Category: Restaurants

On The Road Again

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

299756_thumb.jpgIn just a few more weeks the kids will be out of school for the summer and Americans will be hitting the road for vacations. Thanks to President Dwight Eisenhower we have a fairly decent interstate highway system that links us from one place to another. Traveling by car takes more time than flying, but it is a far more interesting way to go. Driving gives a real sense of geography, the changing landscape and the enormity of our nation. In some ways it is almost like a pilgrimage, a time for relaxation and reflection, a way of getting to know our landscape more intimately. It is on the hidden byways and along the main streets of tiny towns that I truly begin to understand the variety and diversity of the United States. Those long road trips are filled with unforgettable memories of places that I had no idea even existed. Long after I have returned home I picture them in my mind and almost feel as though I am there once again.

As we whiz past homes along the route I find myself wondering who lives in those edifices and how they came to settle in such places. Sometimes the houses are palatial and speak of money and success. Other times they are the size of small huts, filled with signs of poverty and neglect. Since I have no way of knowing the stories of the residents I create descriptions of them from my imagination. I pretend to know what the rooms are like and what the people within them may be doing. It occupies my mind when the miles stretch endlessly ahead.

I love the towns the most. I wonder what the citizens think of those of us who are only passersby. I try to get a sense of why some small places even exist. I begin to realize just how much of America is so different from the metropolis from which I come. I want to stop and tarry for a time but usually have to continue onward to the next place lest I never reach my ultimate destination.

Some of the most wonderful memories that I have are from unexpected places. I can still see the road to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. It is late afternoon and a storm is brewing. The clouds are dark and foreboding. The people who live in the farmhouses are safely inside with the warm glow of lights radiating from the windows. Even the livestock have taken cover, having more sense than we do as we continue on as the wind whips our vehicle warning us that perhaps being outside is not particularly safe. Then we see a twister moving across a field traveling in our direction. We abruptly change our course as a torrential rain overtakes us. We race back to the tiny town from whence we have most recently come and hurry for cover along with others caught so unexpectedly by the angry forces of nature. As we settle inside I feel a rush of excitement and somehow know that I will never ever forget this experience.

There is another trip that returns to my recollections time and again. On this occasion we are in Utah heading toward Durango, Colorado. The sun bears down relentlessly on our car. Dust on the road coats the paint with a fine red mist. It is unbearably hot but somehow there is a beauty in the utter desolation of the road that we are following. I find myself thinking of the first people who settled in such a wilderness and marvel at their fortitude. While it is magnificent it is also forbidding. I try not to think of what our fate might be if we were to break down or become ill, for there is nobody around. It is as though we have become the only people left on the planet.

It is dark by the time we drive into Durango. We are exhausted and quite famished. We find a restaurant that features a dinner of rainbow trout. A chill has come over the dessert-like climate and so a fire is burning to warm the customers. It is cozy and welcoming and we are quite thankful to have serendipitously stumbled upon such a place. Our food proves to be more excellent than we had imagined it might be. We tarry in the hospitable atmosphere and somehow file away the moment in the part of our brains that holds thoughts of the most treasured times.

Road trips have taken us through Yellowstone National Park in the midst of a raging forest fire. They have shown us a glorious rainbow in Glacier National Park. They have made us laugh as we witnessed the ever present humor of our fellowmen in signs and silly yard displays. They took us along narrow mountain trails and through miles and miles of green corn fields. We have learned of the difficulties of driving through downtown New York City, and chided ourselves for the foolishness in the aftermath. We found old time tunnels through which our vehicle barely made it. We marveled at the manicured vineyards of wineries and the permanent ruts made by the wagons of long ago travelers. We might never have seen any of these wondrous things had we decided to travel by plane. We would have missed them as we flew high above the clouds. What a loss that would have been!

Later this summer we plan to travel to Wyoming in hopes of getting a glimpse at the once in a lifetime solar eclipse that is scheduled to take place in a swath along much of the northwest and midwestern states. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will cooperate and that we will be able to actually witness this phenomenon, but even if things don’t turn out as planned I am confident that our road trip will provide us with many wonderful surprises. We will see things that we had not expected. Just thinking of the possibilities is rather exciting.

Thank you, Henry Ford, for making the automobile accessible to the common man. Thank you, President Eisenhower, for insisting that we have a nation of good roads. Thank you to the little people everywhere who set up the gasoline stations, restaurants and places to rest for the night. Because of such innovations my world has been much more expansive than it might otherwise have been. I am a far different and better person for seeing so much of this wondrous country. I can’t wait to get on the road again with the strains of Willie Nelson filling the cabin of our car. Who knows what lies ahead?

We Are the Engine of Commerce

Published on by Sharron BurnettLeave a comment

happy-customerLast week my husband and I decided to try a local Pollo Tropical for lunch. We had heard from several people that the menu in this fast food chain was exceptionally good. Sadly we never had even a taste of their wares. Instead, we entered the restaurant and almost instantly left before moving past the door. The sight that greeted us was disgusting beyond measure. Dirty dishes and trash were piled high on several of the tables. The floor was littered with trash and crumbs. In other words the place was filthy and nobody appeared to be making any sort of effort to rectify the situation. We both agreed that we were not going to spend our money on food that came from such a disgusting place. We wondered how the kitchen in the back might look if the most visible section of the eatery was in such a state of disarray. Our imaginations painted a dismal picture.

I am admittedly a cleanliness freak. I will lose my appetite in a millisecond if I find a hair in my food or a roach skitters across the floor. I am literally unable to eat in an unsanitary environment. I want to be assured that the people in charge are at least making an effort to keep things as pristine as possible. I like going to the Five Guys burger chain because I can clearly see the folks preparing the food. They wear gloves and somehow manage to keep the area looking pristine while still quickly providing me with a custom designed meal. I will pay extra to go somewhere that has high standards but will drop a place in a New York minute if I see evidence of dirt and grime and I don’t mind informing the management of eateries that their hygiene is unsatisfactory. If they do something to improve I am always willing to try them again but if they ignore my comments then they are quite literally dead to me.

I realize that the employees of most fast food restaurants work for extremely low wages but I do not believe that this fact gives them the excuse to neglect their duties. I used to enjoy dining at a Panera Bread in Pasadena because a young man with disabilities was in charge of cleaning the tables and the floor there. He took great pride in his work and everything was so clean that it sparkled. He was in constant motion around the room picking up stray pieces of paper and reaching under furniture to sweep up even the tiniest crumb. He did so with a big smile on his face and never failed to greet each of the guests as they arrived and wave goodbye as they left. Little wonder that the place was always packed. Their secret weapon was not so much the food as this exceptional young man who was so dedicated to his job.

Those who manage businesses in the service industry sometimes forget that everything that they and their employees do or don’t do contributes to the success or failure of the enterprise. Most people have limited funds and when they choose to spend their hard earned money somewhere they expect to get a good product. Restaurants not only must provide tasty food but need to do so in an atmosphere that inspires confidence that sanitary health standards are continually in place. I simply cannot understand how routines become so lax that nobody appears to be minding the store.

My husband isn’t as concerned about messiness as I am. His pet peeve is being virtually ignored by clerks who are busier discussing working conditions with fellow employees than paying attention to him as he makes purchases. He spent a great deal of his career in the retail banking business and his forte was making customers happy. He insisted on certain standards of behavior from his employees. He strove to keep lines short and interactions happy. He was generally beloved to the people who entrusted their money to him. He carefully chose and trained his workers and began by being respectful to them so that they in turn might be courteous to the people they served.

Unfortunately there are far too many times when clerical people give the impression that they wish that we would just go away and leave them to their conversations. They are surly and inattentive. They behave as though they would rather being doing anything but helping us to make a purchase. Their attitudes do little to encourage us to return in the future. There are too many alternative places that offer the same products but do so with helpful employees for any of us to accept unsatisfactory customer service.

So many stores now offer discounts with coupons. Sometimes its difficult to keep up with all of the paper and other times I don’t even know that it is even available. When I shop in a store where the salesclerk actually helps me to get the best possible deal you can bet that I take note and return again and again. I’ve had delightful people show me where to find the discounts online. Others have split the transaction into multiples in order to provide me with the most savings. I laugh when one of them winks and pulls a coupon from under the counter to help me out. The employees who take the time to go out of their way to be certain that I ultimately get the best possible product for the lowest price are true sales people. They fully understand that it takes effort to keep customers and they are willing to do whatever is needed to make me happy.

We live in a dog eat dog world. To stand out from the ordinary most retail establishments whether they be offering food or goods or services have to be just a bit better than their competition. It takes more than the ordinary to get people to stand in line for barbecue in the Texas heat but there are people who have accomplished that. I watch businesses founder while others thrive. The difference between success and failure almost always can be found in the attitudes of the staff. If they project a caring spirit and a sense of pride in being excellent the customers will invariably notice and reward them with their loyalty. It isn’t that difficult to keep the tables clean in a restaurant or to pay attention to someone who is making a major purchase but those little nuances often go undone even though they really do matter.

They say one unsatisfied customer will ultimately result in the loss of many more. All of us talk with each other. Word spreads like wildfire. I know that I have already mentioned my unfortunate experience with Pollo Tropical to a number of folks. If they tell the people that they know a mini boycott will begin to form. It doesn’t take too many such chain reactions for a business to take a dive. At the same time, a favorable experience leads to word of mouth recommendations that spur growth.

I have learned that most businesses appreciate our comments and generally will attempt to do better if we take the time to alert them to problems. We should also commend the people who provide us with pleasant experiences. Just as those in the service industry should never take us for granted we too have a certain responsibility to keep management informed. We are the engine that drives commerce and we have the power to keep it running smoothly.