The longtime, well-known motto for those in CSR is that “the customer is always right.” Of course, the essence of the saying is that you are to do anything and everything within your power to satisfy the customer. Others disagree. “The customer is not always right, and I am not here to take $#%^ from anybody,” proclaims Amy Bouzaglo of Amy’s Baking Company on a recent episode of Chef Gordon Ramsay’s hit show, Kitchen Nightmares. The show is filled with examples of that attitude in action.
For those unfamiliar with this series, it is summed up well by CBS News as: “The format of the show is that Ramsay parachutes into a troubled operation, at the request of the owner, gets into the middle of conflict, and persuades the owner to take his advice, after which the restaurant is expected to catapult into great success.” After five seasons of the show bringing us stories of success after success, finally, this was one place where Ramsay had to just walk away from – Amy’s Baking Company. Season 5, episode 16, which aired May 19, 2013, is a prime example of an attitude that is exactly the opposite of the one needed for a customer based company to thrive.
It becomes apparent early on that the husband and wife owners have serious personality issues, but the problems just escalate from there with each passing minute. For head chef Amy, the whole world is out to get her, and she will not put up with it. They are never in the wrong, and it is all of the haters around them that are the problem, and it takes very little to set her off on a tirade against both staff and customer. “Unfortunately, the majority of the people in Arizona think that it you come to our restaurant we’re going to yell at you, scream at you, and throw you outside – and that is not who we are,” proclaims Amy. Yet, evidence on the show alone tells a different story, and the fact that she would make a comment like that means it has happened enough times that it has become part of their reputation.
Husband Samy also has a chip on his shoulder, and is often being belligerent and violent with the customers. They invite Chef Ramsay along to hopefully redeem their reputation by tasting and praising their food – showing once and for all that the locals and the “hater” food critics are the entire problem for their poor business. However, it doesn’t take much for Ramsay to discover the food is way below par, and saying so does not make anyone happy, especially Chef Amy.
When food is taken back, oftentimes the staff, including the husband, do not even let Amy know about it, for fear of setting her off, and so things in the kitchen go unchanged. On the occasions when she is notified, she becomes spiteful and vehemently vindictive, saying she is going to “burn” the undercooked food, or when she intentionally adds extra spices to the returned food, saying, “I hope it hurts him.”
The attacks do not only go against the customers, but also against the staff. The turnover rate of employees at the restaurant is staggering at over 100 employees coming and going in a single year's time. Any kind of questioning of the authority of Amy brings wrath, which often leads to dismissal. Not surprisingly, just this month the company held a job fair, seeking to hire 30 staff members. As if anyone would want to work there after seeing the show.
Based on what is seen on the one show, the central issues are the inability to take criticism as anything but a personal attack, and a failure to take criticism and work to fix the issues. The owners even see the show as yet another attack against them, and reportedly had a recent press conference to “answer falsehoods depicted on a reality television show, including assertions that the restaurant confiscates tips from servers.” So, it appears no lesson has been learned and they are just trying to save face in this scenario.
They also held a grand re-opening on May 21, hiring a local publicist to assist in restoring what was lost. “We are very upset by what has taken place, apologize about the acrimony that has ensued but now must fight back to save our business. We hope and believe much good can result from what has transpired. We ask the public to keep an open mind as we begin to tell our side of the story,” Samy said in a statement, showing evidence that they still blame the world for their problems.
While Amy is reported as saying “Our behavior that night was not right. What you saw is a woman who felt cornered, and I had a meltdown,” ZDNet recently quoted from the restaurant’s own recent Facebook posts (now removed of course) as did other sites, which give much evidence that the mentality of this place is has not changed at all:
“WE ARE NOT CRAZY! YOU ARE ALL THE CRAZY ONES! We are beautiful, sane people who have all of our dreams right here accomplished in this business. NOT YOU NOT GORDON RAMSAY NOT ANYONE CAN CALL ME CRAZY! You are all little internet punks who don't know what good food is!! YOU DONT NOW (sic) HOW TO EAT!”
The response from Amy is that this was not them posting – and that their Facebook account had been hacked, and also that the show editing made them look worse that they are. It is going to be very hard for them to save face unless they seriously alter their attitudes. I fear the damage has been done and is beyond repair.
Fortunately for those in the CSR world, this story has become viral and hopefully will serve as a fine example for those in or seeking to be in a CSR job. Try to maintain the exact opposite attitude and mentality of Amy's Baking Company, and you should be on your way to thriving in the business.
Image courtesy of Fox.com
Become a member to take advantage of more features, like commenting and voting.
Register or sign in today!