Carrabba's Italian Grill

Cyber Dad was in town over the weekend.

We were out and about Saturday night and decided to dine at Carrabba's Italian Grill, 4715 S. 76th, Greenfield.

I had noticed the joint on a previous trip to the area but didn't know a thing about it.

WOW.

Really great food, wonderful service, great atmosphere this place had it all.

For a Saturday night the wait wasn't bad at half an hour, drinks were good and the have an open concept kitchen where you can watch stuff on fire (always a bonus).

Entree pricing was in the $10 to $19 range. Both Cyber Dad and I were so thrilled with our meals we said if we came back we would order exactly the same thing, he had shrimp and scallops, I had Sirloin. Really top notch.

The bread was crusty and had a lovely olive oil / herb dip and the salad to die for (if a bit too small).

Truly a great experience. Give Carrabba's a try.

Benny's Cafe

Benny's Cafe on 27th Street between Layton and College (right next to Stein's Gardens) is on the surface the typical Greek Family restaurant (i.e. Omega, Paul's, etc) t. The menu is the same as any other Greek Family joint. Their prices are average. Where Benny's stands out is in service.

The wife and I went there last week for the first time. 75% of the time that we eat out I order an Iced Tea for my drink. I NEVER use the lemon that the waitress always brings. I used to order it with out the lemon, but waitresses have never listened and always brought it anyway. Eventually I stopped wasting my breath. I would just take the lemon out and set it off to the side.

Ohh, by the way, I drink a lot of Iced Tea. During a typical meal, I will get 6-7 refills. Every time the waitress refills my iced tea she always brings a fresh lemon wedge, even though I ordered it without. Typically halfway through the meal, I will have a small mountain of unused lemon wedges.

Anyway, when Tammy at Benny's took my drink order I didn't bother to order my tea without lemon. When she brought my drink I just removed the lemon wedge and didn't think twice. On my first refill, Tammy shocked me. She brought my second iced tea without the lemon wedge. I was taken back by her observation skills.

In ten + years of ordering iced teas at restaurants and not using the lemon wedge, that is the first time that a waitress was observant enough to not bring me more lemons. It really isn't a big deal to take the wedge out. But it is the little things that separate an average experience from an above average or excellent experience. The observation skills that Tammy showed were remarkable. She got a very nice tip that night.

Ohh and in case you were wondering, the food was average (maybe a bit better) and the prices were good.

Re: Too Demanding

Casper's story has reminded me of an exchange that I witnessed at my Veterinarian's office. I already like St. Paul's (431 N. 27th Street) a lot. They're in a rough part of town, but they charge reasonable prices and keep the doors open after 5pm. You often don't need an appointment just for routine checkups. If anything, they deserve to be on the N**E List for dealing with this woman and not blowing up in her face.

During one of our visits, we stood behind a woman at the counter who was paying cash for services. It became apparent that she was going to be scrounging for pennies from the bottom of her purse before this was all over. Several minutes of fumbling left her a few dollars short, and by this time she had forgotten the amount of the bill several times and recounted her payment twice, in hopes that more money would materialize. The poor receptionist was looking to me, the next person in line, with a very defeated look on her face. She never let on to this woman how ridiculous she being, and that she was totally embarrassing herself.

Somewhere along the line, this woman dug into a separate stash in her purse. She had some quarters tucked away, and you'll never believe what she did next. She started counting quarters to pay the rest of the bill and she was inspecting each one to see which state was on it! Several times, she asked the receptionist "is that a Kentucky?"

Thankfully, the embarrassing lady managed to pay her bill without spending any of her Kentucky quarters. There's no telling how long she would've tried to negotiate if she'd come up short. I told Kelly that if she was within a couple bucks I was going to hand her the money and tell her to go home to her three hundred cats.

Too Demanding?

As the person who started both The S**T List and The N**E List in hopes of highlighting the good and the bad in customer service, you might be somewhat surprised to learn that I've never necessarily felt "the customer is always right." In fact, many years ago I wrote an award-winning market research paper on the very topic.

The paper focused on retail banking and customer retention. Most banks have (or, at the time, had) policies limiting the types of transactions conducted at the drive-through. While some of these rules were intended to prevent fraud, many of them were in place to maximize efficiency. Transactions such as issuing cashiers checks, large cash deposits or multiple transactions were restricted because of the time it took the teller to complete them. Considering the drive-through is intended for more speedy banking, tying up one lane and one teller (keep in mind most drive-through tellers are handling multiple lanes) was simply counterproductive. Invariably, you'd find that each bank had its pool of repeat offenders living under not only the "customer is always right" mantra but also a belief that their excrement had a pleasant aroma. The problem was that if the bank attempted to make that one customer happy, many more sat in line behind them growing quickly impatient and dissatisfied with what was supposed to be an efficient and quick stop at the bank. One happy customer has resulted in several more unhappy ones.

More recently I had the opportunity to witness how such a customer may not necessarily impact the satisfaction of other customers but actually cost the business money. Two nights a week, Eagan's on Water runs a half-priced bottle of wine special. The only caveat on the special is that it does not include wines on the reserve list. These are very pricey vinos that if Eagan's did offer them at half-price it would actually be at below their cost and they would incur and instant loss. One regular customer who we've nicknamed "I'm Better Than You" asks for bottles from the reserve list on at least a weekly basis. Each time the bar manager explains to him why those bottles are not included. Unfortunately, one evening the bar manager was off and IBTY, knowing he could sneak one through, got his half-priced bottle from an unsuspecting person unfamiliar with the policy. Eagan's took a loss and a very popular special is now jeopardized.

The point is that The S**T List strives to make other consumers aware of egregious shortcomings in customer service. Before making any additions to it, I'll always be sure that the demand I'm making of the business is reasonable and that in fulfilling it they're not doing so in a manner that loses them customers or money. If neither of those are the case, then I think my expectations of the business are fair and reasonable.

So when OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Jason McDowell attacks Jimmy John's service because they won't let him bring his dog into the restaurant but also won't hand deliver his food to the sidewalk outside the store during the lunch rush, it's interesting to read how so many readers reacted to his gripe.

Hopefully you'll never find a complaint like that on The S**T List.