I enjoy eating out, and a block away there's a good Thai restaurant where everyone greets me and makes me feel welcomed. There's also a Mediterranean place further up the street, and their lentil soup and Fattoush salad is awesome. My sister and I often go to both places. When she had rehab and I went there alone, the owners of both restaurants always asked about her. I'm on a first name basis with both. Loyalty and class.
They probably didn’t try to speak with you because they don’t understand.
A friend of mine managed a longstanding authentic Italian restaurant, but it had lost the flavor over the years. She told me every cook/sous chef in the kitchen was Hispanic.
I remember sharing a genuine hearty handshake with the manager of a certain deli in North Beach every time I made a purchase. Real Italian flavor!
Lately, I’ve found that middle eastern and Asian restaurants generally still have that flavor. No one was speaking Spanish at Sam Wo when I went for my last visit last winter.
If I want Hispanic, I’ll go to one of the many excellent offerings we have here for that in the BA
I used to teach seminars on customer service (both for businesses and government). Doing so made me even MORE intolerant of bad service than I was before. My personal policy as a consumer is that when I experience either bad food or unfriendly/bad service at a restaurant is that I never return. I am generous with good service providers whom I appreciate. Last week I was in Bangkok for a few days staying at my usual hotel there. I am very friendly with the staff there and I always greet the cleaning ladies (whose English is limited) as I request an early room cleaning each day. And I show my appreciation with a generous tip before checking out. I'm surprised that more consumers don't penalize places that don't care ENOUGH about their patrons. Goes to sports too. When the Warriors kept jacking up their prices in the 1980s and beyond, I stopped going. I do visit the Warrior store at Chase Center when I am in The City, and I pay the outrageous prices for jerseys, but that's for requested gifts for others. For myself, no.
Great read Lowell.
Regards,
Cliff
Lowell I appreciate you so much
I started reading you in the early 80s and am even more thrilled to read about your life experiences on Substack
Thanks so much
Me too. What I loved about Lowell's Sporting Green columns was there was often a morality play involved. Not just solely about some play at first.
I enjoy eating out, and a block away there's a good Thai restaurant where everyone greets me and makes me feel welcomed. There's also a Mediterranean place further up the street, and their lentil soup and Fattoush salad is awesome. My sister and I often go to both places. When she had rehab and I went there alone, the owners of both restaurants always asked about her. I'm on a first name basis with both. Loyalty and class.
They probably didn’t try to speak with you because they don’t understand.
A friend of mine managed a longstanding authentic Italian restaurant, but it had lost the flavor over the years. She told me every cook/sous chef in the kitchen was Hispanic.
I remember sharing a genuine hearty handshake with the manager of a certain deli in North Beach every time I made a purchase. Real Italian flavor!
Lately, I’ve found that middle eastern and Asian restaurants generally still have that flavor. No one was speaking Spanish at Sam Wo when I went for my last visit last winter.
If I want Hispanic, I’ll go to one of the many excellent offerings we have here for that in the BA
I used to teach seminars on customer service (both for businesses and government). Doing so made me even MORE intolerant of bad service than I was before. My personal policy as a consumer is that when I experience either bad food or unfriendly/bad service at a restaurant is that I never return. I am generous with good service providers whom I appreciate. Last week I was in Bangkok for a few days staying at my usual hotel there. I am very friendly with the staff there and I always greet the cleaning ladies (whose English is limited) as I request an early room cleaning each day. And I show my appreciation with a generous tip before checking out. I'm surprised that more consumers don't penalize places that don't care ENOUGH about their patrons. Goes to sports too. When the Warriors kept jacking up their prices in the 1980s and beyond, I stopped going. I do visit the Warrior store at Chase Center when I am in The City, and I pay the outrageous prices for jerseys, but that's for requested gifts for others. For myself, no.
You can never really go home. You can't step in the same river twice.