SIMPSON BAY, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles – There’s a restaurateur here whom I came to like and admire very much over the last few years. He and his wife retired from the U.S. and opened what became a very popular tavern/restaurant. He’s just one of several expatriates I’ve met in Sint Maarten. It can be a daring move for anyone, and a number of these folks seem to be retirees, so they’re gambling with their savings and security.
Sometimes these gambles pay off. Many times they don’t. I’ve seen both instances a number of times. If you put together a menu that people want, and if the food is good, and you can hire as many of the right people as you possibly can, that’s a formula for success. A major problem in Sint Maarten, as far as I can tell, is the labor law that seems to require an excess of personnel, many of whom are just biding their time, collecting their paychecks.
I’m not saying this is unique to Sint Maarten. I’ve had the misfortune of supervising a number of “employees” like that right here and I’ve told more than one not to let the door hit them in the back. Nevertheless, when you have this excess of personnel, my expectation is that no customer should ever be ignored or have to wait for service.
I remember the first time I visited the island and went to a bagel shop on a Sunday morning. I was astounded to see that it took four people to complete an order for a toasted bagel: one to take the order (in triplicate!); a different one to pass the order to the kitchen; the person in the kitchen; and the cashier. It’s no wonder the place went out of business. Food margins are slim enough. Bagel margins are even slimmer.
These restaurateurs I wrote of earlier owned a restaurant that used to be walking distance from our apartment in Simpson Bay, located in a strip shopping center along the very busy Welfare Road. The owners seemed to have it made. The place was always busy and the food was decent – not great – but decent. There was always a large, jolly man with cornrows and beads in his hair to greet you; he remembered your name; there was always a hug and he made sure that the wait staff paid attention to your needs. I could always forgive the missteps from the kitchen (invariably there was always something) because the atmosphere was playful, friendly and the prices for beer, wine and mixed drinks were very reasonable.
I’m not sure what motivated them to move their location across the Bay, but the whole character of the place changed. The prices increased dramatically, no doubt because the rent and other overhead expenses increased substantially in the new place. A bone-in rib eye steak, of unknown grade and origin, cost $39.95, when the boneless version was $10 less. That didn’t make sense to me – I know bones are great for adding flavor, but I just can’t abide paying that much extra for something I can’t eat.
Nevertheless, here was our experience: It was a Sunday evening, about 7:30. We parked our car and walked into the new place. You’ll recall what I said about places having an excess of employees. We stood at the host’s stand for nearly 10 minutes before even being acknowledged. Finally, a bartender came out from behind the bar and seated us at a table near the kitchen. Imagine a bartender not asking if you’d like something to drink!
It was nearly 10 minutes before a different bartender came by to ask us if we’d like something from the bar and then I watched our two-drink order sit on the bar at the wait station for more than five minutes. We still had not been given menus. Finally, the drinks came to the table. To my way of thinking, when one orders a martini, it automatically should come with at least one olive. That’s part of what makes it a martini. When I pointed this out to the server/bartender, he acknowledged the missing garnish and brought it over. Then, after a quick glance at the menus that finally came to the table, we ordered our appetizers and dinner.
Our appetizers came in a reasonable amount of time and they were good. As for the main course, we waited and waited and waited for our entrees. I actually saw our order placed on the pass, ready for delivery to our table. But a server took it somewhere else. About 10 minutes later, one of the wait staff volunteered to us that, “Another table ordered exactly the same thing you did and they got your order.” Really? What’s up with your computerized POS system that prints out the table number?
It was very nice of the server to comp a glass of wine for each of us. But another 25 minutes ensued before our entrees arrived at the table.
I asked my wife to rate the place on a four star scale and she said she would give it somewhere between two and two-and-a-half stars. I would have to agree, leaning toward the lower rating. Service is so critical to the dining experience. The entrees were okay (not great) but the service was so seriously lacking at this place and it saddens me that I’ll probably cross it off my list of places to go when I’m here next.
That saddens me, because as I wrote at the beginning of this piece, I like the owners and have always wanted them to do well. I understand they’ve taken on a partner who will buy out their interests some time in the coming year so that they can retire again. So to the new owner I say: as long as the government of Sint Maarten requires you to have so many people on your payroll, why not train all of them in customer service?