Pretentious/Indifferent Service: What Causes It?

Royal Lichter wrote in the thread about Maude's Liquor Bar:

The pretension/indifference in service mirrors that of Au Cheval.

We all know what this feels like, and I'm with those who consider it a dealbreaker. My question, for those who care to speculate or may have insight into the matter, is why and how this happens.

Simply stated, is restaurant-wide bad attitude an error of omission or commission? Is it a matter of an indifferent or unconscientious management failing to instill the right attitude in its staff? Or is it (as I sometimes suspect) a matter of management actively and deliberately cultivating in its staff a piss-poor attitude toward customers, because this is somehow considered a signifier of coolness and desirability? Is it (still another possibility) a function of an unhappy workforce which hates management and takes it out on customers? Or is it (yet another possibility) a matter of "the fish rotting from the head down"--i.e., a leadership which basically hates customers, and a staff taking its cue, as if by osmosis and without even being aware of it, from the leadership?

There was a This American Life episode a couple years ago that came to the conclusion that waitresses got better tips when they were rude/indifferent to their customers than when they were nice, cheerful and helpful. Perhaps the waters/waitresses in question are living by those findings...or maybe they just don't care because the sheeple will keep coming no matter what they do...or maybe it's personal and they just don't like you.

In the end, it's management's fault. You get what you allow, and if they're not aware it's going on, even worse. That said, some may actually culitivate it (although I've never heard of or been involved in that) and some may be angry- either way, whoever behaves that way shouldn't be in the hospitality industry in the first place, should they? All businesses have their priorities, and some don't value service the same as some of us would like.

But we vote w/our wallets and there's plenty of places to spend your $ where you're not treated as a nuisance or afterthought. Send a msg in a way a business under$tand$. If it's important enough to you (and it's not to everyone) just don't go back.

Jazzfood wrote:In the end, it's management's fault. You get what you allow, and if they're not aware it's going on, even worse. That said, some may actually culitivate it (although I've never heard of or been involved in that) and some may be angry- either way, whoever behaves that way shouldn't be in the hospitality industry in the first place, should they? All businesses have their priorities, and some don't value service the same as some of us would like.

But we vote w/our wallets and there's plenty of places to spend your $ where you're not treated as a nuisance or afterthought. Send a msg in a way a business under$tand$. If it's important enough to you (and it's not to everyone) just don't go back.

Well said.