Onesto's Pizza and Trattoria--at 5401 Finkman in an out-of-the-way corner of St. Louis City’s South Hampton neighborhood--made StingyTipper so happy on a recent visit that $30.00 worth of gift certificates were purchased on the spot so that others could be introduced to this establishment and its great S.E.R.V.I.C.E. experience. That’s a first for StingyTipper, as ST usually prefers to take a few days to reflect upon the experience before providing a S.E.R.V.I.C.E. rating. But in this instance, the service was so good that no time for reflection was needed—ST wants everyone to know what great service looks like and looks forward to giving the gift certificates as holiday presents.
Upon entering Onesto, StingyTipper’s party of four was warmly greeted by a very helpful hostess who said that though it would be a 45-minute wait, we could make ourselves comfortable either inside or outside (in a heated tent) while enjoying cocktails. Her friendliness, casual attitude and reassuring comments that we would not be disappointed with the wait beaconed us to make the commitment to stay, even though StingyTipper’s son was on a very tight schedule and “threatened” to abandon the group to meet his next commitment. But after settling in for a quick drink, the bar waitress brought us complimentary appetizers which convinced ST’s son to relax and stay.
Once seated in the main dining area, the waiter (Dan) for the table was most pleasant and very accommodating to our needs. Though the place was quite crowded, with a great deal of energy emanating from all the service staff, Dan made it seem like making our party happy was his only concern. As this was StingyTipper’s first time at Onesto and pizza is their specialty, the group decided to stick with pizza, with the waiter giving some terrific suggestions for splitting the pizzas to thereby try more toppings. We were not disappointed in our choices! All were yummy (except the BBQ chicken which was a bit on the too-spicy side for ST’s tastes). A terrific large salad served family-style for four complemented our pizzas.
At one point in the S.E.R.V.I.C.E. experience, StingyTipper had an overwhelming sense of contentment (on only one glass of wine!), feeling like our group was actually relaxing in someone’s personal kitchen or dining room, that’s how intimate, friendly and responsive the service was. At one point, StingyTipper dubbed the place out loud “My Uncle’s Kitchen” (because most of the service staff was male), reflecting overall enthusiasm for the service. Though the pizza was delivered before StingyTipper could finish the salad course, and the amount spent seemed a bit high for basically a pizza night-out, nevertheless, the overall S.E.R.V.I.C.E experience was so positive that a 20.5% gratuity was gladly left.
Scoring Key
1 = Unsatisfactory 2 = Satisfactory 3 = Commendable
S.E.R.V.I.C.E. SCORE
Salutation = 3
Equity = 3
Responsiveness = 3
Value = 2.5
Informed = 3
Comfort = 3
Experience = 3
Total Score: 20.5 = 20.5%
Gratuity Scoring Guidelines
"Stingy" 7-10%
"Not-too-Stingy" 11-15%
"Gracious" 16-21%
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