Service at a Restaurant Influences Senior Satisfaction

Over the years, hubby and I may not have eaten out as often as some folks, but we have traveled a bit and sampled the hospitality and fare of quite a few different restaurants, from the Chinese buffet on the corner to some of San Francisco's nicest restaurants.

We enjoy having a bite out at places where customers can dress casually and get warm and friendly service. When a waitress at an upscale fish place accused me of "Eating Flipper" for ordering Mahi Mahi some years ago, I didn't find the joke nearly as amusing as she apparently did, and even though their fish was tasty, we never returned to buy a meal at that restaurant. There are far to many delicious meals to be tried to go back to an establishment where the help ridicules customer's choices. My response is the same when a bartender sniffs scornfully when I order a non-alcoholic drink, or as in one case, actually announced, rather too loudly, "Well, aren't we daring!" In public, I will pretend this sort of thing is a joke and politely finish out the evening, but that will only happen once. Again, there are far too many attractive places to go out for a good time where attentive service is the rule rather than the exception.

One of the greatest things about being eligible for senior specials at restaurants, from the "senior drink" at McDonald's" to a full 20% off the entire service at many upscale restaurants, is obviously the price. However, another advantage of aging seems to be that so-called senior citizens apparently get more respect. Now that I have a few visibly gray hairs, it is remarkable how much nicer the food servers are!

Tonight this point was brought home when the server at a new casual dining establishment stopped by in the middle of our meal to inquire if I would like for her to warm up my soup. I suddenly realized nobody had ever made this offer to me before. Thinking it over, it dawned on me that the last time we were at a pricey gourmet restaurant, the waiter, although polite, was clearly disconcerted over the fact that I had neither eaten my soup nor wished for him to take it away when the entree was served. The third time he came back with that look on his face, I gave up and handed it to him. Everything else about the meal was great. Delicious food, a soloist playing lovely piano in the background, fresh flowers on the table and a view to die for. There was still a rigidity about the whole dining out process, though, that I can do without.

Does nobody eat soup with the meal? Is wishing to do this a terrible faux pas? No matter, I paid for the soup and if I prefer to eat it alongside the meal instead of all by itself at the beginning, hey, I'm the customer. Gauche, maybe, but still the customer. So that more than the lower price was what helped us decide to go casual this time.

In fact, the temperature of my soup was fine. For some reason, however, the offer to warm it simply made me feel wonderful. Not only did it strike me as a validation of my right to choose when to eat my soup, but it proved to me that the server was a thoughtful and kind person. Furthermore, the soup was delicious. Someday I might go back to that restaurant just for another bowl of that soup! In truth, though, the memory of wonderful service is probably going to be the reason that we will go there again quite soon, and take friends, and return often.