My co-workers and I have been talking alot recently about the subject of customer service. More specifically, the lack of customer service. Many of our conversations have naturally gravitated toward the food and dining industry. We all eat out. We all enjoy eating out and expect good customer service. However, over the past few months the stories about horrible customer service have poured in. Employees not looking their customers in the eyes. Ignoring your customers when dropping off the menus. Arguing about using a coupon and accusing the customer of changing the date. These are just a few of the things we have been subjected to over the past few months.
I made a vow to blog about my the next great customer service experience. Months have passed since then. But today I end my custom service blogging silence. Because today I discovered that customer service does still exist! And believe it or not, it is in the food and dining industry.
The diner, Best Bet, is located in Noblesville, Indiana. Best Bet is decked out with poker themed items such as chips, playing cards and even jail cell like bars around the register. They serve a great breakfast and also offer lunch. Here are the customer service points they can offer to any restaurant:
Acknowledge Your Customers - This is a small diner, but the place was packed. There were 4-5 groups waiting at all times. Instead of ignoring the waiting customers or acting frustrated, the owner went to each customer personally to start a brief conversation. He shook their hand and made eye contact. He thanked them for coming out. He even offered complimentary drinks to some parties that had to wait more than 5 minutes. Simply put, he embraced the situation and made the best of it. Many times customers will leave as soon as they realize there is going to be a wait. Because of these tactics, every single customer staid…with a smile on their face.
Personalize the Experience - Not only did the staff introduce themselves, but they also asked for first names from the customers. These names were written on the order and on the final bill. A small gesture that continued the overall great experience.
An Atmosphere To Remember - Poker themed decorations were very appropriate and well thought out. Each table was a poker table with glass over the top of it. The diner was clean and everyone was moving to deliver food promptly. All employees seemed happy…a nice change of pace!
The Food and Follow Up - Of course the product must deliver on the high expectations. The food was very tasty and solidified me doing this review. And the follow up was great as well. The staff came back to check up on their customers to confirm they were enjoying the experience.
Best Bet is truly a breath of fresh air in the Indianapolis, Indiana area. This small diner is taking all of the little things that the big chains do wrong and capitalizing on their mistakes. And even with an almost hidden location, the customers don’t stop coming through the doors! Big restaurant chains – take notes!
Best Bet Noblesville Indiana - photo from Urbanspoon
Great review! I want to go right now!!! And take a copy of this blog with me. Thank you for sharing!
We will go soon for sure!
Best Bet is a great place not just because it has exceptional customer service, but because it is focused on a positive experience. The whole restaurant is organized around the gaming theme, but it’s all done in a personal style. You can even see pictures of the owners and friends painting the interior hanging on the walls! They also focus on doing one thing: quality, inexpensive breakfast food. Everything on the menu is a simple variation on the classics, done right.
Hopefully, they’ll be able to open up a new location farther south, and I can make it there more often!
@robbyslaughter
I once wanted to write an write blog series ONLY about customer service both good and bad. For some reason it’s expected but rarely delivered.
Did you get a ‘free’ meal out of this nicely crafted post?
Justin
http://justinbryant.net
Thanks for the comment Justin. No free meal … yet
Glad to know you enjoy it as well Robby! I will inform them of our desire for a 2nd location. I have a feeling I am going to be back real soon.
You should definitely check it out Derinda. Please, do take my blog post. Maybe I will get a free meal!
I just had breakfast at Best Bet this morning. While I agree with you that customer service basically sucks anymore, I found the customer service at Best Bet to be a little too In My Face. Our waitress is not the Vegas Cocktail Waitress veteran she was trying to play, she talked too much and she wrote our names down wrong as well.
The food sucked too. I had the biscuits and gravy. The mound of “Ava Potatoes” was riddled with stale onions and had to be sent back for a serving with no onions. The serving with no onions didn’t help the dish at all. The gravy had no flavor and had to be seasoned by salt and pepper just to make it palatable. The “toast basket” was just white bread toasted with lame square containers of jam or jelly. In short, the quality of the food at Best Bet is what you would expect from a Feed the Hungover Cattle All You Can Eat Breakfast Buffet in Las Vegas.
Which brings me to my next point. The whole Vegas themed thing is lame. It was far more Vegas-y that it was Poker themed. I guess only people who never grew up in that desert hell-hole still think there is something novel and attractive about Las Vegas, Vegas-y colors, Vegas poker chips, playing cards and tv screens that play the latest poker tournament and a Neil Diamond concert. This restaurant’s theme is just gross. The only thing missing was a heavy layer of cigarette smoke and loser gamblers wasting their lives in the Sports Book.
Speaking of losers, the owner’s dress, choice of cologne and personality need a serious overhaul. There is nothing appetizing or attractive about an aging man who wears a short sleeved “cruise wear” shirt worn open over a wife beater and enough Aqua Velva to smell him coming from the other side of the restaurant. The food is nauseating enough, but when you combine his gag reflex inducing scent along with his immature bragging over his bar hopping exploits from the night before, you have all the sensations of true hangover and you didn’t even have to drink anything.
If you really want Vegas Hungover Drunk buffet quality food, loud poker tournaments playing on the tv, and the loser-gambling-Sports Book experience coupled with an owner in the throes of a Jimmy The Greek Meets Frank Rosenthal mid life crisis with seriously bad taste in aftershave, hey this is the place for you.
I’ll stick to Le Peep.
@ElizabethD
So, I’m reading the reviews to find out about the restaurant, and I cannot help but have a few things go through my mind about your’s…
1) Would you rather them have horrible customer service as opposed to in your face?
2) Free toast is free toast… what did you expect to get?? Most diners DO charge for literally bread and packets of jelly.
3) They remade food you ordered. I’m assuming the menu would have had in it that the potatoes had onions… yet they remade it for you anyway… Since you didn’t say they charged you for a 2nd dish of it (I gather you would have since you complained about so many things)…
4) This restaurant does not dain to look resemble Le Peep… Diner (that’s what they advertise and what you can see in the pics) vs more upscale… can’t really compare those.
5) As for the owner, meh… I agree bad smelling cologne is no fun, but not sure I would use it as a basis of whether or not to go to a restaurant.
Your review seems petty and embittered.
Hi Derek, my name is Karen Bishop. My husband, Danny, and I own Best Bet. I just came across your blog, and I wanted to thank you for writing it. We work very hard to have good customer service and it is nice when it is noticed and appreciated. We have had several small companies bring their staff in to observe our service, which is always nice. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you and please, let me treat you to breakfast the next time you come in.