Marian Burros Quotes

When people arrive at El Bulli, everybody goes through the kitchen. It's a way of making them feel at home. When they leave, the only thing I ask is whether they've been happy. Everything in between, I don't particularly care.

You have to think of a restaurant as a series of impressions. But what makes my job so great is there's no one answer that's right for every restaurant.

You wouldn't have the same art on the walls at every restaurant or the same waiter uniforms. Neither should you have the same service style at every restaurant.

A lot of restaurants serve good food, but they don't have very good service.

I think my service is better than my food... I focus so much on the service.

Bringing out service staff on to the dining floor does change the atmosphere.

The service in L.A. is the best. You don't get sarcastic, surly, fed-up waiters and waitresses like you do in England. They're good at their job and they're there for the customer. The only depressing thing is a lot of them have written more screenplays than me.

Good service can save a bad meal, but there is no level of food that can save bad service.

Reward is a happy customer - and an empty plate.

The public is not greatly interested in saving a little money on a purchase at the expense of service.

Quality is not an absolute measure. It doesn't mean 'deluxeness' or 'perfection'. It means keeping the promise the customer wants you to make.

It is simply service that measures success.

From my table inside I watch the glamorous women outside who are lunching on Spa Cobb salads without blue cheese or dressing. The man with the bread basket wanders from table to table, lonesome as a cloud. When he comes to me his basket is full and perfectly arranged. He gives me a smile of sincere pleasure when I tell him I will take both the sourdough roll and the cheese stick.

The brand is only as good as your products, so.. if people have a good experience on Virgin Atlantic or if they have a good experience on Virgin trains or.. if they have a Virgin mobile phone and they can get straight through to our people and they're well looked after and then they'll try the next product that we launch.

Differentiate your products, provide great service and don't even think about trying to compete with Wal-Mart on Price.

Screw the competition - focus on good customer service.

The 'value added' for most any company, tiny or enormous, comes from the Quality of Experience provided.

No one can guarantee you a job other than satisfied customers. That's the only thing that works. Nothing creates work other than products and services you provide that create satisfied customers.

When you go into your customary barber shop, you will wait for the man who gives you a little better shave, a little trimmer hair-cut. Business leaders are looking for the same things in their offices that you look for in the barber shop.

It used to be a good hotel, but that proves nothing - I used to be a good boy.

The big room or big suite doesn't mean a lot to me. It is what the people do or don't do that matters.

It's ironic that retailers and restaurants live or die on customer service, yet their employees have some of the lowest pay and worst benefits of any industry. That's one reason so many retail experiences are mediocre for the public.

Customer service is the new marketing.

Companies can add value and simultaneously promote themselves if their product or service truly improves the lives of their customers. I mean really improve lives, not wishful thinking, rationalization. That's the acid test.

The best feature of a product should really be the customer service.