Eat

I stopped here to pick up food at the London Heathrow Int'l airport. The manager was hilarious - not to me as a customer, but to me as an observer of life. He was a very self important young man, and he was so into taking inventory and giving stern correction to his staff (in front of customers), that he didn't seem to mind or notice that he was literally pushing his way through all of us while we stood in line, yelling to his staff right next to our ears, and just being completely rude. It was honestly quite amusing, but as a service rating, Eat gets a 1.

British Airways

Fly the snotty skies...

The British Airways land staff in the US was actually extremely nice, helpful and friendly. They were all from the Boston area, I surmised from their accents. The US staff gets a 4. I upgraded my ticket for a tiny bit of extra room, and it cost $250. It was worth it for the 6 hr trek to London.

When in London, I tried to upgrade the next leg of my trip, and the obtuse, condescending BA ticket agent (from the UK) told me that they don't give out "discounted specials" like they do in the US, as if the US was letting some very low class citizens into their high class slightly larger seating area. They wanted me to pay $2500 for the upgrade. Uh huh. No. The employee was so snotty - I can't think of any other way to describe him. The BA land crew gets a 1.

The flight attendants on all 4 legs of the flight were fine - they kept calling me sir, which was ridiculous because I didn't have a hat on. In the US, I get called sir a couple of times a year, and it's always when I have a hat on, and it's at a glance - as soon as I speak or the person looks me in the face, they realize I'm not a sir.

Apparently, these flight attendants have NEVER seen a woman dressed in a man's clothing in their entire careers, which I find hard to believe, since many of them seem to be flirting with the bounds of their own gender's realm.

I wrote to BA headquarters letting them know about the poor service I received in London, and I suggested they conduct sensitivity training with their staff. When in doubt, don't say sir or ma'am. I certainly don't care, but it honestly just got annoying after the 10th time. The people next to me, who were aware that I was not a man, all seemed horrified every time it happened, and that was just plain uncomfortable.

The response from BA was canned, and not at all satisfactory. No wonder they are having to ask their employees to work for free. (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article6510479.ece)

Overall service rating by BA, driven down by their poor response to my detailed feedback: 1.5

TSA Boston

The TSA staff in Boston was completely nice to me. I was tired and trying to rush through and I forgot I had my blackberry in my pocket, so the first time I went through I set off the alarm. I quickly checked my pockets and realized my phone was in it.

I went through again and the alarm went off again. I was searching my pockets, and I couldn't figure out what it was for the longest time. Then the TSA agent pointed out that I had metal buttons on my shirt.

Duh! I can't believe I wore a shirt with METAL buttons to the airport. I'm sure many of you can't believe I was wearing a shirt with metal buttons period!

The agent was very nice about the whole thing, and she was patient with me every step of the way. Normally, I'd be inclined to give them a 4, but that's only because my expectations are so very low based upon all I've heard. I'm giving her a 3.5, because that's more objective.

Madame Tussaud's - NYC

Wonderful museam - great, friendly, helpful staff.

Overall service rating - 3.5

Trattoria Dopo Teatro

FANTASTIC Italian food, right across the street from our hotel. The waiter doubled as a knowledgeable sommelier, and we were very pleased with our dining experience.

Overall service rating: 4

Cabbies - NYC

We took 2 cab rides. The first cabbie was okay, not great, and the second one wasn't very friendly at all.

Overall NYC cabbie service rating: 2

Hotel Mela - NYC

We stayed at Hotel Mela, just half a block from Times Square. It was reasonably priced, for a hotel in New York, and I saved $100 by booking through Hotels.com. Originally, when I had to switch the date of my stay, the person at Hotel Mela said it was fine, but Hotels.com would just need to call them to complete the transaction.

When we tried to call through Hotels.com, the person they spoke to said we'd have to forfeit our full deposit (about $300), and we couldn't rebook. Then I called a third time and spoke with a third person, and he said he could switch it for me with no extra cost, and I didn't have to do it through Hotels.com.

I'm really grateful for his help. It would have been nice to resolve this the first time I called, but I was glad it was resolved.

We tried to check in early, but the room wasn't ready. They were very helpful storing our luggage for us before the room was ready, and checking me in quickly as I was in a rush to make it to a meeting.

When we got into the room, we realized there was food in the mini fridge from the last guest. Darcy said it looked rotten. I didn't look. I called the front desk, and they were apologetic, and sent someone up immediately to clean the fridge.

I like to try new places when I travel, so while I may not go out of my way to stay at Hotel Mela again, I would recommend it. The room size was big for downtown NYC, and the decor was nice.

Overall service rating: 3.5

Post Office Cafe - Provincetown, MA

Great food with a side of attitude.

I'll have the #52A, hold the 'tude.

Service rater rating of 1.5, although our waiter was a 3. The manager was rude, and he outranks him, hence the rating.

Gabriel's Inn - Provincetown, MA

Gabriel's is an inn I've stayed at many times. It just gets better and better each time I go. They are constantly updating and upgrading. It's an oasis, that's also pet friendly!

The staff was completely gracious and wonderful. When they met Henry, they went gaga over him, and even offered to watch him if we decided to go out!

We stayed in their penthouse suite, and it was fabulous, from the oversized whirlpool tub to the 12 head stone shower.

We had a fabulous experience from start to finish. I *highly* recommend the inn, and they earned a service rating of 4.5.

Ciro and Sal's - Provincetown, MA

Ciro & Sal's is the oldest restaurant in Provincetown, MA...at least that's what I believe I've heard. It's a dark Italian restaurant with low ceilings, and old world charm. The food is fantastic.

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We ate their as a large group for Darcy's 40th birthday dinner. The food was great, but the service was really slow. We were there for over 2 hrs. I know our waitress was busy, but I think it's always good to acknowledge the fact that you're running behind.

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She was fine, though, and she gets a 3.

Wild Rover - Manchester, NH

We took Billy and Lanie to lunch at this Irish Pub/Restaurant today. It was really cute on the inside, and the food was good. I had a steak tip salad, and the tips were cooked to perfection and they melted in my mouth - they were so tender! We seemed to have two waitresses, and neither one was overly friendly or attentive. They weren't rude, but they weren't quite perfectly fine either. Their service rating is a 2.5.

Daily Grind - York, ME

We stopped by this coffee shop for breakfast this morning. I ordered a fruity granola breakfast, and I was told it was only a seasonal dish, but the young man working there told me they had bananas and a few other other fruits that he would be happy to cut up for me. I passed, but I thought that was very nice of him. He earns a service rating of 4.

Sheraton - Portsmouth, NH

We stayed at the Sheraton in Portsmouth last night. We'd stayed here before, and it's a fairly nice hotel - nothing extraordinary, but nice enough and right downtown, so we've enjoyed staying here before. I saw it was pet friendly, so I booked it again. Unfortunately, when I arrived, I leared it's only pet tolerable, not pet friendly.

Upon checking in and signing a release about the dog, they handed me a piece of paper saying I couldn't leave the dog in the room alone, and if I did, he would be send to the pound. That's terrible! We had plans to see a concert and go out to dinner, and we had to change all of our plans. It was fine, and we still had a nice time, but it was unfortunate they didn't make that clear either when I booked the room or when I signed in.

The person who checked me in was perfectly fine, but she glossed over the pet rules so she wouldn't have to answer to them, and so she earns a service rating of 2.5.

Goldenrod - Manchester, NH

The Goldenrod is a very well known ice cream (and fast food) drive in joint in Manchester. My Dad loves visiting, several times, when he's up here. We stopped in for an ice cream yesterday on the way to the beach, since it was Darcy's birthday. I ordered her a large, knowing it was too big, and trying to be obnoxious when I brought it out to her, but the man behind the counter talked me out of it. He said that no one orders anything larger than a small since their sizes are so big. He was very nice and cute about it, and while he won't win any sales awards this month, he gets a 3.5 from the service rater.

Fratello's, Manchester, NH

We took Krissy out for lunch today to celebrate her birthday. We went to Fratello's, a small Italian restaurant family in NH - I believe there are 3 locations. I've had some good meals there, and I've had some not so good meals. It's nothing like the north end, but they have a good range of foods if you're going with a group.

I ordered the Veggie Formaggio panini - a brilled vegetable and cheese panini. It was *really* good. Krissy and Darcy had raviolis in red sauce, and they enjoyed their lunch too.

The waitress was perfectly fine. She introduced herself, as most waiters/waitresses do these days, saying, "I'm [whoever], and I'm going to be taking care of you today." Where did this phrase come from? I think it sounds funny, and it's ridiculously overused. It's not a regional thing - I've heard it in 3 of the 4 corners of the US. It's like the laughable "It's a great day at [insert company] today..." that you hear when you call into too many businesses these days. Who thinks of these silly catch phrases, and then SELLS them to organizations? I can do better - I'm sure of it. :)

Anyway, she was friendly, prompt, and perfectly fine - a classic service rater 3.

Rita Mae's, Manchester, NH

I know that picture isn't overly aesthetically pleasing, but it does serve a purpose, I promise! Rita Mae's is the local diner we frequent weekly. They buy good quality food, the food is very reasonably priced, we love the staff and it's always yummy!

It's not really fair to include them in this study, since I'm biased, but my bias is only due to repeated positive experiences. When my parents come in from out of town, they love visiting Rita Mae's too - it's not just me!

The picture above is of our breakfast table on Sunday. I just LOVE their freshly brewed iced tea, and they know this. As soon as I sit at my table, they bring me a tall glass. They even leave the whole container there so I can have as many refills as I want.

When I was young, my parents used to make fresh brewed iced tea, and I thought it was delicious. I can never make it quite as good as they used to, and while no one has ever been able to, Rita Mae's comes very close!

I enjoy the waitstaff at Rita Mae's immensely. If I go to breakfast without Darcy, they always ask where she is. If one of us isn't there at breakfast but we order something to have brought home with us, they always write a note for us on the containers, wishing us well.

They definitely go above and beyond, and they get a 5 on the service rater!

King Kone, Merrimack, NH

King Kone is a staple of summer in Merrimack, NH. Only open spring through fall, King Kone is known for cheap prices, only serving soft serve ice cream, and their foot tall large ice cream. I remember coming here as a child after sports games, with friends in the summer, after church, any time I could manage to convince someone to take me...and it usually didn't take much convincing.

Nostalgia aside, King Kone has been under new ownership for the past several years. The prices are still quite low, but the ice cream is less dense than it used to be. The more air you add into ice cream, the more you can stretch your money. I don't mind the airier mix, though. It's fewer calories.

Darcy and I each ordered a kiddie cone, and we ordered a hot dog to split. We haven't had a hot dog in ages, and I love the hot dogs at King Kone. Darcy asked for ketchup on the whole dog, and a side of mustard (for her side). The young girl at the counter was very polite and accommodating with our condiment requests.

Her service rating is a 3.

T Bones, Bedford, NH

I hadn't been to T Bones before, as it just seemed like another chain restaurant, and I have been to plenty of those. Recently, I discovered that it's just a local chain with four restaurants, so when I drove by one the other night, I decided to pull in. Neither Darcy nor I had eaten there before.

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I ordered the prime rib, which is one of their signature entrees. It was very good. Darcy had baked haddock that she enjoyed as well. Our waitress was nice and perfectly fine and well on her way to a 3 rating, until I overheard an interaction she had with a customer not in her section.

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A man sitting near us rudely questioned our waitress about something. She curtly replied that she wasn't his waitress, and she walked away. I think he was being rude because he had been waiting for something, and that behavior is not okay either. As a representative of the restaurant, however, she should have been courteous and professional rather than snapping back at him.

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I've gone back and forth between giving her a 1 or a 2, and I've decided her service rating is a 1.5.

Airport Diner, Manchester NH

We had breakfast at the airport diner today. It was cute - I love diners. The food was okay, not great. I couldn't figure out what I wanted so I ordered a b52, which is bacon, sausage, eggs, hashbrowns, bread and pancakes. LOL. I had half an egg, 2 bites of the bland soggy potatoes, a nibble of the dry biscuit they brought me (I didn't want it - I don't like those in general), one piece of flimsy bacon, and three bites of the overcooked pancakes. I'm spoiled with Rita Mae's for breakfast!

The waitress was friendly. The service was very prompt. She gets a 3 on the service rater, though I probably won't return to the Airport Diner.

Doctor's office - Manchester, NH

I had a doctor's appointment today, and it had taken about 6 weeks to get it in the first place. I arrived 10 minutes early for my appointment. I told the receptionist my first name, and my appointment time. All of the day's appointments were printed up right in front of her (including last names that all patient's checking in could read easily) - a big HIPAA violation, as was asking me my last name, which she then proceeded to do.

I waited a few minutes past my appointment time to be brought to the room, which was fine, and I was told the MD would be in to see me in a few minutes. Over promising and under delivering is a huge no-no, especially to people when they are already feeling vulnerable as patients.

I waited 45 minutes with no updates from anyone, on why it was taking so long. I finally went out to the waiting room, so they would see that I was still there (and to get a magazine because I was bored to tears), and I went back to the room for 10 more minutes. Finally, I went to the front desk to ask what the hold up was. They told me they thought I had already been seen. Ah, no. I told them I had a meeting to get to, so if I wasn't going to be seen soon, I needed to go.

They said I could reschedule, and I told them it took 6 weeks for me to get the appointment in the first place, and if it's so common for the MD to be an hour late for an appointment that they don't even feel the need to update the patient (I kept the second part in my head), then I would like to find a different MD.

They said she'd be in to see me within the next 10 minutes, so I reluctantly waited. After a few minutes, they popped in and told me it was going to be a lot longer than 10 minutes after all. I heard the MD leave the room and go see another patient who had arrived after me. Knowing I had been waiting so long, they should have made certain I was seen next, or at least given me an explanation of why I wasn't.

They were not helpful, not as apologetic as they should have been for the giant inconvenience, and they didn't even follow healthcare policy. The MD office staff receives a 1 for my service rating.

Directv

My cable wasn't working when we got home from the trip, so I called Directv to figure out the problem. I was able to get through to customer service quickly. The woman I spoke with was very friendly and helpful. I'm not sure where's she's from, but she had a southern accent. Her service rating is a 3. Not a bad rating for telephone help!

Thrifty - San Diego, CA

We returned the rental car on Sunday night, and the young guy we checked in with was okay. He didn't answer my questions in full sentences, and he barely answered me when I spoke to him. I realize he was young, and I'm sure he's just trying to be nonchalant, but he's not winning any points on my service meter. :) His rating was a 2.

The Thrifty shuttle driver, on the other hand, was a sweetheart. He was very polite and helpful, and we even overheard him on the phone with his wife telling her he loved her, which was cute. He didn't want us to have to lift our bags, and he was sweet about it. He would have been a 4, but when we arrived to our terminal, he called out for Thrifty customers, and a few boarded. He saw a woman on the sidewalk who looked concerned, and he asked her who she was waiting for. She mentioned another car rental company, and told him she'd been waiting a while.

Rather than running off, or criticizing the competitor, he told her he was surprised because they usually come through quite frequently. He asked her how long she'd been waiting, and she told him 20 minutes. He looked at her with compassion, and told her that he'd give her a ride to her car rental place after he dropped off the Thrifty customers. Can you believe it?!

This shuttle driver earns my first perfect score of 5!

Unfortunately, the first young man brought the Thrifty average to a 3.5, still, not too bad for a car rental company!

Cab - Boston, MA

We took a cab from the airport to Jennifer's house (where she was so kind to let us park for free all week!!), and the cab driver was fine. He had no idea where we were going, even though it was probably less than 2 miles away from the airport. I mentioned a famous local landmark nearby, and he still wasn't sure how to get there.

Now, this isn't about rating competency, it's about customer service and attitude. However, lacking competency should be redeemed by attitude. The driver was not overly friendly, nor was he apologetic for having no idea where he was going in a very familiar area. I don't think he smiled once.

This cab driver gets a service rating of 2.5.

TSA

The TSA gets a lot of flack for being rude, overly agressive and even handsy at times. I remember one interaction with them left Darcy in tears at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. At the San Diego airport this past weekend, I paid extra attention to my interactions with them as part of my research.

Every agent we interacted with was friendly, polite and even jovial. It was a great experience, which is so nice during today's stressful air travel.

On another note, have you seen the new xray imaging machines TSA is using at some airports (soon to be all airports?) They show more than you thought:

I'll have to remember to suck it in before passing through one of those!

The TSA service rating in San Diego is a 4.

Bondi - San Diego

Bondi is a super cool and stylish Australian restaurant in San Diego. Darcy and I sat in the stools pictured above so we could people watch. Everything in the restaurant, from the furniture, to the food, to our waiter, was from Australia.

The inside was funky. They had huge baskets/birdcage things with seats inside - how fun is that?! The food was yummy, and the atmosphere was great. It's a must visit restaurant if you are in San Diego.

Our Australian waiter was charming, friendly, prompt and efficient. The service was great. Our server gets a 4.

Jenny's - Perris, CA

Jenny's is a family restaurant/diner located in Perris, CA. I couldn't find any pictures of it online, so I just used a generic diner photo above. (Don't tell anyone!).

Jenny's was very busy when we got there, as it was the Sunday lunch rush. Our waitress was busy, but very patient with us, as one of us isn't always quite ready to order. You can guess which one of us it is. I'll give you a clue - it's not me.

We were starving, so we ordered an appetizer, but the food came out first (and very quickly!). The waitress was very apologetic and empathetic about the mistake, but not over the top. She was the right about of sorry, without being obnoxious about a minor restaurant error during a crazy lunch rush.

The food was really good! Darcy didn't know because her taste buds weren't working, but everything was fantastic.

Our waitress gets a 4, and Jenny's is a great find if you're every visiting or driving through Perris!

Circa 59, Palm Springs - Take 2

I don't know why, but after writing the not so great review, we went there for breakfast again today. Darcy convinced me that we shouldn't waste the free breakfast passes. (yes, yes we should have)

The food was cold and disgusting - again. I don't know how anybody eats there, seriously. It's completely bogus. I wasn't going to blog about it since it was the same as yesterday, and the waiter seemed to be fine...until he wasn't.

He came over as we were about to leave and asked us "was everything good?" Well, let's see, we both have full plates of food with one bite missing from each - do you really think everything was good? He was obviously just hoping we would nicely say yes, and normally I would have, but two days of gross cold food in a row? I don't think so.

I told him the food was actually freezing. He laughed and walked away. Nice. Needless to say, he didn't get any extra gratuity on top of what was included with the free passes. He wasn't outright rude, but to laugh and dismiss a valid complaint? He earned himself a 1, lowering the service average for Circa 59 to a 2.

California - April, 2009

I guess if I lived somewhere that looked like this, I'd be nice all the time too. ;-)

I live in NH, and it's not a terribly rude state, but it's not overly warm either. I've lived in MA, and I have had plenty rude encounters there.

I'm starting with a clean slate. My hypothesis is that people in the Northeast are not as friendly as people...well, every where else it seems. I don't travel a ton, but I will use my limited experiences to start rating my experiences with service professionals I meet along my travels and at a home. I'm throwing my pre-conceived notions out the window, and I'm going to use my highly scientific 1-5 rating scale (described on the right of this page), to rate my experiences.

I decided to do this yesterday, so I will begin with my interactions yesterday. I won't count rate interactions from before I set the rating scale in my mind, and cleaned my slate, but I will say, the people we met in San Diego were super nice and helpful. I'll be back there this afternoon, so hopefully I can include them in my "study." :)

The tricky ones to rate will be the worst cases, such as Comcast, where you call in and you're not sure where you are calling. I'll do my best to get location information when I have a telephone service experience, although I'm not sure if the terrible telephone service we generally receive is a result of location or just bad business. I'll just present the facts as they happen, and we can interpret them together. What fun.

Circa 59 Restaurant is located in the Palm Springs Riviera resort. With our package deal, we received free breakfast at the restaurant, as many other guest did, I'm assuming. We only went for breakfast there once, as it's my experience that free hotel food isn't always a good thing, and I was not mistaken. I'm assuming most people had free breakfast tickets to the restaurant, so rather than serving from a menu, there was a buffet that consisted of eggs, sausage, hashbrowns, bacon, juevos rancheros, pancakes, cereal, fruit, yogurt and muffins.

It was not intended to be a continental breakfast, but rather a full breakfast buffet, so under those circumstances, I found the buffet to be a bit lacking. There were no breads, the eggs were fake (not a surprise), the fruit didn't look fresh, etc... I made a plate of eggs, hashbrowns, fresh fruit and a slice of bacon. The food was cold and disgusting. It made me sick, literally. After that, I ended up having some cold cereal, which was fine.

The waiter, whose tip was included in the free breakfast I learned after, was fine. Not overly helpful or friendly, but perfectly fine. I tipped him just a little bit above the included gratuity, because I just felt I should. I'm sure it's not his fault the food was cold and not very fresh.

Circa 59 Service Rating: 3
> >Knott's Berry Farm Soak City, Palm Springs, CA
I haven't been feeling well, as I'm recovering from pneumonia, and I've been a bit out of it as a result. When we arrived at Soak City (where they charge you to sneeze), we arrived at the parking booth. Even though there is plenty of parking, they charge you to park, which I found to be absurd. This was not a location in the middle of a big city, it is quite literally in the middle of a vast desert expanse. Charging for parking at a location like this is just criminal. Not only do they charge for parking ($9), but they offer premium parking for $15. If you want to park at the lot closest to the entrance, it's an extra $6!

I couldn't remember where I put my money, and I was taking a long time going through the trunk, etc...all very unlike me, but again, I've been out of it. The parking attendant was completely understanding and didn't make me feel like I was ridiculous at all (even though I was!) She was patient and sweet and friendly the entire time. Her service rating is a 4.

When we got to the ticket booth, we saw that the lazy river was closed. That was a bummer, as it was the entire reason we were there. It's probably one of their most popular features, and for a small water park, they probably should have offered some kind of discount with the lazy river and one of the pools closed, but they didn't. The young woman at the ticket counter was fine. We asked if the lazy river would be closed all day, and she said yes, without really knowing the answer. I found out it was just closed for a few hours because they had to refill it. She was fine, though, and I would give her a service rating of a 3.

We got into the park, and went into the changing room. There was no place to store your things unless you rented a locker - for $10! We couldn't find exactly where to purchase a locker key, so we stopped by the snack shack to ask. The young woman we spoke too was extremely helpful and friendly. Her service rating is a 4.

We went inside to purchase the key, and the young woman at the counter wasn't sure how to run the credit card - no big deal. Her manager assisted her, and we were off with our $10 locker rental. She was fine, and her service rating is a 3.

The overall service rating for Knott's Soak City is a 3.5. While we had fun, because it's a water park!, I was not impressed with this particular water park. They charge $30 per person for a pretty small park, extra to park and extra to store your items. They don't have any competition, and they rely on tourists, so they don't need to worry about repeat customers that much. Locals can buy a seasons pass for $80, so if you use it 3 times or more, it's a bargain.

Village Pub, Palm Springs
We had lunch at the Village Pub. The food was good and reasonably priced. The service was fine. Our server was helpful, friendly, and fairly quick. Her service rating is a 3.

Palm Springs Convention Center
We went to go see the Indigo Girls last night. We had VIP passes, so we had a really great spot to watch the show, and we didn't have to wait in lines, etc... We also got to watch the concert with some neat people - a comedian, an 80's sitcom actor, etc... that was cool. The Indigo Girls were great - I've always loved them, and I hadn't seen them in ages.

The first person I encountered at the concession stand was very friendly and helpful. His service rating is a 4. The second person I encountered was slow, and forgot that I had already paid him (as the person next to him rang it up while he was preparing the order, and when I went to leave, the person who rang it up was no longer there to verify my story), so I paid twice because I'd rather do that than argue. Life is too short. He didn't even try to verify that I had paid, and he was unapologetic about the mishap. I paid $48 for a $24 order. His service rating is a 1.
The overall rating for the concession service people is a 3.

The security personnel staged at all the VIP entrances were okay. I don't know why people in security jackets or t shirts some times think they are an officer of the law. I know they need to take their jobs seriously, but they are in a service industry, and they don't seem to realize it. The overall rating for the security onsite at the convention center is a 2.