When was the last time you ate at a well know chain restaurant and left without a survey being thrust at you, (albeit with a smile) before you could escape out of the door?
Imagine it. You’ve just finished work and roll up at your nearest ‘Harvester’ or ‘Two for One.’ Yummy, good value for a weekday; served at a speedy pace – most of the time. What more could you want? You relax as you eat, the food is often the best that the freezer or grill can produce but who’s complaining, it’s cheap. Might even partake in bulk buy dessert. The food is good, just good. It is what it is. For the money, it satisfies and you’re normally full when you finish which is always a bonus.
Then, time to go. The next thing on your mind is getting home and putting your feet up but, here comes the ‘big but’ and it’s not my derrière, thank you. A normally very polite member of staff approaches with your bill. Before you can take the bill, you are directly attacked with a well rehearsed spiel that head office has tattooed into the brains of its staff on the benefits of going online when you get home and completing a survey. Worst of it is, this survey is normally wrapped around your bill. You have to listen whether you want to or not. Forced upon its innocent victims ears.
But you can win a meal for two. Can I? Politely you smile painfully as they go through this spiel, line by agonising line. Do I really want to receive spam for who knows how long, have my details possibly passed on and waste my precious free time clicking buttons to tell them how nice my micro meal was? I don’t think so. Life is just too short.
But you can win a meal for two. Can I? Just how many meals for two are up for grabs? Do I want to bother when I’m in with a one in three million chance of winning a budget meal for two? How often are these draws because every time I eat at one of these places, it’s another meal for two?
But you can win a meal for two. Listen, I don’t want one. Maybe I never want one again as I’m sick of being hounded with surveys!
My advice to these market researching vultures in suits that turn their staff into monotone robots, we don’t come out to eat for the sole purpose of completing your surveys. Instead of you telling us to tell you how your doing, why not just ensure that your staff are simply trained to do their best for us? Then maybe, just maybe, you wouldn’t need surveys. I’m sure your staff would love to ditch the script too. It’s not personable, it’s not warm and it’s not inviting.
I’m possibly over sensitive but the upscale/survey after-thought is on the increase. Every time I’m in Wilko’s, it’s ‘phone cards or stamps?’ In the bank; credit cards or insurance and as we’ve seen, in restaurants it’s surveys! On web pages: Do you want to tell us how we’ve done? No, no, no and more no! Ahhhhhh – Go away and boil in oblivion. Leave my poor little mind alone. Save your staff too. You suited bunch of ‘we- gooders’ in your battleship grey boardroom, wearing your starched collars. Bring back spontaneous friendly conversation. I’m almost prepared to go back to, “awful weather today isn’t it”.
Please let’s talk about the weather or anything. Bring back the human touch – Please?
Lots of love,
Carla.
Ps: You wore a lovely top, had a nice smile and you were very polite. It’s a shame you can’t just be you.
Carla Kovach - Author 