The musings, mumblings, retumblings and occasional photos of the things that have caught my eye. Who am I? If the domain didn't give it away: Daniel P Dykes; Editor-in-chief and Chairman of Fashionising.com, a Director of Rogue Menage, lead so and so of PR Heart, lover of history, travel addict, fauxtographer, and hater of the status quo.
Speaking with Selena and Alicia over the weekend I lamented (not for the first time) the poor state of Melbourne’s eateries. Melbourne often feels like one big cafe and shopping precinct, and when it comes to dining and drinking out it’s a city in which you’re spoilt for choice. That is, for choice on everything but service. I’m sorry to have to say it, but most Melbourne venues provide atrocious customer service.
Case in point: I was recently asked how I like my steak to be cooked after it the one I’d ordered had been placed before me.
It’s not always that silly (staff leaning in front of you to set the table for instance) but service is often sloppy. And yet it’s a fact that doesn’t appear to be doing the industry any damage: most Melburnians are still dining out. But with other non-essential industries suffering (eating and drinking out is, after all, a luxury) in the city, the culinary industry potentially has a very small window in which to improve. I see the establishments that excel at service as a part of their whole atmosphere and customer offering as the ones most likely to survive (and thrive) in the face of this:
Australian sales of retail goods, such as clothes and shoes, fell unexpectedly in May suffering the biggest drop in seven months.
Retail sales dropped 0.6% compared to the previous month, according to the bureau of statistics. Most analysts had expected a gain of 0.3%.
Other figures out on Monday showed that new home approvals also fell for a second straight month.
