08 November 2006

New Pet Peeve/New TV Show

I have a bone to pick with those establishments that put emphasis on raising the bar of "customer service standards". Some of them are overdoing it. Without meaning to sound like Izzie Stevens (Grey's Anatomy) ---- Seriously! Who are training these "customer service" teams??

Scene 1

My family and I were having dinner last night at Max's Restaurant (Oo, Sheila love to ni Piolo! May malaki siyang poster dun! LOL!). I could count the number of times (seven) the waiter/tress approached our table, introduced himself or herself and asked if there was still something we needed (like ice, juice or dessert). And each time they'd approach us, I'd be in the act of putting food in my mouth (see photo on left). So instead of eating what's in my spoon, I'd put it down and talk to them and engage them instead (don't talk when your mouth is full daw kasi!). Don't you just hate that when it happens? Seven times I was interrupted, seven times I had to think if I had a morsel of rice on my face or something stuck between my teeth before I to talk to them. By the seventh time, I was exasperated and frustrated... I mean, what does one do for a quiet meal around there? The waiter/tress used to ignore us once the food was on the table. There were times you'd have to do crazy hand signals before they'd notice you needed their service. But now... there they are, every 5 minutes someone comes to your table bothering you.

Scene 2

This morning I had to go to Marikina, a town just nearby ours, and hubby and I had to pass by the gas station since the gas tank was almost empty. We were quite in a hurry since I had to be back home by 10:00 AM for an appointment.

Here is what happened:

Our car drives by the gasoline station.......ignition off, car window down....
Gas Boy: Sir, ma'am, welcome to Shell, my
name is blah blah blah
My husband: P300 Unleaded
Gas boy: blah blah blah (long scripted welcome!)
My husband: P300 Unleaded
Gas Boy: Sir
gawin na lang nating P500
My husband: Ha?
Gas Boy: Gawin na lang nating P500
Me: [butting in] Babayaran mo ba yung sobra?
Gas Boy: [Smiles and scrathes his head] Premium po ba?
My husband: Unleaded nga eh. Hindi mo ako narinig, ang dami
mo kasing sinasabi kanina.
[The gas boy didn't put that thing in our
tank yet, P300 lang naman natagalan pa...time was tick-tick-tick-ticking!]

Gas Boy: Sir, ma'am oil change? Windshield? Tubig? Hangin?
Me: Yung P300 Unleaded lang nga sabi eh.

Haaaaay. Nakaka-highblood. I'm all for customer service but the over-eager ones have become my recent pet peeves. Annoying! And I'm usually tolerant of people.

Hala, this is what it probably feels like when you're getting old. LOL!

These scenes remind me of moments from Curb Your Enthusiasm. To quote: David has terrible luck in social situations (with a few notable exceptions) and is often on the losing end of heated confrontations with "the help" — waiters, retail clerks, secretaries, etc.

Hehehe.

Anyway, as this is supposedly a TV blog --- NEW TV SHOW ALERT!!!

To those who love doctor shows, or shows about doctors (Grey's Anatomy, House, Scrubs, ER, etc)..... there is a new doctor show: It's 3LBS (three pounds). It stars Stanley Tucci as an arrogant brain surgeon --- arrogant like Dr. House; brain surgeon like McDreamy. So yes early press releases call it a House-Grey's Anatomy rip off.

The show will premiere on the 14th on CBS.

I was fortunate enough to see the trailer/teasers on TVU and based on it, it looks interesting.

Official website here