D service in NCR!

Havin done my graduation in Hospitality Management, i understand quite a bit abt d service, which is offered in various outlets of food & beverage. After d last 6 years, in which i dine out, at least 2-3 times a week, I hv a good experience in kind of service which is generally offered, in casual restaurants. I have lived in Mumbai for a quite sometime, in Trivandrum for a small fraction of a year, but hv been residing in d capital of d country for d last 1 year.

But d experiences of dining in Delhi NCR, are inexpressible (Im still makin an effort here!). D service I received in 1 such outlet today, provoked d writer in me, to write abt dis issue, dat has been haunting me for quite sometime now. I was sitting in an outlet, in 1 of d biggest malls in India. D outlet has pre-plated food, wid hardly 10 choices on d menu. D place is named "Chopaal". Despite d small menu, wid all fixed thalis to choose from, d service is unnervingly slow. Firstly, d order taker is generally absconding & d service personnel serve 1 person after another, wid a gap of 5-8 minutes. So obviously, 1 would wait for d food to be served to all on d table, before 1 digs in. But d stewards have audacity to tell u to eat, forgettin all d basics of table manners & scold u for not havin told dem whose dish is which, as de place ur food on table. Den u hv fellow diners on other tables, screaming at d stewards for cutlery, which is missing, despite d food being on d table. Of course, u hv to wait for any extras, for d finger bowls & TISSUES.

Even d service standards in d outlets which have chains across d nation hv poor standards of service, in comparison to their counterparts in other cities. Cafe Coffee Day(I luv it anyways!) is also 1 such outlet. De hardly give u d menu, even after 20 minutes for arrival. They generally forget to take your order & u have to literally request dem to do so, sometimes. But since Im an ardent fan of CCD & can hardly imagine to live here, widout frequenting it, I do go there, neverthless.

Generally, d service personnel are not concerned about d customers. Even in Big Bazaar, d famous retail chain, d sales personnel will not answer ur queries, but wil instead continue chatting among themselves or doing their own work widout any interruptions. D security guards in some retail stores, wish u on entering d outlet, around quarter of an year, and forget to do so for d rest 9-10 months.

It seems to me, that the service personnel across NCR, think in their minds that they are not here to serve & help the customers, instead d customers are for making their lives easy. D "SERVICE" factor is majorly missing in most, despite this being the era of service, where customer is "GOD" & is "ALWAYS RIGHT".

May be some dont agree with me, but its my opinion & I would need some really convincing good facts & see them with my own eyes, to alter these thoughts!

Along d Marine Drive...

I heard d waves thrashing against the giant wall, that separates d sea from d city. It’s a prominent feature, of d city I luv, Mumbai.

Guess I could say, Im crazy abt dis famous city of India. And d Marine Drive is 1 such place, which in spite of having frequented on various evenings, I can never get enough of. I remember seeing it for d first time, wen I was 13, on a trip to Mumbai, wid my parents. But fell in love with it, wen I started livin in Mumbai.

If u r feelin lonely, and just want company of some strangers, without any hassles of having to talk to anybody, its d place u can be. Hundreds of Mumbaikars visit this place every evening, either for a stroll with their loved ones, or for a quick jog to keep a check on d calories. With the recently renovated marble bank cum seating, it welcomes all. If u r lucky, u could also see d festive celebrations taking place, on some evenings of d year.

But d thing that I luv abt it d most, is d on-going music of the waves… It helps me to gather my thoughts, streamline my thinking & enables me to see new perspectives in life. Sometimes d calm waves, help me to settle my agitated self, with the fast paced life, where we often forget to live for ourselves. It helps me give importance to d valuable things in my life, realize that what we run aftr, might not really be our goal. That we focus our eyes on materialistic objects & leave behind, the human threads that once held us together, from within.

Also, I can calm myself wid d vision of d wide expanse of sea infront of me, no end to it, helps me to see the larger picture & overcome my sorrows. Understand that whatever is happening rite now, is only a very small part of d larger frame of Life. And also that, there is much more to see, a lot more to happen, so much more that exists, which we cant see with our naked human eyes, like there is something beyond our vision of the sea.

But wish u could visualize d heavenly sunset, that takes place on nearly every evening (except on cloudy ones). The changing colors of d sky, from light blue to darker shades of purple, till it actually goes dark grey over the skies in Mumbai. Even d sun changes shades from bright yellow, to light orange, as its brightness reduces & u can really see d entire circle at ur eye level, Den it slowly slides down d “other end of the sea”, till u can see it no more!

It’s a scenic beauty, which I wish to capture on canvas someday, as many others may already hv done.

I can sit there & gaze at d sea all evening, d vastness dat is spread infront of me, without having to really worry about d petty things that take place & picture d life, the way it shapes, wid every setting evening, that goes with a promise - to send a new sun next day!