#55 ~ Chili's
Chili's is one of those words that when you say it over and over again, it stops making sense and you start wondering if you're saying it right. You even begin to suspect you spelled it wrong, or that the word itself does not exist.
All words are like that, in fact. I read somewhere (most probably from Freakonomics, but it could be from Futurismic or Boing Boing, I can't be sure) that this phenomenon occurs because when you repeat words over and over, it loses its function. For instance, when you are calling out someone's name, the function is to get that person's attention. But when you're just saying it to yourself for no reason, that's when it becomes strange.
Yeah, I'm so Fringe Division like that. *krump*
So let's put some function behind this.
I'm not exactly a big fan of Chili's. In fact, I don't like any of their dishes, except for maybe one or two that Sharifa and I keep ordering when we're there. Chili's is like the less attractive cousin of Applebee's or Friday's, who aren't that attractive either to begin with. So why do we go to these places? Because they're just some of the few restaurants that can handle our boisterous group.
Last time we went, we noticed how the waiters would get down to our (eye) level when they speak to us to take our orders. We would notice this of course, because as teachers, this is one of those things that we do to get kids' attentions. It's interesting, that's all.
This is the one in Roshan Mall.
Erm.. Place order WHERE?
Hello there ...
ReplyDeleteI would like to say that this waiter action of getting to the customer eye level while taking the order is rooted in some customer service ideas. Those who support it say that it makes the customer feels special, respected, and taken care of. However, there are some studies that show customers being annoyed by that move, saying that it is just not right to have a grown man or woman kneeling in front of you to take the order!
Yes, I can imagine this is true. When we first saw it, we thought that the waiters were being friendly, and it created a nice dining experience since we felt friendly towards the waiter, too. But it might not always work, maybe especially in our society, where not only could it be annoying, but it could also be taken as intrusive or some customers might think that the waiters are being over-familiar. Maybe they should use this technique with discretion.
ReplyDeleteIn teaching, it's a great technique when talking to kids. Children usually aren't open to communicating when they have to literally look up. When you go down to their level, they are more willing to listen and to talk to adults and they won't think they are being given orders that they would feel obligated to act against.