Delights — Good Service
Recently my partner and I travelled to Calcutta. While on a long walk along Bidhan Sarani to photograph the signs of old, dilapidated movie theatres of Shyam Bazar, we also enjoyed a food walk of some excellent street food. One of the stops on Shyampukur Street was Gondhoraj Fuchka Stall. For any of you living in or visiting Calcutta, this small eatery has my strongest recommendation. Having not lived in Eastern India now for over two decades, I sorely miss the fuchkas. While one can get serviceable golgappa in Delhi, excellent paani-batashe in Kanpur and Lucknow and some delectable paani-puri in Bombay if you have a taste for the hot chholia, I miss the gondhoraj-nimbu-forward fuchkas I grew up eating in Patna. But, what made the experience at Gondhoraj Fuchka Stall memorable was much more than the sweet flavour of the lemons.
The first question the vendor asked us while thrusting a pattal in our hands was whether we wanted chillies in our aloo. Both my partner and I nodded yes, but seconds later exchanged concerned looks as my partner preferred her food lightly spiced. Yet, she decided to persevere. Even though we did not say anything to the vendor, he was alert to this silent exchange and after serving the first fuchka to my partner, enquired if the spice level worked. When my partner asked if he could add some ‘mitha’ to her fuchka, he laughed good-naturedly and said no ‘mitha’, but went on to set aside a small portion of the aloo for my partner, to which he added some black salt to temper the chillies. To me, this experience summed up the definition of good service — clear communication, alert without being overbearing, precise delivery with a small scope for personalisation, and service with a smile yet not so obsequious to make you uncomfortable.
My friend Prateek has a three-point restaurant evaluation scale — quality of food, ambience and cost. It is a very handy scale, and entertaining to boot. However, I believe that there should be a fourth prong, that of quality of service. For me, service which is at either end of the spectrum, rude or fawning, spoils the effect of a good meal. My complaint with the restaurants at Taj Hotels is that the staff can often be too servile. Another place where I recently enjoyed the service immensely was Azrak in Lucknow. We ate there after half a day on the train from Delhi and wanted a meal somewhere between a snack and lunch. The head server was able to gauge what we needed very quickly and make quick recommendations. Her suggestions were on point, and her demeanour, polite yet not unctuous. On the other end of the spectrum, there are several old-school places which pride themselves on their rudeness, think Koshy’s in Bangalore, or India Coffee House. They are great if you like your coffee with a side of churlishness.