r/AskIreland • u/Accomplished_Work376 • 11h ago
Irish Culture Is Irish hospitality declining?
Has anyone noticed the decline in customer service in Hotels, Cafes and other venues?
The social aspect and the friendly face of customer service is no more. I mean I don't expect to see a big grin when I walk into a place but a basic standard of service won't go a miss. Minimum wage and employers not willing to employ more experience staff who ask to be paid above minimum wage is a huge contributing factor.
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u/jmf81 10h ago
I was in Costa today in Letterkenny. There's a young lady that works in there that was so friendly and just a breath of fresh air. She's a credit to her parents. Thought I'd share a positive side too.
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u/PATRICKBIRL 9h ago
Definitely, love meeting people like this. They actually put you in a good mood if you are having a bad day
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u/shadowbanthiskekw 8h ago
Theres a young Lady just like that at Insomnia in Gorey. Shout out to their whole crew, they've been nothing but nice and accommodating on every visit.
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u/IRL_Cordoba 10h ago
Dealing with the pigs in the general public won't be long knocking it out of her. Then pets like the OP will wonder why the restaurant and bar staff don't treat them like the Ayatollah the second they walk in the door
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u/Affectionate_Art4277 11h ago edited 10h ago
I've definitely noticed it too. Been to more places recently where the staff look at you as if your presence in their establishment is a personal insult. I think the pandemic has permanently made society more anxious and on edge, which is why people feel less friendly. The many demands for the meager pay doesnt help much either
Also been to a few places where serving staff are foreign nationals from places like Eastern Europe, where being super friendly towards strangers isnt the norm
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u/ninety6days 9h ago
I won't speak for hospitality, but as a retailer I can tell you there's been a marked increase in stupid/crazy/obnoxious people feeling entitled to act like utter arseholes since the pandemic told the droolers that their idiocy had value.
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u/Affectionate_Art4277 10h ago
My local londis is similar. Had an older Ukrainian women who used to work there that I found extremely rude but the Polish lads who worked there that grew up here were sound. Eastern Europeans in general arent rude per say. Its just not part of their cultural to be smiley and chatty towards people they dont know
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u/Ok_Hamster4014 10h ago edited 9h ago
No careers in hospitality anymore hence why there aren't people who put the effort in anymore. Wages have been undercut etc.
There was a time when someone who worked in hospitality could save and carve out contacts and when at a certain stage in their career could get a loan and branch out and set up their own premises, instil what they wanted to be implemented.
That doesn't exist anymore. Minimum pay for minimum effort nowadays.
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u/Prudent_Wolf8171 10h ago
I so badly wanted this when I was younger. There's no job I would love more than owning my own bar or restaurant. Unfortunately as you said, next to impossible these days. Work in IT in London now, but I know exactly what I'm going to do when I win the euromillions.
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u/OkSquash9119 8h ago
I’d say there’s many like you. I’m one of them.
Would love to run a bar (and give my hypothetical staff a fair deal in the process).
The only place I know that operates like that operates as such as the owner does it as a hobby. Surprisingly the staff are always in fantastic form and it has an incredibly loyal clientele????
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
That's sad, experienced staff demanding more wage either get talked down from it or ignored and god forbid you dare ask to be paid above minimum wage in a job interview.
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u/YoureNotEvenWrong 34m ago
No careers in hospitality anymore hence why there aren't people who put the effort in anymore.
Were there ever really? I worked in a hotel 20 years ago and even then it was mostly seasonal / part time students and similar
I don't think anything has changed now, it's the same as it always was
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u/AutomaticIdeal6685 Penneys Hun 9h ago
Probably because back in the day working hard = house, money to take care of family, bills paid, maybe a little holiday every couple of years.
Now working hard in a minimum wage job = struggle and very low chance of actually owning a house, living paycheck to paycheck.
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u/FearAerach 4h ago
Oh get real. Being unfriendly when interacting with others in the course of your job costs nothing and only makes your job less pleasant.
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u/SloaneRush6027 10h ago
There used to be an organization called CERT (funded through Bord Failte) that trained people to work in hospitality as a profession. It was disbanded in early 2000s (apparently following a PWC consultation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%A1ilte_Ireland) and there seems to be a vacuum in that role ever since.
You may not be able to train an innate sense of hospitality and how to interact but I've heard it said that CERT was a big loss in terms of staff standards in hospitality training. But of course, the race to the bottom in terms of pay and conditions doesn't help. Maybe also the kids don't see how things should be done at home.
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u/OkSquash9119 10h ago
Pays fuck all. Minimum wage, minimum effort.
I worked hospitality for years while going through college and while interviewing to start a “career”. I was never outright a prick to anyone for no reason, but the second anyone gave me shite I wasnt long remembering I was only being paid the bones of a tenner an hour to deal with them.
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u/funky_mugs 10h ago
Yeah you're dead right, but honestly, manners cost nothing.
I try to be kind to people no matter where I am or if I'm being paid to do it.
I'm sick of going into shops or restaurants and having the staff grunt at me and barely look at me. Regardless of how much you're being paid, you should show other humans a bit of respect.
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u/OkSquash9119 9h ago
I’m 50/50 there. Manners do cost nothing…
…but saying “hi, how are you?” with a smile seems like no effort until it’s legitimately the 150th person you’ve seen come in the past couple hours. And realistically at least one of them will be after taking your head off for no reason due to circumstances in their own personal life.
Pretty much all I ‘expect’ off staff is the coffee or pint I’m after paying for.
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u/funky_mugs 9h ago
I don't even mean having a chat though, I literally just mean saying hello, looking at my face and politely asking do I want a bag, or telling me how much it costs etc.
I've been in so many shops where the staff literally just grunt and keep their heads down.
I work in customer service too and have done all my life, so I fully get it. I have chronic depression so there's days where I feel like I can barely get myself by, but I'm still polite to people.
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u/OkSquash9119 8h ago
I suppose I don’t see that as impolite I’d say. If I want a bag; I’ll ask for one.
To be honest I find the politeness charade taxing.
Also; sorry to hear you’re suffering with that. Hope things get better for you <3
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u/insipidbucket 9h ago
Okay but genuinely what is the point in "hey how are you" when the answer is "hey how are you/grand yourself" or inappropriately offloading. The first two responses are just fake
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u/OkSquash9119 8h ago
Kind of this like.
> I want the thing.
> Ok. Here’s the thing.
> Thanks.
> Thanks.1
u/YoureNotEvenWrong 30m ago
Minimum wage is up massively in the last 5 years ... Way more than inflation
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u/ld20r 10h ago
I play regular enough in these venues and as a drummer I notice people don’t dance on floors as much anymore.
It was very fascinatingly noticeable and sad recently at a gig in Westport playing a mixture of 90’s tracks to present day.
The younger teens were in groups seated with not a slightest bit interested in the music.
When they left and an older group came in (30’s upwards) all of them were out on the Dancefloor jumping and smiling.
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u/CorkNativeResident 11h ago
Grow up, they’re miserable thankless jobs for pennies that the staffers can barely survive on, and you’re complaining they don’t smile enough
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u/Affectionate_Art4277 10h ago
There's no need to be so antagonististic. OP clearly isnt asking people to worship the ground they walk on
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u/Fealocht 9h ago
Lol such a typical Reddit answer. Apparently you cant show basic manners unless adequately compensated?
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u/Recent-Lemon-9930 11h ago
Yeah! Should be thanking them for not punching every customer between the eyes like.
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u/ProfessionalKind6761 10h ago
It’s basic manners. I always great everyone with a smile, how are you doing, please and thank you no matter how my day is going. Very refreshing when it’s reciprocated.
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u/CriticalTop2793 10h ago
Worked in a five star hotel. To get a raise you had to wait until they were at their busiest and tightest staff wise and threaten to walk out. This is the nature of the industry. An actual hell on earth for staff
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u/Accomplished_Work376 11h ago
My complaint is that no one seems to be friendly or sociable anymore and yes a huge part of that is the fact that people are not paid enough for the work that they do.
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u/starsinhereyes20 10h ago
I think you’re generalizing quite a bit tbf .. most places I go, the staff are lovely. There’s always an exception to that and that’s ok, people are going to people.. saying no one is friendly is nonsense, people are very friendly here as a whole. You also reap what you sow - I smile, say my please and thanks and it always get reciprocated.
I don’t expect the full shabang on a Saturday afternoon in Penny’s or any other big store or franchise - there primarily kids and their run off their feet.. go in on a Wednesday morning when its slow and their just as friendly as everyone else .. sometimes managing your own expectations is easier than being another disgruntled customer…
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u/nt2btrstd 10h ago edited 9h ago
Have you ever worked in customer service yourself? Just outta curiosity
Edit: follow the thread, they don’t work in customer services at all, in fact they couldn’t be further from customer services
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
Yes and I do
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u/nt2btrstd 10h ago
Can I ask what you do? Like it’s a fairly broad scope
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
Human Resources, my career isn't really relevant
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u/magnus_the_coles 10h ago
Thats not customer service lmao
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u/nt2btrstd 9h ago
Of all the careers, they specifically work in the one that is purposely removed from working with customers, I did not expect that, that’s just hilarious 🤦
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u/Anomaly-IRL 9h ago
Your career is relevant to your understanding of their experience in the modern world.
Customer Service is a massive pain sometimes.
I've worked in CS for a good 8 years now.People can be so abusive, petty and pushy sometimes.
Yet you're expected to handle it with a smile.
Sometimes management rewards people for being that way aswell, "as an exception" (ie "I wasn't bothered having a hard conversation so I just gave them what they want to make them go away") which just means they'll do it again, or tell someone else what they did/got and increase the likelihood of those situations.All while you're underpaid for it and have the occasional person moaning if you're not spritely.
I've had people keep me on a phone for an hour before being so aggressive, literally over like 10 cent that the policy was not to return to them, but they kept arguing about it and I wasn't allowed hang up "because it's the member experience" and according to the member "it's not about the money, it's the principle".
I've had people make disparaging comments about me being Irish before and they were rewarded in return by a manager for a significant amount because they threw a wobbly over something small.
Walking around talking to the odd customer as a member of HR does not equate at all to a Customer Service role and your lack of understanding of why people have become this way shows that your role really is relevant.
HR is most employees nightmare to deal with, because most HR isn't there to protect the employee, they're there to protect the company.
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u/Accomplished_Work376 9h ago
Well luckily for me I work in a work place where we do try to treat staff to the best of our abilities and fairly
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u/nt2btrstd 10h ago
How is Human Resources customer service? That’s to do with employee relations
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
Because I work in a venue that provides customer service
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u/nt2btrstd 10h ago
But you don’t interact with customers yourself, you interact with employees, that’s not the same as working in customer service, you’re removed from the person who accesses the service the company provides
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
Well I do actually engage with customers as a member of staff when I walk past them and have helped with service during busy times so yes I have
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u/doctor6 10h ago
Whilst working for minimum wage for around 60+ hours a week at unsociable hours and some dickhead says cheer up??
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u/Noobeater1 10h ago
How on earth can you misread someone's comment this badly? They're literally blaming the pay and working conditions, not the employees
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u/doctor6 10h ago
They're still complaining that people don't have a smile on their faces whiles doing one of the hardest jobs out there, irregardless of the causes.
'You know what, you should smile more' has to be one of the most pig ignorant thing to say to someone
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u/Noobeater1 10h ago
Agreed, but that's not what OP is saying. OP is saying service might be better if people were treated fairly
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u/Fun-Alternative-6804 10h ago
Part of their job is to be friendly and hospitable instead of miserable cunts. Now hurry up and make my coffee and don't expect a tip.
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u/Particular_Cry6220 7h ago
Presentable, yes. I don't give a damn about friendly or hospitable. Go ask your family for those characteristics.
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u/SavingsDraw8716 10h ago
Covid lockdowns had a lot to do with it. A lot of the senior staff like people that didn't want to promote and middle management like supervisors left for other jobs temporarily and never came back. They were the invisible trainers and standars setters in a lot of places.
They realised they could similar money and not work every weekend and public holiday. I know of one person who left a bar supervisor job to be a medical secratary for the same money. Will be office manager if they want it soon..
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u/Nostradamnitall 10h ago
If you pay peanuts you get monkeys.
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u/FearAerach 4h ago
That's an excuse for poor work, not unkindness, which should be expected of us all.
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u/parkaman 11h ago
Thankfully we've never had that fake American service culture here and hopefully never do.
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u/selfmademuppet 10h ago
There are multiple reasons for this but I don’t think we talk enough about how Irish people are so bad at voting with their feet that most places don’t even have to try that hard to keep customers
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u/Lucky-Friendship8753 10h ago
It depends. If I had a weird experience with staff in a local cafe I would make note to never go in there again. I know a lot that would avoid a place if they didnt like staff
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u/password03 5h ago
100% this.
I moved home from a big city a few years ago and started a business in my small home town.. it wasn't until then that I realised every customer through my door made a genuine difference..
So now I opt out of going to the places that aren't working for me..and I give my money to the businesses that make an effort and do good.
I know overheads are high etc... but I think this business of closing Mon/Tue does more harm than good to a cafe. People are habitual...and how the hell are the going to habitualise going to you for coffee if you are closed nearly 30% of the week.. and 40% of the working week?
I find it hard to believe staff are the issue...which is the excuse rolled out every time. My understanding is that most staff in these places are probably only getting 20 hours a week..and I imagine most of them would jump at another 2 days works. It doesn't add up.
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u/standarsh1965 9h ago
Prolly right, one of the places I go to, the service is always slow af, they're just ok attitude wise but the food is 10/10 and yes I'm gonna go back a lot.
It's always busy tbh
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u/bongosed 10h ago
I have noticed it MASSIVELY in some pubs. Young bar staff, either not trained properly or don’t care about customer service. Unable to service more than one person at a time. When I worked in pubs years ago you’d be serving 2/3 people at a time. Serving the next person while the Guinness is settling etc.
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u/Annihilus- 7h ago
Yeah, i was in a pub a while ago and a young girl serving 2 Guinness to a customer and like 1 vodka or something.
While she was pouring the 2 Guinness i asked could she throw one on for me as well, she’s already pouring them and would probably be easier for her. She looked at me pissy and said yes after i serve this customer.
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u/Lomatomalee 10h ago
A huge issue is the company absence of training and explicitly outlining what is expected……A good venue will have an SOP (standard operating procedure) for everything from returning change after transaction to placing a drink in front of the customer. If the staff are not clear on what you expect of them how can they deliver? All the meet and greet interactions with customers need to captured with SOPs too….Training training training…..
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
That works but I work a fair bit in training staff and some of them don't actually replicate that in their work
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u/Cautious_Ad5132 11h ago
It's completely gone. Customers are openly resented now.
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u/CherryHaribo 10h ago
Customers are pricks
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u/nt2btrstd 10h ago
It’s the golden rule of customer service, every customer is a prick, just some can hide it better than others
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u/YoureNotEvenWrong 25m ago
I worked in a hotel bar back in the day. Almost all customers were totally grand
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u/mervynskidmore 10h ago
Bought a couple of things in Penneys yesterday, couldn't believe how nice the lady at the till was. Absolutely lovely.
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u/S2580 10h ago
It’s the wedding anniversary so we ate out all day yesterday and today. We both commented multiple times how nice the staff were everywhere.
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
Yes the odd few but it seems to be where the staff are all in their teens and can't be sociable
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u/momoman46 5h ago
I only just came back to Ireland after 15 years away, but right away I actually got some of the best hospitality I've ever received. I think the trick is to go to local spots instead of multinational chains. Shoutout to Copper + Straw cafe at four courts, the barristas there were so nice and welcoming I'm still grateful to this day.
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u/doubles85 11h ago
the staff there get paid fuck all. why would they pretend to be happy for u?
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u/Fishamble 10h ago
I would say it's part of their job? I worked in the industry for 25 years, so I think I can speak with more authority than most. I was in a restaurant in Dublin City center today. First time eating out in four months, because it's just not worth it. The guy who served us had apple ear pods in, and barely seemed to notice we were there. It was €73 for lunch for two, no drinks. Paid in cash and he asked if we wanted change. The scowl on his face when I said yes made me chuckle. Pure entitlement.
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u/TheOnlyOne87 10h ago
People are starting to act their wage. And rightfully so.
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u/ReporterFeisty4619 7h ago
Nope, it’s self-defeating. Being surly towards the customers only makes the working environment even more miserable and poorly remunerated.
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u/FearAerach 4h ago
Being friendly to customers is very easy. It's not a hige burden. You're just excusing a decline in pro-social behaviour.
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u/Agitated-Pickle216 10h ago
What i really notice are the toilets. I have found in the last few years toilets in restaurants, places like The Range and Tesco are very often absolutely filty.
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u/Langerdaltrey1973 8h ago
Also noticed this. Was on holiday in Ibiza there a few weeks ago and went to a jacks just off from the beach like an outhouse yoke, no one looking after it, didn’t have to pay. It was spotless.
Nearly gagged stepping into the jacks in circle K in strand hill. Same in the apple green on the drive back to dublin, doors with no locks, no toilet roll. Shocking considering Spain has a rap for being a little more of a shambles than Ireland.
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u/Wise_Cheetah85 10h ago
Hospitality experience starts at home. Up bringing is different today in comparison to 20/30/40/50 years ago.
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u/BarrySardine 7h ago
The fact you're earning minimum wage doesn't entitle you to be an A-hole.
99% of people start out in a shitty job. Work hard, do your best then move on. Being shit at your job achieves nothing for anybody.
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u/what_a_knob 10h ago
For the people that say why should the smile etc. because they don't they paid enough. Well they won't get paid anything if the business fails as people stop going there due to shitty service and rude staff.
People are a lot more forgiving towards a business if the staff are friendly. Not over the top yank looking for a tip type shit, just down to earth smile and don't treat me like I'm ruining your day because I'm a customer
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u/KerfuffleAsimov 10h ago
For every nice customer, you have 9 customers who think you're their very own abuse toy.
For some reason lots of people have gotten it in their head that because they are spending money they can behave anyway they like to people.
I just be extra nice, being nice has paid off millions of times more than being dickhead.
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u/Cute_Succotash_2923 10h ago
Hospitality employees work extremely hard long hours for pittance and for customers who are more demanding than ever , sometimes the friendly face fades.
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u/Alive_Molasses_9111 10h ago
Reminder that customers also work hard for the money that we pay with. Why are we less important?
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u/Lucky-Friendship8753 10h ago
What do you expect when you say that like at a coffee shop should the staff be smiling at you and making small talk or what?
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u/Marcus-Suridius 11h ago
People are struggling to put food on the table, pay rents etc and you bitch about people not smiling? Get a grip.
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u/Weekly_One1388 2h ago
Food poverty in Ireland is still at about 9% of the population. It' a pretty good figure, not wonderful but not awful compared to peer economies.
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u/JONFER--- 10h ago
Hospitality is declining in most places not just Ireland.
I suspect it’s partly a side effect of the drive "for “maximum efficiency”, “cost reductions” in the business and factors regarding the overall economy for the workers.
For example I was talking to a guy that I casually know last week. He changed from one restaurant job to another (in the kitchens not front of house) and he was telling me and a few others that his new working environment is great mostly because he gets at least 40 hours plus a week and the extra pay takes the pressure off a little bit and it comes to bills and rent et cetera.
Pay in the hospitality industry is generally slightly above minimum wage for people that are relatively inexperienced so I imagine a lot of them are under severe amounts of stress.
And hospitality has largely become corporatised big groups and chains owning more and more formally independent outlets. In that environment is all spreadsheet baby, costs reduced and optimised, people ran off their feet all day with little contingency for periods of sudden extra busyness.
It is what it is I guess.
Now I mean this in the general sense, I have no doubt that there are still businesses who take hospitality seriously, plan long-term and keep customers and staff reasonably happy. In the longer term individual business reputation and positive word of mouth will help profitability. But there are fewer and fewer businesses that think long term past the next fiscal year.
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u/Esexboy101101 10h ago
Few decades ago hospitality in Ireland was a career. Whenever I visited family there I was always impressed by the professionalism and high quality training of Hospitality staff.
Then the Bosses got greedy. Hired students and low quality staff paying them low wages.
That old saying... Pay Peanuts get Monkeys.
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u/YoureNotEvenWrong 22m ago
Few decades ago hospitality in Ireland was a career.
Then the Bosses got greedy. Hired students and low quality staff paying them low wages
Must have been a long long time ago, because I was a student working hospitality 20 years ago along with many others
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u/Candid-Change-4051 9h ago
Short answer, corporate mentalities favour short term profits and shareholder gain above all things. That means depreciating fields to be suited for seasonal employees vs careers, the though being seasonal workers stick around for a short time due to shite pay vs wage scales and opportunities to stick around and learn a trade/build a career and pass on institutional service standards.
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u/longjohn2024_ 8h ago
Havent noticed it too much, loads of wonderful people around ij hospitality but if its there , perhaps a decline in overall social interaction in young people is a factor more than anything.
From what I see, a cohort of younger generation just aren't that interested in engaging in conversation with people.
And (I say this as somebody married to a foreigner😁😁) perhaps a higher than previous ratio of foreigner workers leads to a natural drop in Irish welcome a little. Of course it would....
If you grow up in another country and only here for a short time, it would take time to learn the trade
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u/Bitter_Welder1481 5h ago
lol we are so far away from the traditional and famous image of Irish hospitality from 20+ years ago we might as well be a completely different country
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u/No-Blackberry3091 4h ago
ive worked in bars/retail before, most people are just reciprocating what you put in. if you're sound, they're sound, if you're chatty, they're chatty
might be time to look in the mirror and examine yourself
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u/123iambill 4h ago
Well we have collectively agreed that if hospo workers want things like a home or the ability to pay bills AND eat food, they should get "real jobs". "Your job makes you lesser, now give me a smile."
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u/Weekly_One1388 2h ago
This has to be looked at in a wider context imo. There are parts of this industry that we have arseways in Ireland, as usual. We have regulated alcohol to a ridiculous level, businesses need more flexibility. Let people have happy hours FFS. Let pubs in the same town come together and create deals for pub crawls.
We're raising the minimum wage constantly and have now decided we're handing out in millions to rural pubs in subsidies. Stone mad. The state is just covering this rise in the minimum wage!
We expect a high level of service because we pay through the nose for admittedly great pints and average enough food. (Not terrible but not amazing etiher) Allow some wiggle room in price and customer attitudes to service may change.
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u/Exact_Government1874 43m ago
I went into one Cafe close to where I live and they where all from different countries. All absolutely miserable. It was all very serious. We chose a different spot in town for our next meet up. Local staff lots of chatting going on and laughs just a completely different vibe so we stuck to that place.The Irish are just friendlier people in general. It's a fact.
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u/YoureNotEvenWrong 33m ago edited 19m ago
I think this is just looking at the past with rose tinted glasses
Hospitality has always been full of students and other part timers who haven't yet learned basic politeness but usually they are grand
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u/Fragrant-Guava-3084 10h ago
op, did you ever worked for customers when young? i mean, its not that weird having a non specialized job in the early 20s.
supermarket or something.
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
Yes but a lot of it comes down to the basic training staff receive and the way they are treated by upper management as well
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u/Fragrant-Guava-3084 10h ago
ok. so you gaining the bare mininum, renting a lousy room trying you independence... and you still be all hype with a big smile for the 12312312 th time in the 1231232 day in a row?
sure
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u/YoureNotEvenWrong 17m ago
I did in hospitality. Rarely an issue with customers. Only 2 or 3 bad experiences in my entire time.
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u/coffee_and-cats 10h ago
It was always a thing to greet customers in shops, restaurants, pubs, hotels etc. with a smile and warm welcome
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u/Alive_Molasses_9111 10h ago
Once, people chose to work in hospitality who were naturally friendly and well, hospitable. They would be friendly and hospitable on their day off too because it was their way. Now we have people with faces like smacked asses on the front desks and apparently we’re supposed to be negotiating their wages for them.
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
You should see some of the teenagers that work in our local cinema, they barely make eye contact and more or less grunt rather than actually respond
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u/magusbud 8h ago
Nonsense.
It's so much better that it ever was. Christ on a bike, you'd get a menu fired at ya by some auld one smoking a John Player Blue, with half a moustache in a filthy pinny in the 90s.
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u/fizzlypixie 10h ago
I noticed the decline in customer behaviour. Until about 4 yrs ago I was is in salons and then online customer service and the level of entitlement was slowly getting worse and then the pandemic happened, it shot thru the roof and now there’s more insufferable people rather than nice. It’s like when they’re paying for a service it’s expected for everything to be done then and there with no push back.
I think it also depends on where you’re going, I’ve luckily always had great service when I’ve been out
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
I'm not talking about rudeness, it's more of a lack of engagement from the youth
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u/fizzlypixie 10h ago
This ties into it. If someone is constantly getting shit customers of course they’re not going to want to make an effort, especially if it’s day in and day out. People get snarky over the smallest things and minimum wage isn’t enough to compensate.
For a lot if not most, it’s a wage to help with bills, rent, college, life. Some people also would rather do the work and go home, if no one is saying anything about their level of service and no one’s complained about them, why would they put more effort into something if the majority of the time it’s thankless?
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u/ReporterFeisty4619 7h ago
Because they might actually find their job more tolerable - and get more tips - if they made an effort to be pleasant and attentive.
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u/mailforkev 10h ago
Hotels have all cut staff since Covid, so the current gang are more stretched.
It’s why check-out/in has moved from 12pm/3pm to 11am/4pm. Fewer staff, more work.
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u/Affectionate_Art4277 10h ago
Seems to be the norm that most places are running on skeleton crews. Staff have less time for customer service since theyre doing around 3 other jobs at the same time, which leads to what OP describes
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u/Lucky-Friendship8753 10h ago
Its a lose lose situation,
They are underpaid, stressed out, and expected to smile and put on a show.
You are paying 20 euro for a glorified soup and sandwich and be recieved with staff that have an unpleasant demeanour.
The only ones that can guarantee good hospitality are maybe fancy hotels. I found staff in the Cork International Hotel really nice and I feel like those places actively look for better personalities. Most just have that job to pay college or whatever.
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u/Accomplished_Work376 10h ago
Exactly pay the staff what they deserve so they provide good service. Too many places increasing their prices to extortionate amounts and expect returning guests when they can't train staff or pay them properly.
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u/MeithealGang 9h ago
Definitely feel there's been a change in people since '23. People being oddly gruff anytime money is changing hands
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u/Accomplished_Work376 9h ago
It doesn't hurt to give a quick hello and even eye contact doesn't have to be a smile
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u/KickConfident2002 9h ago
It's been gone years.
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u/Alastor001 8h ago
Maybe because business owners expenses, including wages for staff, are through the roof? For cafes and restaurants for sure
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u/Lucky-Friendship8753 10h ago
I think any job that is minimum wage should not have being an actor and all smiley as part of the role. If they wanna do that they should be paid more.
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u/FantasticYard7375 11h ago
Cause most them ain’t Irish anymore and those young people among them who are have a different culture nowadays. I’m Gen Z and the stare is real I have seen it. I don’t think most customers deserve the time of day so more power to them I say.
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u/FantasticYard7375 10h ago
Yeah for me it was a girl. I was in a Starbucks just asked for a drink politely and she stared me blank in the face. I wasn’t sure if she heard me so I asked again nicely before she rolled her eyes and started making the coffee. Never seems anything like it before that day.
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u/Strong_Sympathy8468 10h ago edited 10h ago
I’ve seen a significant increase in individuals of Asian origin in customer service roles over the last few years, and by and large they’re a vast improvement compared to the dead behind the eyes Gen-Z employees who act as though you’ve just pissed on them when trying to buy something at the till.
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u/RevFit_JamesH 10h ago
Here’s how it goes;
Minimum wage keeps going up
This coffee is such a rip off
Hey what’s your order
Here’s your coffee
Jesus it’s pricey why don’t you smile
Eh be sound?
I just laid €5+ for a coffee don’t be a dick
I literally can’t afford to live on what they’re paying despite it being objectively high
Yeah but the coffee was expensive and you didn’t smile enough
Wannna pay more so I don’t have to share a room in my 30s?
No
K
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u/Icehonesty 9h ago
The older people generally own the business, and they squeeze every penny out of us. Prices are crazy. Then you’ve foreign people, with generally zero interest in talking, and young people, with generally very underdeveloped social skills, working in these places.
So yeah, customer service in Ireland is terrible in general.
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u/YoureNotEvenWrong 20m ago
Then you’ve foreign people, with generally zero interest in talking,
Except the many Brazilians. Almost always great at hospitality
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u/Alarmed_Station6185 8h ago
Yeah the social contract is broken and these types of reaction are the consequences. Workers know when they're being screwed over.
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u/Ok-Government385 7h ago
I read an article in the paper the Irish are voted by tourists as the most friendly nation to visit She writes we are nice friendly good craic Oh great thanks by the way i.m here waiting for a tip. I think staff working in a pub for minimum wage oh yeah i.m going to break my back serving 3 people at the same time so I can go back the the gaff I share with 5 people and spend most of my wages on rent and maybe have 2 cans Gen z are angry. Most people in cafe pubs never get any tips especially. If it's a press on tablet to pay 10 20 per cent tip on the app
High rents high house prices climate change. Ai is taking jobs or you,ll be forced to show ai how to do your job so we can replace you in a year Gen z is not exactly facing a safe bright future I read employers say Gen z staff have low social skills Gen z dont want to answer a phone it's cringe
I don't think you ,d be grinning too much if you were in low paid job in a cafe Friends was funny Joey giving away scones to every sexy woman who came in the door to the cafe That's not real life no one is making funny jokes in the average pub cafe If you flirt with a woman you ll probably get sacked Most of the staff in cafes are probably students just trying to pay rent to live in a hovel
If staff are not very friendly maybe it's because they receive no training apart from how to pull a pint or make coffee Look at the UK half the ternagers seem to have ADHD or autism or some medical problem that's not physical
Most famous actors started off working in cafes pubs retail because it takes a few years to get a profile and get offered good roles above the basic wage scale
Everything is going up in price but wages are the same as they were 3 years ago so it's tough for low wage workers Sorry for the long post
TV is not real life sally O'Brien is probably working in Oz or married with two kids she can't live on the wages as a barmaid Maybe she's on onlyfans The way she might look at ye Yeah follow me and pay a sub and I'll smile for a while
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u/Grizlymuffin26 6h ago
Most people complaining about service here probably never worked in the industry, never tip and expect people to fall hand over feet for them while buying a mediocre meal in a mediocre restaurant. Tip people for their time, respect the lower wage worker doing a 12 hour shift and once the shitty dining culture in Ireland improves your service will improve. Having worked in multiple countries in gastro I can wholeheartedly tell you Ireland is a shit place to work in hospitality.
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u/PATRICKBIRL 10h ago
Mostly lazy too, chatting amounst each other while customers wait for their conversation to end, before they get a drink. Just there for the money. Dreaming about been an influencer
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u/Gingerwulfer 10h ago
What do you expect them to be there for if not the money out of interest?
Do you expect them to wake up in the morning and skip to their minimum wage job for the joy of making you a coffee? Fuckin' hell, they are humans and are allowed to interact with each other too. You sound like a right dose to deal with.
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u/PATRICKBIRL 9h ago
No I'm very patient actually. When I go to pay for a service I expect to be served within a reasonable time. Not listen to staff members chat for 5 minutes about how their lecture went or what their boyfriend done wrong for 5 minutes while looking at me like I'm a nusance just been there. When I do call them out they seem very surprised and realise they are there to do a job. If they don't want to be there, plenty that would love to
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u/Gingerwulfer 8h ago
You may apply yourself so. Spending five minutes queueing is a fairly reasonable time in a shop, no? You do realise that their lecture or their boyfriends behaviour is more important to them than a couple of minutes of your time too, don't you?
The reason they seem suprised when you "call them out", as you put it, is because they are taken aback by how rude you are. You lack empathy for other humans Patrick. I don't know if you realise this, but you are not the main character in this life. Other people have wants and desires and ambitions too. Their dead-end minimum wage job is not the sum total of their lives and serving you a drink is not the reason they live for. Have a go at the shareholders who own the shop for not paying the workers there enough to care about their shitty jobs, don't bitch at the workers.
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u/PATRICKBIRL 8h ago
I wasn't queueing, there was nobody else in the place. I was waiting for two paid staff members to stop chatting about how her boyfriend didn't put his socks in the wash basket!! Serving me a drink is definitely not the highlight of their day, but it is what they are paid to do while they are there. If they can't do this without rolling their eyes to heaven then they should not be there. I worked these jobs and done it with a smile. Thankfully after a chat with the manager I didn't see either of them again. Plesent and happy staff there now. It's brilliant. Some turn around compared to the miserable ones there before
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u/Lucky-Friendship8753 10h ago
People mentioning Eastern European but not mentioning that many people in those jobs may be neurodivergent and expecting them to smile etc is adding on to their masking too.
As a neurodivergent person who has had managers ask me to smile more and have a customer explode for me raising my eyebrows.
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u/DylanToebac 10h ago
Couple of points.;
Been paid minimum wage is not an excuse to half arse your job
A lot of people have become insufferable to those who work in hospitality
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u/MineOk6687 10h ago
Training is not what it once was!
Alot of institutional knowledge has left companies and it shows. Plus alot of people afraid of calling others out now! No co worker who tells you whats what anymore and that also shows.
Also don't think anyone takes pride in what they do anymore like before.
In Pennys last week and there was a queue and it wasn't moving.....the one place that never had a slow moving queue was Pennys. Times have changed and not for better.
Finally, the level of English language comprehension amongst workers an issue now!
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u/futbolitoireland 10h ago
No. Our hospitality was never for sale. The places you're referring to are not why were famous for that
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u/MxEndy 9h ago
Everyone should have to work a customer-facing job for at least 6 months at the start of their career. Retail/ hospitality/ customer service. It teaches you how to deal with people in general. Yes, some people are awful, but for the most part I've found people to be respectful and appreciative as long as you give them that same energy.