Spencer Williams, Contributor
Don't get me wrong here. I love this cool little sports bar nestled in New Kingston's Shopping Mall, but someone there needs to do something about the service before ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 starts!
There isn't much choice when it comes to watching your favourite football team play ina cup final. If you're a fan of sports, you will depend on this place. What's the competition? JamRock? Indie's Pub? Please don't make me laugh! However, that's no excuse for poor service. I have been going to Cuddy'z for a year now and I have put up with the inadequate service because I really do like it there. The place has so much potential and it could seriously be rocking if a little time was taken to train the staff properly. The people who work there are very welcoming and will do anything for you if asked, but they do not take the initiative to provide the service one would expect from a restaurant or a bar. If they were just inspired by management to strive for perfection, it would make a world of difference.
Dime a dozen
When you go abroad, sports bars and pubs are a dime a dozen. If you don't produce the goods, you will lose customers. This incentive encourages the owners to ensure that their establishment is the best. Unfortunately, in Jamaica people are happy to just get by. But the truth is we won't even accomplish that if we don't get our game on and play by the rules. We need to have more pride in what we do, pull our socks up and run with what is a unique concept to Kingston!
I'd like to make a few suggestions which might help to turn Cuddy'z into a busy and bustling joint.
Before opening, floor should be mopped, tables set and bathrooms sanitised. The last time I went on a Sunday, someone was scrubbing the sinks and refreshing the toilets an hour after people had arrived. So you enter the washroom and it's a little awkward to use the facilities when there's a member of the opposite sex in there cleaning!
The chefs must have food prepared and be ready for orders. Breakfast, at least, should be available from the moment the doors are unlocked, and the bar ought to be set up so that we can enjoy a blended fruit punch and pick up salt fish with bammy as we sit down to watch an early fixture. Waitresses need to be more attentive and aware of what their patrons want, and to learn what the difference between tea and coffee is. I get served mint tea when I ask for tea and INSTANT coffee when I ask for black tea! What's that about?
And there's no tomato juice! Come on guys, you need to catch on to Bloody Mary's! They're the best cure for a hangover, and it's on weekends when many of us come in the morning to watch a match we can't get on cable!
May I also suggest that you purchase soft drinks in bottles or cans, because that machine stuff is undrinkable! Please, folks, when customers come for a meal and a match they are there for a minimum of two hours - they're going to be spending money. And in the middle of the day during the week, we don't necessarily want to drink, or we can't as we have to get back to work. So offer us a decent choice of non-alcoholic beverages!
As for lunchtime, diners who complain that the television is too loud - what do you expect? You think the staff would listen to you in England or the U.S. if you asked them to turn it down? You might as well tell them to turn it off! Managers, please tell these customers that it is a sports bar first and foremost, and so if they decide to dine there they will just have to get on with the game!
- Send feedback to lifestyles@gleanerjm.com
