Sounds pretty stingy, doesn’t it? Actually, it’s a 15.6% tip. And given the service received recently at The Royale Food and Spirits (@ 3132 So. Kingshighway), it was too much! StingyTipper has dined many times at The Royale, so ST obviously likes it or would not have returned so often. However, StingyTipper has always felt the service was somehow lacking, that the wait staff was not up to par with the great food and overall ambience and “hipness” of the place. But before the advent of the S.E.R.V.I.C.E. rating system, StingyTipper had no way to objectively rate the service. Now, with the S.E.R.V.I.C.E. rating system in hand, ST’s general impressions can be turned into concrete examples of their “less-than-Royale” service. Here are some highlights of the mediocre service during a lunch visit with ST’s spouse on the eve of New Year’s Eve.….
For starters, on Salutation ST gave a one. No greeting, no seating, no attention paid, no water service, etc. When ST and spouse received their menus, the waiter was quite indifferent to our needs, preferring to stare blankly into the distance over engaging us in ordering. (However, he was responsive to our dilemma regarding which was the dryer white wine to order, offering—because he didn’t know—to get us a sample taste of each of the two choices in which we were interested. Unfortunately, he left a sample glass on our table during the rest of our meal until asked to remove it.) For just a salad (choice of only two) and the wrap special, the time it took to deliver our meals seemed needlessly long. When our lunch did arrive, it was delivered by another server, arousing StingyTipper’s suspicions that our table waiter had overlooked our meals in the kitchen. Subsequent to commencing our dining, the server only returned once to check on us, and that was with ST’s prompting to finally get some water. Basically, we were ignored the rest of our stay.
Come on guys and gals at The Royale….With such a cool establishment going for you, and your well-deserved reputation for community engagement, I just know you can do better on the service side. Make StingyTipper’s S.E.R.V.I.C.E. experience during the next visit there live up to your regal name!
Scoring Key
1 = Unsatisfactory 2 = Satisfactory 3 = Commendable
S.E.R.V.I.C.E. SCORE
Salutation = 1
Equity = 2
Responsiveness = 1
Value = 3
Informed = 1
Comfort = 3
Experience = 1.5
Total Score: 12.5 = 12.5%
(but StingyTipper left a 5 spot (15.6%) because it was just easier to do; and, besides, it was the eve of New Year’s Eve!)
Gratuity Scoring Guidelines
"Stingy" 7-10%
"Not-too-Stingy" 11-15%
"Gracious" 16-21%
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