Guest Opinion | Peter Dills: Where’s The Service?

Remember that catchy commercial “where’s the beef” from the Wendy’s chain years ago? Sure you do! Well, my new question is “where is the service?” A few years back I had a service (no pun intended) that I provided to restaurants, it was basically a shopper’s report. It included such things as did you get water, did the server suggest any appetizers, and was the manager visible. It was called “table touching” when the manager (or anyone) came to the table to check on how your experience was going.

I don’t think the food is the problem at restaurants – it seems to be just as good or just as bad as it was before COVID. Yes, we joke around that in Los Angeles your server is just an actor waiting for their big break in show biz, but is it really that servers are just burned out? Nearly 48% of service managers say they are overwhelmed and just plain tired of the daily grind. In my years of going to various restaurants, I understood that the art of being a server was a noble profession, so what has become of the profession? Even lifelong friends that are waiting on tables or bartenders that I interviewed complained recent restaurant experiences. Recently, my daughter took me to a very nice restaurant for my birthday – the food was acceptable, but at no time did the manager who sat us come by and ask us how our meal was. That is unacceptable. When I have brought this subject up to several of my friends who own restaurants, they respond “yeah Pete, we know”. I think the passion for serving is fleeting. I ordered a martini at an upscale So. Lake restaurant and at no time did the bartender come by and ask how’s your drink? How about another? Is it the way you wanted it? I could go on and on. Do we just stop tipping? That might make it worse since we seem to already be at the bottom of the barrel.

In summary, going out to eat used to be a special event. Now, you order your food, it’s brought out to you, you eat, and you leave.

Peter Dills is a well-known food critic based in Pasadena, who has made a name for himself as the “King of Cuisine.” Born into a world of food, Peter is the son of the late Elmer Dills, a renowned restaurant critic. Peter has followed in his father’s footsteps and has become a prominent figure in the Southern California food scene, helping people find the best dining experiences, extraordinary food and wine, and new culinary experiences.