"Express" shouts the marketing material for the place I'm staying in for a couple of days in Cambridge, and even though I'm close to being laid up there with the flu, I thought I would nip down for a quite bite last night in the bar/restaurant; I needed food, and they're in a remote spot far from anywhere so they have something of a captive audience. A menu with just five, simple, main courses (pie and chips, chicken tikka massalla, fish and chips ..) also kinda implies that it's going to be cheap and cheerful.

Perhaps I should have worried when it took them five minutes to get my order in through the till; a new recruit has to be trained, for sure, but to have been asked not just twice but three times to repeat my order ("a fish and chips") should have set warning bells ringing.

I was glad of the morning newspapers to read as I waited, and I learnt of life in Cambridge - from yesterday's latest road casualty through the letters column praising addenbrooke's hospital through to the soccer woes of Cambridge united.

Moving on from the Cambridge News, the Independent carried a comparison of the three political parties and their green credentials, and much more; I did "skim read" as I really wasn't feeling academically bright.

Then I re-read the menu, and examined my bar chit to see how long I had been waiting. The table beside me was occupied by a couple of businessmen who had arrived after me, and who were served in front. And just as I was about to stand in line at the bar and chase, my food arrived ... 40 minutes from completion of the order.

We tend to look at "customer service" these days, and put ourselves in the shoes of the customer. I feel that the hotel operator hereabouts should do so, and take especial care to serve people on their own promptly. Actually, I rather suspect they knew they had a problem - no apology of course, but neither did anyone come round as they should in a good restaurant and check that everything was OK a few minutes after I had started. Oh yes - they knew that there service was anything but "Express".
(written 2007-03-14, updated 2008-12-26)

 M400 - Well House Manor - The Hospitality Business
  [774] Bed and Breakfast, or Hotel? - (2006-06-22)
  [884] Drive time - (2006-10-02)
  [922] Staying at your own hotel - (2006-11-12)
  [988] You should think you're first in a hotel room - (2006-12-15)
  [1002] Meet the neighbours - (2006-12-20)
  [1046] Bounce, bounce, bounce - (2007-01-20)
  [1048] Getting rid of people - hotel techniques - (2007-01-21)
  [1084] Writing terms and conditions for conferences and other events - (2007-02-17)
  [1122] Hotel - online feedback forms compared - (2007-03-30)
  [1161] A contrast in room rates and facilities - (2007-04-25)
  [1180] Conjugation - (2007-05-08)
  [1248] How NOT to oversell a hotel - (2007-06-27)
  [1284] An update on the West Wilts show ... - (2007-07-30)
  [1421] Castle Lodge Hotel, Ely, Cambridgeshire - (2007-11-04)
  [1422] Wiltshire - speaker / after dinner talker offer - (2007-11-05)
  [1445] Looking after you Christmas Customer Crowds - (2007-11-26)
  [1548] Hotelympia - show report - the lighter side - (2008-02-21)
  [1622] An extra step - victory from defeat - (2008-04-25)
  [1792] All the pieces fall into place - hotel and courses - (2008-09-10)
  [1877] Guests doing a bunk? - (2008-11-09)
  [2007] Launch of Melksham Food and Drink Festival - (2009-01-24)
  [2283] Everyone is in the customer relations business - (2009-07-12)
  [2303] Turning potential customers away - (2009-07-24)
  [2593] Food and drink launch - (2010-01-21)
  [2724] Escapee Grandparents welcome - Henfield and Melksham - (2010-04-15)
  [2879] Night Porter and reception - 24 hours a day? - (2010-07-20)
  [2936] The service that customers should receive - (2010-08-27)
  [3147] Hotel star ratings - towards a better system of review - (2011-01-25)
  [3164] Brown - or Mrs Sally Brown, accountant from Whitstable? - (2011-02-10)
  [3309] Tipping Policy - Well House Manor - (2011-05-29)
  [3660] A Pivotal Incident - learning how to welcome your guests - (2012-03-18)
  [3743] Sunday - no longer a day of rest - (2012-05-28)
  [3832] A busy day at Well House Manor - so come in and make it even busier! - (2012-08-10)
  [3838] Guest review - Well House Manor, Melksham - (2012-08-14)
  [3909] Every Customer Counts - (2012-11-01)
  [3988] Three cheers for the staff at Well House Manor - (2013-01-24)
  [4033] Official Star ratings for hotels - still worth having? - (2013-03-07)
  [4051] On reading a new hotel review - (2013-03-24)
  [4202] Excellent Railfuture conference, but some setup lessons - (2013-11-03)
  [4232] Not wanted here - hotel guests who will not be happy - (2013-12-30)
  [4321] Are administration / review charges on hotel guests acceptable? - (2014-11-20)
  [4521] Should we get an AA or Visit Wiltshire hotel assessment? - (2015-10-09)
  [4543] Saturday morning at Well House Manor - (2015-10-17)
  [4603] Happy New Year. Our customers are our ambassadors - (2016-01-01)
  [4613] Our best hotel customers help us ... to help them ... be our best customers. - (2016-01-04)

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Bank Holiday country breaks in Melksham, Wiltshire
Training in Lua
Python - two different splits
False imprisonment - a contrast from the news
Express service
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Spring Pictures
A week is a long time in the life of a conference centre
Drawing dynamic graphs in PHP
Dilton Marsh