. But on the customer side, the platitude "the customer is always right" seems to have a direct correlation with the accountability they have, with the exception of Uber's customer ratings as you mentioned. In essence, there is currently no common or effective way to more directly shape customer psychology or interactions with the business's workers.
Given this imbalanced dynamic, how do you think the service industry ought to innovate and adapt in a world where customer patience has been slashed by the convenience of online platforms?
Great article! I'm really curious to hear how this phenomenon plays out in the health care sector with nurses. Do you know of anyone researching that question?
Thanks! It might even be worse, especially with chronic, long-term patients. At least at a restaurant, customers are going there because they want to and they are planning for an enjoyable time. That's not something you can say about going to the hospital!
I was recently at a Buffalo Wild Wings on a packed night and sat down at a table in the middle of the restaurant with a group of 5 friends to watch the baseball game (sad outcome, Giants lost). It took 45 minutes for a waiter to come to us, apologize for the wait, and tell us that he still could not take our order because his co-worker was supposed to be covering our table. He told us they were extremely short-staffed, and because they re-arranged their tables to follow COVID guidelines, their system could not track which tables were occupied and which weren't.
BWW has long had service issues. Over the past two years, even pre-COVID times, they were notorious for long wait times. But it seems that they are not investing in improving operations, and are instead focused on preparing for drone delivery and other automation. Is it reasonable to expect large restaurant chains to focus on investing in improving day-to-day operations in the current dining model when customers would much rather enjoy delivery and getting food without the hassle of interacting with employees?
Why would it make sense for a store like BWW to focus on improving their current operations, when demand has prevailed for their services?
Great question. Why have real estate in expensive locations, if you only use it for delivery. If people continue to come even with long waits, it's possible that BWW is doing something else right (not sure what it is, but people have options, otherwise).
Gad, great article. It will be interesting to see how the industry evolves through this, I hope with a new appreciation and respect emerging for this other cadre of "front line" workers for the lifestyles we all enjoy. You made me think, "huh, maybe I should go get a part-time restaurant job" (for first time since being a student) to help the cause locally!
It seems that the root cause of the friction between service workers and customers is a long-standing imbalance in the power dynamic between the two. While the service industry at large could certainly benefit from restructuring in the delivery of those services, I think some social reengineering is needed.
When looking at any interaction between hospitality workers and customers, there is a stark difference in the amount of oversight and accountability that each party has. Regardless of industry, hospitality workers have a multitude of incentives such as customer tips, raises, livelihood, and fundamentally, day-to-day sustenance and satisfaction. But on the customer side, the platitude "the customer is always right" seems to have a direct correlation with the accountability they have, with the exception of Uber's customer ratings as you mentioned. In essence, there is currently no common or effective way to more directly shape customer psychology or interactions with the business's workers.
Given this imbalanced dynamic, how do you think the service industry ought to innovate and adapt in a world where customer patience has been slashed by the convenience of online platforms?
Great article! I'm really curious to hear how this phenomenon plays out in the health care sector with nurses. Do you know of anyone researching that question?
Great question Alex. I am not familiar with work on this in the context of health care, but I am sure it is as important as in other industries.
Thanks! It might even be worse, especially with chronic, long-term patients. At least at a restaurant, customers are going there because they want to and they are planning for an enjoyable time. That's not something you can say about going to the hospital!
I was recently at a Buffalo Wild Wings on a packed night and sat down at a table in the middle of the restaurant with a group of 5 friends to watch the baseball game (sad outcome, Giants lost). It took 45 minutes for a waiter to come to us, apologize for the wait, and tell us that he still could not take our order because his co-worker was supposed to be covering our table. He told us they were extremely short-staffed, and because they re-arranged their tables to follow COVID guidelines, their system could not track which tables were occupied and which weren't.
BWW has long had service issues. Over the past two years, even pre-COVID times, they were notorious for long wait times. But it seems that they are not investing in improving operations, and are instead focused on preparing for drone delivery and other automation. Is it reasonable to expect large restaurant chains to focus on investing in improving day-to-day operations in the current dining model when customers would much rather enjoy delivery and getting food without the hassle of interacting with employees?
Why would it make sense for a store like BWW to focus on improving their current operations, when demand has prevailed for their services?
Great question. Why have real estate in expensive locations, if you only use it for delivery. If people continue to come even with long waits, it's possible that BWW is doing something else right (not sure what it is, but people have options, otherwise).