Studs Terkel Quotes

The most important thing you can do is make the distinction between customer service and guest hospitality. You need both things to thrive, but they are completely different.

I loved the cooking; that was what I was passionate about, but getting to watch the guests eat - because you could see everything from the kitchen - just watching people eat and looking at the plates when they came back, just understanding, this is such an amazing job.

After failing four times and after working for other people and realizing that nobody paid attention to the food like they should have, we wanted to just pay attention to the food and service.

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

Although a great restaurant experience must include great food, a bad restaurant experience can be achieved through bad service alone. Ideally, service is invisible. You notice it only when something goes wrong.

I took to heart the instructions my father drilled into my head. Respect the customer. Pay attention to her. Take her package to her car. You broke your neck to get what she wanted because you never knew when the next customer would come along.

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.

With businesses, you go to the same places because you like the service, you like the people and they take care of you. They greet you with a smile. That's how people want to be treated, with respect. That's what I tell my employees - customer service is very important.

The only purpose of customer service is to change feelings.

When you're taking care of the customer, you can never do too much. And there is no wrong way... if it comes from the heart.

You have to treat your employees like your customers. When you treat them right they will treat your outside customers right.

The service at this airport restaurant is so bad I'm starting to panic that I'm a ghost.

The waiter brought fresh-baked bread and cheese, a bottle of sparkling water for Annabeth, and a Coke with ice for me (because I’m a barbarian).

New York waiters, probably the surliest in the Western world . . . are better images of their city than that journalistic favorite the taxi driver.

If I had a brick for every time I’ve repeated the phrase Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value, I think I’d probably be able to bridge the Atlantic Ocean with them.

You might think the word "homemade" is just a word we use as a marketing ploy. But what you don't realize is that the staff sleeps here at night. If your tablecloth is wrinkled, that's why.

You should think of your customers as partners, or better still, family.

Customers shouldn't just think of your business as a place to buy a product or use a service - it should be a fun place to be.

Reward is a happy customer - and an empty plate.

I'm obsessed with the customer. I am the customer. I really don't think you can go wrong if you don't take your eye off of that. Serving the customer. How does she feel? I feel like the fashion industry has cared a lot about how we look but not about how we feel.

It'd be negligent to say that I don't want to be at the top of the charts. Of course I do, it's proof that your song is being heard. But I think it's more about the work for me and being proud of what I'm doing in music than what people think about my music. I want to like my music before you like it. I don't want to sell anything that I don't really like. I don't want to sell myself short just to get to the top of the charts. It doesn't feel that great. Feeling proud of your work feels greater than being at the top of the charts.

I think the greatest sound in the world is the human voice.

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.