Basking in the glory

by Garry Clark

How do we respond to compliments and praise? I ask because Im not very good at it. And last night and today, Ive had quite a bit of it from very satified customers. Now that might make it seem like it doesnt happen often, and to an extent that is true. I would like to think that most of our customers leave very satisfied. Judging by the pretty good level of repeat business, I dont think Im being arrogant in saying that they do. But while people are often quick to complain if something goes wrong, they often arent as vocal when things go right. So when the praise does start flying, I find myself a bit lost at sea with how to respond.

Like many people I know in this industry, Im kind of a social retard, painfully shy and introverted. Its some kind of twisted irony that many people involved in dealing with people are usually similarly afflicted. In a sense Im able to hide behind my knowledge and experience and that enables me to deal with people and respond to them in a manner that I am comfortable with. There is some truth to the whole Fine Dining is like the theatre belief, because every night the performers come out with thier costumes on and perform a ballet around the room, elegantly choreographed, the Maitre d' is the conductor keeping the whole performance in check and making sure that all the pieces come together at the right point. I sometimes joke with friends outside the industry that we are all closet schizophrenics - because at work we are all effing and jeffing behind the scenes, all polite and calm front of house, and at home we are all usually too knackered to be much of anything.

I guess I will probably never get entirely comfortable with the experience and my usual response is a kind of goofy smile and a thank you, often followed with a slightly uncomfortable silence. I think the best form of praise comes in brown or purple beer tokens, that can be spent down the pub after the end of a hard shift, keeping the economy alive.