UBC July 2024 - Customer Service

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels

Welcome back to July's UBC. This month I'm going to be talking about cultural differences between Switzerland and the USA.

Today - as hinted in my post about hotels - I want to tell you about "Customer Service" in Switzerland, and even though my country prides itself in high standards when it comes to hospitality and the service industry in general, I have yet to get convinced...

Wherever you go, you may read something like:

Switzerland's impressive landscapes, such as the Alps, lakes and picturesque villages, its safety and cleanliness as well as its excellent service and high quality attract many tourists, and the Swiss have a long tradition of welcoming visitors and showing them the beauties of their country.

I'm worried that more and more tourists will forego the typical Swiss sights and instead enjoy the Alps in neighboring Austria or France, where the price level is lower and the service (at least in Austria) is friendlier. I would say that the quality of service in France is generally even worse than here. Especially in Paris. 

Let me give you some examples.

In our immediate vicinity, about 20 - 25 minutes' drive away, there is a wonderful restaurant right on the lakeshore, which is particularly popular when the weather is nice. We went there once in spring when asparagus was in season. Even in the entrance area, large boards advertised that there were various asparagus menus on offer. The menu was actually teeming with such dishes, so much so that anyone who doesn't like asparagus would be hard pressed to find anything else. 

But we had no trouble finding anything. I ordered a fish "with asparagus" and rice. You can imagine what I was served as follows:

A huge plate, half filled with rice. The other half of the plate was taken up by a piece of fish that was completely drowning in the sauce. Draped over it were three asparagus: two green and one white. That was it. You could only eat half of each of the three asparagus. The one at the back was so tough that I had to leave it in the sauce. 

The waitress asked if the food was good when clearing up - as it is not customary in most places to ask shortly after serving. I pointed to what was left of the asparagus and said I was disappointed with the small amount and even smaller portion of edible asparagus. 

She accepted it without a word and took our used dishes to the kitchen. Shortly afterwards, an energetic lady appeared at our table. She didn't introduce herself - which is also not customary here - but we assumed she was in charge, and she also didn't say "Hello". Instead she was like "What exactly is the problem here?"

I repeated my problem. She hardly let me finish, but interrupted me by looking down at me with her arms bent and began, "Now I have to explain something to you. I've been in the restaurant business for a long time and the customer wants a long asparagus!"

I had to stifle my laughter and replied "I'm a customer and I'd like an edible asparagus, and while we're at it, a larger quantity than three pieces, since you're promoting the asparagus season on every corner!"

"No one here has ever complained that they didn't get enough to eat," she remarked.

I can believe that, given the vast amount of rice and sauce. 

It ended with her neither apologizing, nor bringing an extra portion of asparagus, nor offering a coffee or a reduced bill.

We paid the regular amount and never came back. 

By the way, the owners later went out of business. The building was demolished and rebuilt. We visited the new restaurant full of hope, but to be honest, the arrogant attitude seemed to have been transferred to the new owner.

Even in the Swiss retail trade, making a complaint is like pulling teeth. Many stores make it difficult for customers. They write on the receipt in super small print that any justified returns must be made within 7 days to the exact store where the item was purchased. Even if there is a branch in every small town. Sales people will sometimes downright argue and defend themselves.

It's difficult to explain, but I think it's partly to do with the way people in the hospitality industry or retail trade see their job: they only have to serve/cash in. They have neither cooked the food nor produced the item. So why should they take responsibility for it? What's more, staff in these professions are paid a monthly wage. The wage may not be super high, but any tips are included. So they don't have to work very hard because they hardly earn any more anyway. 

It is also the case that they may not learn properly how to deal with feedback from customers. We never had the opportunity to, say, debate or negotiate at school, as is common in the US. 

And so it happens that criticism is taken personally. I can't explain it any other way. Of course, there are also positive exceptions, and I always celebrate them and thank them profusely. 

Photo by Terje Sollie on Pexels

And here is the positive example of a restaurant visit in Chicago: My beef fillet came well done. When the waiter came to the table shortly after bringing our food to ask how everything tasted, I said it was a little beyond medium. He took one tiny glance at my plate, took it away, apologized and said he'd bring another one right away, which he did. I was impressed with the speed and proffessionality with which the mistake was rectified. 

The check didn't include my meal, just my husband's and the drinks. We pointed this out to the waiter and said that the second plate was more than fine and we wanted to pay for it. 

"Absolutely not" he said "and again, I am terribly sorry."

We gladly left a tip that almost covered my meal. 

How's this for a comparison?