why is the retail and service industry so slow in this city? (Pittsburgh: neighborhoods, minimum wage)

[I_Like_Spam]

Originally Posted by LIRefugee

1. The slowest restaurant service I have ever experienced was in Slovakia.
2. Pittsburgh received many Slovak immigrants through the years.
ERGO
3. Pittsburgh has slow restaurant service.

Pittsburgh just hasn't received a lot of Slovaks, it is the epicenter of Slovak immigration to America.




File:Slovak1346.gif - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[LIRefugee]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Pittsburgh just hasn't received a lot of Slovaks, it is the epicenter of Slovak immigration to America.




File:Slovak1346.gif - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

We've solved the mystery! Where can Pittsburghers get some good bryndzové halušky, even if we have to wait an hour for it? I think everyone should try it at least once.

[_Buster]

Maybe Pittsburgh needs to focus on encouraging immigration of Fasvaks. sorry.

[Copanut]

I always go to self-serve restaurants.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by Copanut

I always go to self-serve restaurants.

Eat 'n' Park?

[trotter_rej]

Originally Posted by Copanut

I always go to self-serve restaurants.

Me too, but that makes everyone unfriendly too. All I hear is, "Get out of here!", "You don't work here!", "For God's sake, put a shirt on!". That's the last time I ever go to that Chili's (according to the judge).

[SteelCityRising]

BarqCider, I'm sorry that Pittsburgh hasn't been the Valhalla you were hoping it would be. I truly am (not saying this sarcastically). I was excited initially for you to move here and was hoping it would be an improvement for your quality-of-life. I love seeing the stories of people like okaydorothy, PreservationPioneer, and Goodjules (where has she been, anyways?) where their move here has been generally an improvement. When I see that someone's move here worsened their quality-of-life, as it apparently has for you, it can be quite defeating emotionally because many of us wish nothing but the best for others. While you were ambivalent living in NoVA I was absolutely miserable living there, yet I took to Pittsburgh like a fish to water, which indicates you can't provide any credence to those who say "bloom where you are planted" or "if you don't like a facet of an area, then problem must be with YOU!"

With that being said I'll agree with BurghGirl17 that your posting history, overall, has been quite negative. I'm the king of exaggerations ("East End Housing Crisis", anyone?), but even I'll admit you're almost as bad as zman63 with the gloominess. I was oft-maligned on the NoVA sub-forum and ended up being considered a "troll" because I didn't share the sub-forum's affinity for chain restaurants, McMansions, and strip malls. While I encourage you to identify areas here that need improvement I also don't want you to earn the "Debbie Downer" designation that I still have on the NoVA sub-forum and that zman63 has on this sub-forum. Try listing five things you actually LIKE about living here, and try to focus your energies on making those facets even better and more prominent in your life while minimizing the exposure you have to the negatives.

[speagles84]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Pittsburgh just hasn't received a lot of Slovaks, it is the epicenter of Slovak immigration to America.




File:Slovak1346.gif - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That's crazy. I always knew we had a good amount of Slovaks here, but Pittsburgh and Cleveland really have the most (percentage wise). Yeah, yeah Pittsburgh has no diversity my a**

[AnneWest]

Originally Posted by LIRefugee

We've solved the mystery! Where can Pittsburghers get some good bryndzové halušky, even if we have to wait an hour for it? I think everyone should try it at least once.

It does take awhile to boil that cabbage til the leaves start falling off. Then you gotta do the butter and onion thing, cook the noodles, plus adding those shredded cabbage leaves and then salt and pepper everything. So tired just talking about it...

Now I'm hungry.

As far as retail service goes...I worked in a mall bookstore. The company didn't care if we employed people with book knowledge, they just wanted bodies behind the registers, greeters at the door, and hopefully they'd at least have knowledge of the alphabet to shelve the stock. I am...a bookseller, and I can't count the number of times I used to threaten people with starting their shifts by singing the Alphabet Song.
Little knowledge or caring of the products they sell is what brings it all down eventually. It takes having some pride in that, or an enthusiasm for the job which is just not there with minimum-wage earners. I was floored on a few occasions when I was tipped. Tipped just for helping a lady pick out books for her son? Tipped for helping an older customer find a gardening book for his wife? I think that's a fairly sad commentary on the companies that hire people to represent them in their stores, but so rigidly control every aspect that people just want to escape at the end of their shift.

[SteelCityRising]

I should also chime in that I find service here to be better, overall, than it was in Northern Virginia, where I encountered rude service staff more frequently.

Many places will be hit-or-miss. I've had consistently above-average customer service at the McDonald's on Forbes Avenue in Oakland while I've consistently had horrendous customer service at the McDonald's in the Strip District. I routinely have better customer service experiences at the McDonald's in the Village of EastSide Shopping Center in East Liberty than the other McDonald's just blocks away on Penn Circle West.

The customer service I've experienced at the Waterfront Chick-Fil-A tends to run above-average, although not impressive. We went to the Chick-Fil-A in Mt. Lebanon reccently and were floored by how above-and-beyond the staff went.

I've always found the staff at the Giant Eagle on Shakespeare Street in East Liberty (technically Shadyside I suppose) to be very rude. It's a pleasure, on the other hand, to shop at the nearby Target or Trader Joe's. I've consistently found customer service to be better at Lowe's than Home Depot and better at PNC than Citizens' Bank.

I don't do enough mall shopping to provide much insight, but I tend to do most of my clothing shopping at TJ Maxx or Marshall's at the Waterworks in Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar, and I've found service there to run above-average. I enjoyed great customer service at the Goodwill Store on East Carson Street in the South Side Flats. We had terrible customer service when we ate at a King's Restaurant in Robinson Township; we had excellent customer service at the Burgatory in Robinson Township. I usually find service to be sub-par at most "trendy" clothing stores I've shopped at like Express Men, H&M, Urban Outfitters, Abercrombie & Fitch, etc., although I will say I find American Eagle's associates, overall, to be very outgoing, friendly, and courteous (perhaps just unique to our city since the corporate executives are all here).

We enjoyed great customer service at Emiliano's in the South Side Flats. We enjoyed great customer service even at the Taco Bell near the casino. We had terrible customer service at the Rivertowne Brewpub on the North Shore and excellent customer service nearby at the Tilted Kilt. We always enjoy above-average service (for a dive bar, anyways) at Jack's in the South Side Flats---much more so than the service we've received at more expensive bars.

I manage a business in the East End and oversee a staff of over 20 employees. I always stress the importance of customer service and client retention upon my subordinates. We may just be in the business of food delivery, but just handing someone a bag of Chinese food or a pizza and running away isn't acceptable. I want to make sure my drivers take the time to smile, make eye contact, and thank our customers for their business and for their gratuities while also wishing them a great evening/day/weekend. While we're in a very affluent area and possess a dominant market share there are still many different options available to our clientele, and I like to impress upon my staff that people will be more likely to provide repeat business to an organization that seems to genuinely appreciate having them as a customer. My partner and I aren't wealthy, but we are blessed enough to be able to order out and/or dine-in twice per week. Working in the service industry, I tip 18% as my own personal "standard" but will tip 25% for exemplary service (i.e. our water glasses being replenished consistently and without going dry, being able to either directly or indirectly address any inquiries we may have about the menu, being polite, etc.) or as little as 10% for horrible service. I like my staff to know that they have a better chance of this repeat customer tipping a bit more on a future order if they have a reasonable expectation that they'll receive above-average customer service from us.