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Super week but a question....
- Thread starter tumules
- Start date
Smiling JOe
SoWal Expert
Bob
SoWal Insider
I'm sure your observations are correct, but this guy's punishment is that he has to do that dreary work in self-absorbtion central for a living.
tumules
Beach Comber
Thanks for your responses. Perhaps I used the wrong word when I said we "dumped" a considerable amount of money into the local economy. Let me rephrase....we "contributed" to the local economy. That "contribution" allows for lots of things to happen downstream along 30A - roads, services, etc. Without the "contributions" of many tourists, things might look much different in SoWal and maybe you would prefer it that way. And, I understand, too, you may be paying enough taxes to choke a horse. But, bottomline, it is merely a matter of economics.
I might feel the same about the tourists if I were a resident. And, I would count myself lucky if I were living my and countless others dream of living on/near the beach (and not just any beach but the BSW.) It must be a never ending fight to maintain the beauty and feel of SoWal.
As we contemplate our return next year, we will keep in mind it is incumbent upon us to offer the first smile, the first hello when walking in the door, remember to say thank you even though it was me who put the money in the cash register, consider rude treatment on the first visit as merely a matter of someone having an "off" day and where continued rudeness exists, it would place the shop or store on our do not patronize list.
None of this is written with any hidden meaning. We will again endeavor to be a good tourist. I thought we did that this trip (and BTW this is about our 5th trip to SoWal) but next year we will try harder. My hope is that the shop/store owners and their employees will too. You don't bite that hand that feeds you.
I might feel the same about the tourists if I were a resident. And, I would count myself lucky if I were living my and countless others dream of living on/near the beach (and not just any beach but the BSW.) It must be a never ending fight to maintain the beauty and feel of SoWal.
As we contemplate our return next year, we will keep in mind it is incumbent upon us to offer the first smile, the first hello when walking in the door, remember to say thank you even though it was me who put the money in the cash register, consider rude treatment on the first visit as merely a matter of someone having an "off" day and where continued rudeness exists, it would place the shop or store on our do not patronize list.
None of this is written with any hidden meaning. We will again endeavor to be a good tourist. I thought we did that this trip (and BTW this is about our 5th trip to SoWal) but next year we will try harder. My hope is that the shop/store owners and their employees will too. You don't bite that hand that feeds you.
Jdarg
SoWal Expert
And his brother bartends at Old Florida Fish House.
I'm trying to figure out a way to leave a negative tip the next time I visit. I told the other bartender (who was really nice) that he should take his jerk bartending partner out back and kick his a$$ since the guy's rudeness was probably affecting his own tips. The nice guy seemed to sadly agree with me.
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Hop
Beach Fanatic
there is one guarantee tumules, and that is if you continue to post as thoughtfully and respectfully as you have on this board, when you do return to SoWal you'll have a built in network of friends down here...and there will always be a smile in sowal for you
Beachbummette
SoWal Insider
"Hey Bobby"
there is one guarantee tumules, and that is if you continue to post as thoughtfully and respectfully as you have on this board, when you do return to SoWal you'll have a built in network of friends down here...and there will always be a smile in sowal for you
What Hop said! He's right, keep posting like this and you will have more friends than you know what to do with in SoWal!
However, I don't think this is an exclusive SoWal problem. I see it everyday here in Birmingham. It seems a bit odd that I am always the one that says "thank you" when I am being handed whatever I purchased. Happens all the time in the shops I frequent, restaurant's and other places of business. I just keep saying "thank you" and hopefully one day it will catch on.
Sorry you had bad experiences here in SoWal...come back we will try again.
Smiling JOe
SoWal Expert
Maybe the store owners are trying to prepare us for the future by having their employees be uneventful. There will be a day when we roll our entire buggy, filled with groceries, through something like a metal detector at the airport, totalling our bill and swiping our credit info which is microchipped under our skin in order to control identity theft. We will just entere a security password and be on our way. By this time, they will also have a lovely voice announce as we exit the building, "Thank you for shopping at Publix. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day."
Tumules, it is what it is. We can expect more, but typically we receive less, and it costs more, living at the beach. After living here for about a year, we just get used to it, or shop elsewhere. Unfortunately, there isn't many places left for shopping if you rule out stores with bad service, so we end up not frequenting many places, and treasure the good ones. We get more used to the more relaxed beach lifestyle, including many of the service staff. Pickles is the prime example of crappy and expensive food, but their line is still 20 people deep at 3pm. In general, it seems that service staff in the busier places just want to make it through the day, and if it weren't for us customers, they could go home and take a nap.
Tumules, it is what it is. We can expect more, but typically we receive less, and it costs more, living at the beach. After living here for about a year, we just get used to it, or shop elsewhere. Unfortunately, there isn't many places left for shopping if you rule out stores with bad service, so we end up not frequenting many places, and treasure the good ones. We get more used to the more relaxed beach lifestyle, including many of the service staff. Pickles is the prime example of crappy and expensive food, but their line is still 20 people deep at 3pm. In general, it seems that service staff in the busier places just want to make it through the day, and if it weren't for us customers, they could go home and take a nap.
Paula
Beach Fanatic
Tumules: Ideally you've made the business owners more aware of what goes on in their stores and they can remind the staff to appreciate the customers (if the owners appreciate the staff it makes it easier for staff to appreciate the customers, of course). And definitely keep posting. It's true that you'll make good friends and get good advice by staying connected to this board.
I went to two places this weekend that went the extra mile: The jewelry store at Seacrest: the people were great there - I just stopped in to ask for directions and though I wasn't planning to buy anything then, they were extra kind and helpful. I'll definitely stop by there next visit to buy jewelry and would support their business. Yianni's, as always, had fabulous food and service. I was there with Cork and Magnum (her friend who has a Tom Selleck look), and the food was so good I was melting -- from appetizers to the carrot cake dessert (huge piece of cake to share with 3 people). We were the last to leave and the staff patiently waited until we left, even though it was clear they were ready to go home (once we realized that we scooted out of there). No wonder Yianni's is so successful-they were relatively busy on an off-season Monday night (doesn't hurt that a lot of other restaurants are closed on Monday nights) and it looks like Yianni's now owns the seafood store next door to the restaurant. :clap_1
I went to two places this weekend that went the extra mile: The jewelry store at Seacrest: the people were great there - I just stopped in to ask for directions and though I wasn't planning to buy anything then, they were extra kind and helpful. I'll definitely stop by there next visit to buy jewelry and would support their business. Yianni's, as always, had fabulous food and service. I was there with Cork and Magnum (her friend who has a Tom Selleck look), and the food was so good I was melting -- from appetizers to the carrot cake dessert (huge piece of cake to share with 3 people). We were the last to leave and the staff patiently waited until we left, even though it was clear they were ready to go home (once we realized that we scooted out of there). No wonder Yianni's is so successful-they were relatively busy on an off-season Monday night (doesn't hurt that a lot of other restaurants are closed on Monday nights) and it looks like Yianni's now owns the seafood store next door to the restaurant. :clap_1
Seabreeze
Beach Comber
Kurt, I don't automatically equate dropping money on a worker (in the form of a healthy tip) with an expectation of polite service. I start out expecting polite service because I am polite to cashiers, waiters, watresses, store clerks, etc.
I chat with them. I ask them questions. I say "please" and "thank you" -- all the while being aware that there are times when they're hurried and rushed and it's not appropriate to slow them down with idle chit-chat. When it comes to SoWal waiters, waitresses and bartenders, my tips pretty start out at about 33% because I understand many of these folks are working multiple jobs to make ends meet and I want them to know that I appreciate them. In Atlanta, I generally only tip 20-25%. As someone who has invested in a home here with plans to become a permanent resident, I want to do whatever I can to help out those service workers who do work hard and that extra $3-5 may actually make a difference.
I chat with them. I ask them questions. I say "please" and "thank you" -- all the while being aware that there are times when they're hurried and rushed and it's not appropriate to slow them down with idle chit-chat. When it comes to SoWal waiters, waitresses and bartenders, my tips pretty start out at about 33% because I understand many of these folks are working multiple jobs to make ends meet and I want them to know that I appreciate them. In Atlanta, I generally only tip 20-25%. As someone who has invested in a home here with plans to become a permanent resident, I want to do whatever I can to help out those service workers who do work hard and that extra $3-5 may actually make a difference.