Service in Ireland in general - Good or bad?

Voodoomelon

I find myself getting more annoyed lately with bad service nearly every where I go. I'm talking mostly about cafes/coffee places/quick bite restaurants.

Proper restaurants in general are pretty good and I've no gripe with them. But why is it deemed acceptable by the other above places to constantly treat the customer like an inconvenience?

There's nothing insulting or offensive about the way customers are being treated and I for one don't cry myself to sleep over it, but so many places you go, the staff take no pride at all in how they serve the customer; how they speak to them, how they greet them, how they ask for the total owed or answer questions about menus etc.

I'm not a big traveller, but I distinctly remember in the US back in 2008 the service everywhere we went was fantastic, no matter how big or small the place, across several states and cities. It seems in Ireland the serving industry is simply a stepping stone for teenagers and students until they can find a better job. Over there, you would see many in their 40s/50s/60s doing jobs you would never see the same age group here doing, or certainly far less. It's more of an acceptable career there, whereas here its not.

I served for many years when I was younger and was always polite, as helpful as I could be, would take pride in how drinks, coffees and food was presented, would smile, make small talk, made sure the customer had everything they needed etc i.e., I made it about the customer. So many places you go to now, you get the feeling the places are only there to employ staff and the customer comes second.

Sour faces, no please or thank you, calling next over your shoulder, one word answers, not greeting you as you walk in. Even little things like making you out to be an idiot because you're looking for a bit of hot food at five past two, instead of politely pointing out the time. Sweeping around your feet when you eat, staff laughing away together, looking at phones instead of out on the floor, banging your plates or cups down etc etc etc.

It's just me isn't it...

Mr. Incognito

In the states tips are your wage so you work for them.

Here most people are on the clock.

One dick of a customer can ruin someones mood for the day

K4t

Not just you. Plenty of fools around.

Mr_Muffin

You think it's bad here? Try the Czech Republic.

Flood

Service every 6k for a petrol

qwerty1991

I have waitresses for many years and service from all staff has been good (not just saying it cos I worked there!

Only one restaurant I worked in which was Dublin city centre and I only lasted 3 months was the service poor. I worked there and saw staff giving poor service and I know I have poor service but the reason was this:

We all worked for minimum wage. Fine, am well used to that. But we worked on a minimum staffing policy. So basically imagine that 2 waitress, 2 bar men , 2 runners were sick every day. The work load for minimum wage was immense. I broke down in tears due to stress 3 times in 3 months something which I hadn't done before in any job.

On top of that there was constant watching and testing to ensure standards were being maintained keeping staff on edge as it is impossible to keep standards when you are so busy!

I hate bad service too but first look around. If it is simply bad staff, complain to management. But if you see your waitress never stopping and red faced running up and down the restaurant... She is trying her best.

moc moc a moc

Well, the smart thing is to come here to After Hours and complain.

Definitely don't say anything to the manager, or anyone else who can actually do something about your problem

Mint Aero

Leave Ireland alone!!!

Voodoomelon

qwerty1991 wrote: »

But if you see your waitress never stopping and red faced running up and down the restaurant... She is trying her best.

No one knows this more than me and it's not what I mean. It's not the restaurants i'm talking about, its the places you frequent daily to get your lunch, have a coffee or grab a drink. Many restaurateurs are well aware that poor service will result in poor custom. In my experience, the same doesn't apply to smaller establishments. It's buy the food and get out.

moc moc a moc wrote: »

Well, the smart thing is to come here to After Hours and complain.

Definitely don't say anything to the manager, or anyone else who can actually do something about your problem

I'm talking about the trivial things that aren't worth complaining about, which seem to be manifesting themselves everywhere you go. It's a general poor attitude to service across the board.

YanaSoko

I guess it is all down to the wages and workload... Worked in many places and was trying to provide the best service I could. There was a place looking for staff in a take away, wanted the person to work ten hours per day, six days per week and were only willing to pay 55 eur per day.. at the end of the week the wages seems to be grand but the amount of hours... the person would be tired both physically and psychologically.... and def would not be able to provide good service even if he/she would want to..

One of my family members rans a take away, she works for herself, so no extra staff, one day a young couple came in, ordered food and ate it (there were no complains about food or service),the girl went to the tiolet and then the couple left the shop. My family member went to check out the toilet as she got a bit suspicious because the girl was there for ages....well her discovery was....the girl went for number two and she decided that the toilet needed some makeover and she used her fingers to decorate and repaint walls in the toilet ...the smell was
unbelievable. .. the owner was clearly upset....I guess she could hardly provide any service at all that night. ...so yeah...three reasons: wages, workload and some customers

HalloweenJack

Mr_Muffin wrote: »

You think it's bad here? Try the Czech Republic.

Lived there and despite being friendly in a typical reserved Czech way, it's not so bad.

Spain's a million times worse. In a lot of service places, customers are treated at best as a distraction, at worse as a downright nuisance.

eternal

I always find people to be very friendly and forthcoming anywhere I go. You should try bring pleasant yourself and you might see a difference in the responses you get.

When the Sun Hits

Couldn't give a general answer - some are great, some are bad. I was actually in a shop recently though looking for an item that the business would, along with 4 or 5 other things, specifically sell. I ask them do they have it and the dope behind the counter just says "No, never heard of it" and points me over to an area where it "might be" as he continued to read some magazine.

DeadbeatDancer

I've just returned from working in the US as a server. Yes, it is seen as an acceptable career over there because the money is fantastic! You are paid below minimum wage and therefore need to earn as many tips as possible to survive. This is why, usually, service is excellent. The server wants you to enjoy your experience so you leave a nice 20% tip.

Since I've arrived home, I've noticed just how awful some people working in the service industry can be! Don't work with people if you can't be pleasant, mannerly and at least pretend to care about other people.

PLL

It's a bit of a disgrace when a woman serving ice cream to kids in a supermacs is the most miserable sour faced bítch ive ever come across.

murpho999

Service overall here is pretty good but you'll always find exceptions

One thing Ireland has is the best bloody barmen.

Walk into a busy bar and you'll get serve fairly quick. In every other country I have been in bar staff can only handle one order/drink at a time.

Electric Sheep

murpho999 wrote: »

Service overall here is pretty good but you'll always find exceptions

One thing Ireland has is the best bloody barmen.

Walk into a busy bar and you'll get serve fairly quick. In every other country I have been in bar staff can only handle one order/drink at a time.

Never been to New York I take it?

Salvation Tambourine

DeadbeatDancer wrote: »

Since I've arrived home, I've noticed just how awful some people working in the service industry can be! Don't work with people if you can't be pleasant, mannerly and at least pretend to care about other people.

A lot of people in the service industry don't want to be but it's the only thing really available to them. I worked in shops then a call centre for the last 5 years until recently. I would be a fairly friendly person but some days it's impossible because of working conditions. In the end, you just end up resenting the place you work and therefore you don't care about being a smiley, happy person.

Thankfully I achieved a goal of not dealing with the general public recently and it's bliss.