Way off topic

@jedigenie ... having worked in retail (Area manager of a Mica Store) and service industry (manager of Pizza shop)... I also agree with the value of customer feedback... HOWEVER... you hit a BIG point... CONSTRUCTIVE!!! All too often, we as the consumer either (1) blow a gasket in the shop or (2) just walk out, vowing never to return.

Firstly, the only person you are impressing when you blow a gasket is yourself... the rest of the clientel just laugh at you (think of how many times you've laughed at that idiot swearing at the teller / waiter??)... and the staff at the shop actually just want you out (or revenge- Spit in your pizza...)
Walking out, never to return is again cutting your own nose to spite your own face! Let's face it, generally that restaurant is very good. Their service is usually acceptable. usually their food is fantastic. You have a bad experience, and never return. What you don't realise is maybe they had a new chef, maybe they had NO chef. Maybe that waiter had just been &^%$ on by the previous customer and was feeling on edge. We're all human here.

And if your mentality is: "they're in the service industry, they need to be on top form 24/7..." then my response to you is.. please... grow up.

Rather give constructive crit, say that the service was not as good as what you anticipated, expected, or are use to... and trust me, they will go out of their way the next time round to ensure you are happy.

I made it a policy at the Roman's where I managed. If a customer came BACK after a bad experience, and gave me legit, polite and reasonable crit... their meal was on the house. And I made sure that the kitchen staff knew they were "cooking for the queen" (Meaning, they had to make a nice pizza). This "on the house mean" was few and far between... but the interesting statistic would be how many people came in on a long weekend Friday, when we were cooking to capacity, and a mistake occurs unknown, unpointed out to us, and that customer never returned?

Constructive Crit!

+1 Jedi

 

OH.. and to continue my lecture....

Constructive crit in the correct manner on TASA would also allow us moderators to serve you better!

"Constructive" meaning don't only give us the problem, give us a solution too... or where do you feel we are failing
"In the correct manner" means via PM, or at least a well structured, less antagonistic thread.

(The authors and fuelers of harsh attacking threads, claiming to be a platform for "constructive crit" will be, {and recently were} removed)

 

I have to agree with you Zoom.

I am lucky enough to get to eat out on regular occasions when a client for my wifes work needs 'entertaining'. So as a result we get to go to many places, and I have to say that there are two or three places that I do return to often, as I know if there is anything not right, they will sort it out no quibbles.

If however, I am trying a new place out, and find that on my first visit it has generally not been a good experience, then I avoid going to that place as much as practically possible.

I guess it really depends on what/why there is a problem? One such example.... I went to a restaurant that is supposed to be quite respectable, and ordered a steak. The steak came, and had lots of gristle and fat running through it. More than there should be, almost to the point of completely ruining the meal. I complained, and the waitress just said sorry, and walked off with the plate. No offer to resolve the issue, no manager to waive the cost of the meal, or to offer free round of drinks or anything.

In this instance, as it was the first time we tried the place, it made me feel that I will not go back there again. I had been to their other branch, with no problem, but this branch I was dissapointed with.

On the other hand, a few evenings earlier, we went to a well known Cape Steak house, and I ordered a Bushmans Kebab. When it arrived, it looked rather under sized, so I questioned this descretely with the waiter. Within moments, the Manageress was there, took my plate away to weigh what I had, and returned with the same plate. She said that she was passing me this plate back so I could eat with my companions, but that the kitchen were sorting out my order.

I was at best hoping for an extra slice of meat, or a small reduction on the bill, but to my surprise, the waiter returned a few minutes later with a complete new dish. And when I say complete, I don't just mean a whole new kebab, but Chips, salad and veg. I was very full after that, but it goes to show that complaining when things aren't right can get results. Would I return to this restaurant? Obviously, and I have. I have had one or two other problems there in the past, but they just sort it out straight away, with no fuss!

Cheers
G!

 

I've seen that... members are quick to jump on a mods back without atleast giving a solution to the problem.

The other day Gareth and I went for breakfast at Wimpy.
Unfortunately we were not happy when we arrived. We're shown to a single table which could probably fit one person having a meal. Next to our table is this lady sitting at a booth, enjoying her juice and going about her business. Why she couldn't sit at a single table is beyond me.

15mins later a waiter hasn't been to our table to serve us, but they are humming around taking other orders. Yes, it was busy at the time... but waiting 15 mins for a waiter to take your order is ridiculous.

Anyhoo, I lost my cool and went in search of a waiter.

This lovely girl who wasn't even working in the section we sat helped us. I have never had such a good waiter before. She served our food and drinks pretty quickly considering how busy it was, and then just before she went off to lunch she brought our bill. I quite liked that because it's not something that happens often.

 

I do agree with all of this but...and yes there is a but.

Regardless of the segment you have a business there will be great competition and market pressure. Ensuring your cap these mistakes/ bad service is unexcusable. It not my job to give you constructive crits, its your job and your pay and the end of the month!

In my segment/sector(finansial services) i will be sued or being kept liable for finacial losses should i make a balls-up. Not so easy as to give a R50 pizza for mahala.

 

Not talking about TASA here, its something different.

 

OK, people differ and handle things differently. At the end of the day, that business is winning or losing a customer. Like I said, keep your customer happy in the first place and he will not have a reason to look around. In this case, I discreetly called the waitress to pay my bill and told her that she is getting half the tip I normally give, because of xyz. I did not throw a tantrum, as it will not change anything. Just made her aware that she is now suffering because of what is going on in the kitchen. I did not threaten never to come back, as I know I might do and then I look the fool. Enough of that.

Speed fines:
Went to Potch yesterday to pick up fish Vis send me. Being a holiday, I was relaxed and not in a hurry. Drove within speed limits all the way, enjoying the outing with my wife. As you come into Potch, the zone changes to 80km an hour. I know it is a favourite place for traps and immediately slowed down to 80km hour. About a kilo further, the cops pulled me over. I thought it is a routine random check and got my drivers license out, just to be confronted with a speeding fine. I know I was doing 80 and they invited me to go look at the camera. There it was, 93 in a 80 zone. No amount of arguing will do anything, so I stayed polite, took a picture of the cameras inspection date and expiring of the certificate. The fine is R250. The principle of not having any recourse is driving me nuts. Now I must go to court, plea, and go again when ever that date is. Just to be told I must pay anyway. The certificate is expiring in 24 days. I am fed up with the Potch traps. It is not the first time this happen. I think they on purpose set their equipment to catch border line cases. It was downhill, so my speed could have crept up to 85?, but 93, never!

How do you people handle things like this?

 

Was that camera calibrated properly? Is your speedometer working properly?
Have these things checked. If your speedometer works properly then you know that camera was out and you can argue this case in court.

 

I am considering having it checked, but how and where? What will it cost? All the hassle to go to court for how many days? At the end of the day, you just pay the bloody R250 and try and forget about it, but it leaves a bitter, bitter taste in your mouth. I drive an old, 1996 BMW, standard tyres and everything. Go over traps in Klerksdorp regularly, no propblem. But Potch is a different story. The problem is, everyone moan and bitch like I am doing now, then pay and they get away with it. So why will they do anything about it?

 

How will you know that? They produced a certificate that is nearly a year old, expires in 24 days. What happened with that unit during the past year? We will never know and the certificate is ligit.

 

Hey Tom,

I always thought a fine had to be issued within 6 months of the 'offence' or they would forfit the right to persue it? Maybe I'm wrong here? I'm most definately not a legal eagle. You are right that it does leave a bitter taste in your mouth! It is theorectically possible that you speedo is not reading true. The reason the UK police would only do you when you were going higher than 80MPH in a 70MPH zone was to allow for speedo inaccuracies. At the end of the day, the way cars measure their own speed is not a particularly accurate method, and even in newer cars this is still not greatly improved. The general rule of allowance in the UK was something like 10% +2MPH. So if you think you may have crept up to 85 on your Speedo, then 10% could have put you at 93KPH real time.

So, yer, it is possible that the camera's calibration was off, but I actually would be surprised if a laser was 'out of calibration' compared to your cars speedo?

Personally, I would just pay the R250 and be done with it, and then no longer think about it! If you had points on your licence to worry about, then that would maybe change things a bit, and make it worth persueing further, but for the sake of a few hundred bucks, its really not worth the hassle. I doubt that they set or callibrate their traps 'illegally' to do people so they can raise extra beer money, but it is quite likely that they have set at a lower threshold to trigger, so to get those on the absolute boundries of legal limits, where as your area they may allow a little more, so as to get those that are really driving dangerously?

Had you been certain that you had been doing 80, and nothing more, then maybe you should have considered persueing it too, but at the end of the day, 80KPH on a cars speedo could actually be as much as 88KPH in real terms, purely due to accuracy, which would mean that its still over the speed limit, but at least you'd have the 'speedo inaccuracy' to legally argue with. Of course, at the same time, 80KPH could in fact be 72KPH, as it can work both ways, but generally your speedo shows you travelling slower than what you are actually going. Just to make things even more confusing, 10% +2 is actually just an 'extremes' figure, so your speedo could be correct, or it could only be 5% out? Thats what makes it frustrating!

On a totally different and much more happy note, getting back to the 'good service' comments, I have another story to share! Settle down now, and close in around hte camp fire, as I'm about to begin.....

Around 6 months ago, I bought a pair of Hi-tec trainer boots from a large trainer warehouse retailer. I had worn them most days since, but hadn't really 'abused' them, but my toes were starting to come through the top, so I thought I guess I'll have to go and buy a new pair. So, I went back to the same place (mainly because they are the cheapest near me), and I just happened to mention to the dude that these ones had only lasted 6 months.

The next thing I know he's got me talking to another guy, who gives me a credit note for the full amount on the Hi-tecs, even though I didn't have the receipt!! So, I managed to get a pair of nice snazzy new Cat boots for R200!

I'm a happy chappy after that, and am glad that I mentioned my issue! I was very grateful to the salesman for telling me about this, and its not often that you get service like that!

Cheers
G!

 

I have the opposite. If I drive at 120km/h (which rarely happens on GP highways...!) my Garmin speed is only 110! If I travel 60km/h, my Garmin speed is 55km/h. So I am actually driving SLOWER than actual (if I follow the car speedo). Having said that, if I see a camera, I always slow down to the car speedo... no point in testing the garmin speedo's accuracy!

 

Same here. But wha is the use explaining that?

 

Off topic rambling.

Read Big-G's post to understand where my post came from.

 

No, I mean what is the use explaining it to the cops! hehe

 

Velocity measured by a GPS is inherently 3 dimension, but consumer GPS receivers only report 2D (horizontal) speed on their readout. Garmin's specifications quote 0.1mph accuracy but due to signal degredation problems noted above, perhaps 0.5mph accuracy in typical automobile applications would be what you can count on.

 

Same here, if i travel 120km its more or less the same on my tracking report. 180 (most days on R21 so if you know what car i drive and where i live....sshhh!) on speedo shows 168 on GPS speed. Strange though...

 

Hi Tom that certificate is nearly a year old... who's to say that it's still calibrated. I'd argue that point... but like you said... it's only R250.00

 

Looking at the pic now. Certificate valid for 6 months. Expire in 24 days. I am considering going to the 'staats aanklaer'. He might squash it, but that does nothing to the principle.

 

Most of the cars in SA are out with about 7km/h. They are made that way deliberately.
It changes however when you put on bigger mags and low profile tyres and what nots.

I believe you also get something like 7km/h grace on speeding. Lets say you go 66km/h in a 60 zone you wont get fined. But if you go 68km/h you will get fined for all 8km/h. Not exactly sure on that grace zone though.