Waiting for the Check
We think a lot about taking the customer's point of view, and a few situations beg that issue. What's more maddening than waiting to get the check after a meal in a restaurant? How can the manager not see how waiting 40 years to see the promised land can obliterate the effect of a delicious meal, the delightful ambiance, or the prior great service? The waiter who was so attentive about your drinks and coffee and sauces has suddenly tessered to a foreign land.
As the wait time unfolded recently at a restaurant in New York, those of us stuck interminably at the table contemplated the alternatives to this flaw in the system. What could work instead? Most patrons would suggest that the check be brought with the entrees, but most restaurant managers would point out that patrons may yet want to order dessert and cappuccino. But why not take a credit card swipe, gracefully, right after the entrees? When the guest signs, she can indicate then the percentage she'd like to leave as a tip, and everything afterward can be added to the tab the same way it works in a bar. Then the patron can wait for the final check to be brought out or can leave anytime. People do it all the time at hotels. (I know a lot of frequent travelers who never formally check out.)
How long before we see it happen?
Of course, for this to work, the patron has to trust the restaurant not to pull any funny business with the tab or the credit card. This suggests a relationship, repeat business and recommendation to friends. All from trying to picture what it's like to be a customer.
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