Less than acceptable customer service
DEAR EDITOR,
A few lines allowed me to express my disappointment with the service I received at one of Guyana’s premium hotels, where most would consider it. Let me be clear, I was not a guest at the hotel, but rather a customer at their poolside bar and dining area.
Upon arrival, I was pleased that they had complied with national COVID-19 guidelines. My friend and I proceeded to an empty table, which, to our surprise, seemed not to have been cleaned for the day.
A waitress came over and started to dry it with a damp cloth. This piece of fabric used to dry the table had no visible odor of bleach or other cleaning agents. Given the current global pandemic, you would think that some cleaning agent would have been used. Nevertheless, my friend and I went on to order drinks while browsing the menu for our meal choices.
On average, it was about seven to 10 minutes after placing the drink order that the waitress would return with the drinks. He set them on the table and said he would return soon to take the food orders. As soon as my friend proceeded to remove the remnants of the wrap in the glass, he noticed that there was a fly in the glass. This was not an ordinary house fly, but a vinegar fly, also known as a pomace feather or small fruit fly. In Guyana, we refer to them as ‘sour flies’.
We quickly signed the waitress and after another five minutes, returned. When we told her to give us a drink with feathers in, she immediately became defensive. She then informed the young woman that the restaurant’s policy is that it can happen because it is an outdoor setting. She even said that it had to happen after she had served us the drink because she had her eyes on the drinks all the time, which I find absolutely absurd.
After some back and forth with the young woman, whom I noticed with a supervisor tag, my friend decided to ask to make another drink. By then, I was already annoyed and disappointed with the service. When he returned with the new drink, I decided to ask for the bill, we paid and left.
My point is this, even if the insect made its way to the glass after she presented it to us (I highly doubt because it would still swim in the glass when we noticed it) on it), customer service will take your business a long way. . A paying customer should not have to negotiate with a waitress, in which case an immediate offer to re-drink the drink with an apology would have done the job. We were not asking for a free meal; we were asking for a little courtesy.
I strongly suggest that that entity’s managers invest in a customer service refresher course for their staff. While you’re at it, remember we’re in a pandemic, invest in some cleaning products for your tables as well.
Yours faithfully,
Janell Cameron