Commentary: Dink’s Service Stinks! — The West Ranch Beacon

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Last week I took my family out to breakfast at a restaurant at the Town Center called Dink’s. It’s a respected establishment which serves up great food and has multiple locations.We didn’t get the service during our breakfast that you’d have expected from a place that trys to give the inmpression that it is a New York diner, nor that we were use to from other breakfast type restaurants.

Our server was not as attentive and somewhat scarce during our meal at Dink’s. When she was at the table she was less than compitant in paying attention to our order. It was consistent to the point that my wife had to ask several times for coffee and other items that she ordered but did not get.

I have written about the notion of “guest experience” before and the fact that in this economic climate every business out there needs to add extra value to their customer’s visits. The added value of great service; cheerful service, knowledgeable employees, and efficient customer care, doesn’t necessarily cost a business any more money. But the opposite; poor service, slack-jawed servers unfamiliar with the menu or products and non-existent customer care, will cost your business dearly.

Let’s face it, just look around the Santa Clarita Valley and see how many businesses have been shuttered; how many vacant store fronts there are in just about every strip center.

Look at the Town Center mall, the once vibrant Town Center Drive has been transformed into a ghost town. The Borders book store is gone; the South Point Restaurant closed months ago; and there are countless vacant stores along that part of the mall. The Patios at the Town Center are also partially empty. After maybe six months the Bobby Chan clothing store has already gone out of business and there are quite a number of vacant store spaces that have yet to be filled.

It is a very tough business environment out there and many believe it will be that way for probably the remainder of this year and into next. That is why the smart business owners are taking care of there customers with sharp, focused service. The kind of service that appears effortless yet makes the customer feel special; cared for and wanting to come back again and again. Apparently Dink’s management is clueless to this concept which is evident by the inept employees they have hired.

Had we not experienced the good service in the past; had we been to that established eatery for the first time, I doubt we would ever give them a second chance. When you work hard; when you come home after a hard days work, the last thing you want to do is go someplace where you spend your hard earned money and are treated poorly. It’s just not acceptable nor should you tolerate it.

There are plenty of choices locally where you can go; there are numerous business owners who want to fall over themselves to make you happy. It is the kind of business that when you patronize those establishments you feel that you got more than your money’s worth. It’s the kind of experience that exceeds your expectations and makes you feel valued.

It’s not hard to treat people special; it doesn’t cost a business owner more to be pleasant to customer, to give great service. What it takes are happy employees, well trained employees who understand that they are representing the owner and the brand of the business. It is that constant messaging to employees that it is the customers who are the life blood of any business which will help sustain a business through rough times.

Most people don’t bother lodging a complaint with management, instead they just tell other folks about their experience. Before you know it the business has earned a reputation for bad service or crappy food or a generally poor guest experience. That reputation will be much harder to overcome then what it took to earn.

My sense is that you can only compete on price up to a point; the real differentiation for any business that deals with the public will come at the service level; how your employees interact with the customers. Courteous, smart, efficient and attentive employees will be the edge; the difference between success and failure.

It’s all about the guest experience and Dink’s at the Town Center currently sucks when it comes to customer care!

Dave Bossert- Commentary

Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of the West Ranch Beacon.

Comments

1 · as published

Remo
Remo Says: September 26th, 2011 at 12:00 pm The point of the article that people complain by walking is quite true for most. My wife and I have had good and bad service at various restaurants around town. If we have a bad experience, she writes a letter and receives concerned replies and, most often, offers of meals to make up for the bad service. We also go to various fast food places with our favorite being In-N-Out where we order off the “hidden menu” – Google it. Sometimes mistakes on our custom orders are made and she writes. We get coupons for meals and they use the letter for training. She also writes for excellent service and the persons getting the compliments love it. My point is that only complaining is not all we as customers should be doing: we should offer praise for great service. I will tell you abut my most hated place, also fast food, Carl’s Junior at Lyons and the 5. We had a terrible experience – SLOP – with a rude manager. I called Carl’s general offices and got a extremely condescending “customer service?” rep. She had the area manager call us. His attitude was defend his manager at all costs. He promised to send us some coupons to make up for the issues. That was several years ago and we are still waiting. Never been to a Carl’s since.