Good customer service and dinasaurs..A thing of the past?

I'm a creature of habit. I usually go to the same restaurants and my menu selections are pretty consistent. I always tip well and I am not the type of person to give the service people a hard time. Just recently, I realized that many of these restaurants see me in there all the time and yet, the service I receive is average if not poor. No one takes the time to try and learn your order (even though you order there often and it's always the same). No one cares about knowing your name. They seldom even care enough to say hello to you anymore. Case in point is recently, my wife and I went to a local restaurant that we have often frequented. She ordered her customary $10.00 glass of wine, and then another, and then we ordered dinner. The host and the female food server were both very familiar to us. When our food came out, the entrees were cold. When we mentioned this to the food server, she frowned and told us "this has never happened before" as she continued to stare at us. We offered that there is a first time for everything and so she should test the food. She did and agreed it was cold. She took the food back. About 30 minutes later she came back and told us the food was almost done. Another 20 minutes passed before she came back with our plates. Now the food was just luckwarm. When we commented about that, her response was she would have to talk to her general manager. The gentleman came over and immediately told us he would comp our meals although we never asked him for that. He offered this as if that was our objective all along. From there, we got into a sad conversation with him about how often we ate there. He was aware of this since we saw us there often. Then, we finished and left.

Now I know that the economic times have forced many businesses to cut back on staff. Many companies are struggling to stay afloat and as a result, raises and incentives are being cut back. Employees are being asked to work harder for less compensation. All of these factors have an influence on the quality of service, no doubt, but if you want to generate business, wouldn't a logical place to start be in how you treat your existing customers?

The restaurant story took place about six months ago. We had been going to that restaurant about two or three times per month, but since that night, we haven't been back. We haven't been back because we realize all we wanted was some simple recognition and appreciation for our business. It would have been fine with me if the food server had just apologized and gotten the order right in a reasonable time frame (not an extra hour). Had she responded that way, we would have been satisfied and there would have been no need to offer us compensation as if we were the problem child needing a fix.

Now, I work in the car business. Buying a car is the second most important and expensive decision a person will make. For many people, their car purchase will be their most expensive and important decision. This reality creates significant anxiety and stress when making this transaction. I am a firm believer that my job is to make that process as easy and enjoyable as is humanly possible for the customer. I believe this because this is basically what I want when I venture out as a consumer. You should feel special and attended to. you should feel respected and you should know whatever information you receive is correct and timely. I'm for building a movement to bring back quality personal customer service. Do you agree? I would love to hear people's thoughts!