But I can offer you a consolation prize. The Matchbox Café in Rhinebeck, a little stone place on Route 9 south of the village, is another such friendly joint. Owner Sam Cohen introduces himself when you walk in, and the food would bring you back even if the camaraderie didn’t. When I called to ask him about the importance of customer service to his business, he asked if I could call back. He was too busy with customers to talk.
He called me back an hour later. “We try to make our place like Cheers,” he told me (and no, I didn’t prompt him). “I moved here from the city, and there is no customer service there at all. You go into Macy’s and they turn their backs on you and make a phone call. Here we wanted to offer real food at affordable prices, but customer service is an important part of what we do.”
Zagat gave the Matchbox Café great reviews, and a web search will reveal review after review raving about the place. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner six days a week. Cohen said the place is hopping.
It appears there’s a major swing of the pendulum. In the Fifties, the excitement of automation and convenience trumped the personal touch. Perhaps the apex was the automat, where you could get your lunch and never interact with a human being until you reached the cash register. Nowadays, no one pumps your gas (unless you’re in New Jersey), no one checks your oil. You can order your movies on your TV at home and you can even check out at the grocery store without dealing with another person.
Maybe we’re realizing that human interaction and the ability to share information has value. The businesses that are willing to reach out to their customers are reaping the rewards.
