Jersey Girl in Canada Meets Mississauga Bands in Toronto!

  A few weeks back, my long time buddy, Martin, (aka "Polish Cheeks"), invited me to check out a Mississauga-based band called Bike Thiefs, who was playing a show in Toronto at a venue called Smiling Buddha.  I have never heard of them before, and I'm all about new music, so I was pretty stoked to go!

Bike Thiefs L-R: Ryan Perry, Marko Woloshyn, Kris Pandeirada

  Turns out, Bike Thiefs was playing a show with a full line-up of other Mississauga-based bands, which I found interesting that we had to go downtown to see.  We arrived at the venue around 8:30pm, so we missed the first band, but the bands I did get to see really impressed me.  

  The first band we saw was called Pretty Odd- the band members all looked really young- like 19 or 20 years old, but their sound was very mature and they had their own awesome sound.  I wish the venue had better sound, as I couldn't hear much through the speakers, and I also wish I hadn't accidentally deleted the video I took of this band, for it was something worth sharing with my readers!  I'm following their Facebook fan page to find out when their upcoming shows are, so hopefully I can get some live footage of them.  They're an amazing live band- check them out!

  Next up, was a band called The After Hours, another awesome band I had the pleasure of seeing play live!   I remember going to the restroom in the basement of the venue while this band was up on stage and I could hear their set.  I found myself rocking out to their music while washing my hands!  Much respect for their well-developed musicianship!  Love their tunes!  As I'm typing this, I'm listening to their songs on Soundcloud and I cannot get enough of their sexualicious tune, "Sugar", which I'm pretty sure they played at Smiling Buddha.  

  Bike Thiefs took the stage and I had to make the choice between dancing to their set (which I really wanted to do), or video taping their set without shakiness.  I chose video taping their set and bobbing my head every so slightly.  These guys were wicked!  Again, I'm on Soundcloud, listening to their tunes as I type this and I definitely want to add these tracks to my spring/summer playlist!  Their tunes totally made me forget about the crappy snow storm outside the venue doors that night, and reminded me of tunes I'd play on road trips in the summer.  I cannot believe these bands were in my city this whole time and I just found out about them!  I've apparently been living under a rock! 

  Final band that took the stage that night was Dystonia.  I was pretty shocked and pleased to hear how hard this band's sound was in comparison to the previous bands who shared the stage.  Just watching these guys, with their incredible stage energy made me feel like I just drank a matcha tea, which kicks any espresso you've ever had's ass!  They were very entertaining to watch along with their great tunes! 

  My rating of the night on a scale between 'Meh' to 'Dayum!':  I give this entire show a "Double-Dayum!"

@JerZGrlinCanada

  

The Extinction of Good Customer Service

Seriously, what ever happened to good customer service?  It's like the only places where they even offer it these days are at ritzy hotels in foreign countries, and that's only because the employees are grateful they even have a job to support their families.

Torontonians: Do you honestly believe you are above being attentive and polite to customers while you're on the job?  Or would you rather get what you actually deserve, which is get fired and replaced? I'm sure this isn't only in the Toronto area, but I've noticed it a lot here.  

For example, I was in Brampton a few years ago at Shoeless Joe's and I wanted to order a drink.  It took 15 minutes for the waitress to come by after we sat down, then it took 20 minutes to get a beer.  Call me impatient, but I'm pretty sure it should only take less than 2 minutes to grab the beer from the fridge, punch it into the computer, bring it to my table and open the bottle.  It was a quiet Tuesday night and I sat at a table right by the bar.  Getting a refill was an impossible task because the bartenders just had to discuss their weekend plans and who was dating who before tending the bar... and the waitress went missing for like an hour.  End of the night, the waitress came by with the bill, I paid my dues and left her a tip- I wrote "Tip: Pay attention to your tables- we were thirsty!" on the receipt and left it in the receipt holder.

Again- Shoeless Joe's in Mississauga- they had the worst bartender for about 2 years.  She was a cute blonde with glasses who was too busy flirting with the male customers to bother giving me a drink menu... that difficult request was pending for about 10 minutes until I had to walk up to her, interrupt her flirt-fest and ask her again.  Pouring a beer took her 15 minutes.  Mind you, this location improved immensely after their recent renovations and changed management.  The bartender isn't the same so now you can get a beer in a reasonable amount time. 

Next up, The Friar and Firkin pub in Toronto. It took 20 minutes for the waitress to come to the table to take our orders. It took an hour for my diabetic father to get his food, which is bull because he had low blood sugar at the time. I went here when I last saw my sister, brother-in-law and 3 of their kids.  They are out-of-towners from California and most of them have never been to Toronto, let alone Canada.  Bad first impression, Canadians.  Bad.  My 8-year old nephew ordered buffalo wings and our waitress brought him honey garlic wings instead.  We politely told her that his order was wrong and she snapped and said, "No!  You're wrong- I know what he ordered."  We all snapped at that bitch and had to talk to her manager.  It was a busy night and he had to take the time to correct the order and take the wings off the bill- which was the right thing to do after that nonsense.  

Something is seriously wrong if you have to waste the manager's time by telling him his staff is incompetent and need to adjust their attitudes.  

Cardinal rules before taking a job where you have to talk to people: 

1.) Acknowledge the customer right away.  If you are busy with something else, make eye contact, smile, and let them know that you will be with them in a moment.. maybe ask them to take a seat, if possible until you are free.

2.) Listen to your customers.  Nothing is worse than someone who doesn't listen and you have to repeat yourself.

3.) If you tell a customer "It will be ready in 5 minutes" you damn well know it better be.  I'm sure a lot of your customers have other things to do in their day rather than sitting at a restaurant and waiting for their food.

4.) Be helpful.  If there is a problem, try to resolve it in a polite and reasonable manner.  Genuinely apologize, and if possible, offer something additional to maybe keep your customers happy.

5.) Look like you enjoy your job.  I can sense a fake personality and honestly- if you're that transparent, you probably shouldn't have a job where you have to talk to people in the first place.  If you're not genuine, you're not trustworthy.

6.) Know your manners.  "Please" and "Thank you" are the magic words.  Also, "Excuse me" when there is someone in your way.  This should apply to all events in your life, not just work.

So- what are you waiting for- the Messiah to come down and judge you on your customer service?  If you're too 'high and mighty' to the point you feel entitled to be a complete asshole to customers, then don't apply for the job!  You have no business being there!  If you desperately need the money, time to adjust your attitude and get over yourself!

@JerZGrlinCanada