A Personal Note
    Has service lost its importance?
    Recently, I read an article about service that was written by a restaurant industry expert. He observed that service has lost its importance in today’s society.
    He lamented that “The Food Network” has programs about restaurants chefs and food only, but never about service. He mentioned that his friends, family and   colleagues constantly talk about the great restaurants they’ve recently visited, but where the service was slow, inadequate, and or just plain poor.
    In my 29 years in the restaurant business, I have read dozens of articles on the issue of what is more
important – the quality of the food or the service. My view is that high food quality is a necessary basic requirement, and the quality of the service is what turns satisfied customers into repeat customers. After all, when we go out to eat in restaurants, it’s generally not always just to satisfy our basic need for food, but also to go to a place where we are recognized by the staff and other     customers, and where we are treated and served in a way that makes our day a little brighter and happier. As one of our repeat customers, Stella Falkowitz states “… It’s a pleasure to have a meal in a place where there is joy and laughter.” George Soltis writes “…The staff treats you with kindness as long-time friends. It’s always a pleasure to dine at Ollie’s.”
    One of the things I am most proud of is the quality and longevity of our staff. As a repeat customer, you probably have gotten to know most of our servers. Some have been with us for more than 10 or 20 years, and the very young ones, “only” 5 years. In this issue, we feature a few of our servers.
    Our Outdoor Grill Giveaway was successful with about 700 customers participating! In addition to the grill, we also gave away 34 gift cards of $50, $20 and $10. All other participants received $5 gift certificates. Thank you all for entering the giveaway, and I enjoyed reading your comments.  Everyone at Ollie’s works very hard to make your dining experience a good one.  It is interesting and rewarding to know what touches our customers and brings them back.
    Summer is a great time for Steaks and Chops! We added a new steak special that became very popular- a Choice Certified Black Angus Fillet Mignon (half pound), hand cut by our chefs. It is the same quality that is served in the finest restaurants, but at a modest price of $13.99. All of our steaks are USDA Choice, like the 12oz. Delmonico  ($14.99), 7oz. Sirloin ($10.29) and London Broil ($10.99). Our “fall off the bones” BBQ baby back ribs are the best!
      Thank you for being great customers, and I hope to see you soon.