Here is an e-mail I sent this morning:

"I am writing to you because I have a question. I was in Denver last weekend and stopped at the new Taco John’s on 58 Ave. near 1-25 for lunch. I have not been in a Taco John’s for years and did not expect too much. The first thing I noticed was how clean the building was. The second thing I noticed was that the prices were higher than at Taco Bell. Then I ordered two tacos and found them to be tastier than Taco Bell’s tacos. At that point I did not mind the higher price because the service was excellent. I decided to eat at Taco John’s instead of Taco Bell from now on.

Yesterday I was in _____ and suggested to my husband that we stop for lunch at the new Taco John’s on Highway ____and he agreed. We were driving down Highway ___ and could see Taco John’s when we got about a city block away. We turned into the parking lot, which had only two vehicles parked in it, parked, got out, and went inside. The first thing I noticed was there was no one behind the counter. The second thing I notice was the older couple standing in front of the counter looking at the menu. The third thing I noticed was that I could hear a couple of employees taking in the rear and when I looked back there I could see the lower half of one employee beyond the food assembling equipment. We waited for a couple of minutes for someone to come to the counter but nothing happened. Standing there I remembered when we came down the street to the restaurant I did not see any one turn into the parking lot and when we got to the parking lot no one was getting out of any of the vehicles to go inside. So I figured the couple in front of us had been there a few minutes before we got there. Where the heck were the employees? I got angry and loudly asked, “Can we get some service up here?” I was looking at the employee who’s lower body I could see as I said this and I did not see him react to what I said, he and whoever he was talking to were too deeply involved in there conversation to hear me. My husband was annoyed by this and said we should just leave, so we did, going across the street to the McDonalds.

I don’t understand what happened at the Taco John’s in _____. I live in the area and I know this is a brand new restaurant. I also know there is a Wendy’s, a Subway, and a McDonalds across the street and a Dairy Queen on the other side of a gas station next to your building. I know the _____ restaurant is not doing that great, the parking lot was almost empty while Wendy’s and McDonalds were full. I know that the Taco John’s is on the “wrong “ side of the street from the Interstate. By which I mean, when you come off the highway Taco John’s is on the left side of the street. You have to pass by the McDonalds and the Wendy’s on the right to get to Taco John’s. These are all fast food restaurants like Taco John’s and the last thing you want to happen is for people to walk out of the restaurant mad enough to say they are never coming back. This was my husband’s plan but I decide to write to you instead. All because of that great lunch I had in Denver.

All fast food restaurants are the same. I mean you serve fast food. The only thing you can do to distinguish your restaurant from the others is have better service. People are not going to see the food is also better until they try it and if the service is bad they are never going to try the food. So, my question is, which restaurant are you? If it the one in Denver then I will tell other people how good Taco John’s is and how I am going to eat there from now on. If it is the _____ restaurant then I am never going to eat in your restaurants again and will tell people why.

Sincerely,...."

I am tired of bad customer service in this country. Part of the problem is employees who think they are doing the people they work for a favor by being there at all. What happened to the concept of doing a job well just because you are suppose to do a job that way? People seem to think that the amount of effort they put into a job is related to how much they are being paid. A minimum wage job deserves minimum effort. What happened to pride in your work? What happened to taking pride in yourself for a job well done?

Bad customer service is not just the fault of the employees, it can also be the fault of the management. I am waiting to see how Taco John's responds to my letter.