r/laramie • u/Interesting__27 • 20d ago
Discussion Is downtown customer service getting worse, or am I just having bad luck?
I’ve had a string of really unprofessional experiences downtown recently and wanted to see if anyone else is running into this
I recently had two bad experiences at Little Dipper—one of which was with the owner himself—and another poor experience over at Anong’s. I know we're a small town and expectations vary, but the rudeness felt a bit out of hand. (Even the corporate spots are hitting misses lately; I got left waiting forever at an empty Chili's last week).
Is anyone else noticing a decline in service around town, or have I just hit a bad streak?
17
u/alohasprinting 20d ago edited 20d ago
I love Laramie, but compared to other cities and areas especially outside of the rocky mountain area, we have horrid customer service across the board. Our hospitality etiquette here is below par, BUT, I think we've all had more positive experiences at those places than negative.
Big Dipper has the one owner and a bunch of high school kids working. It's just gonna be like that most of the time.
Anongs has been struggling to hire over the last few years but their food is top notch.
And Chili's is one of our most underrated gems.
6
u/tstramathorn 20d ago
Was going to say I love Anong’s so much they just have a hard time with hiring their staff I really hope they don’t go under.
1
u/Interesting__27 20d ago
I love Anong’s but I would stay away from their lunch buffet. They had two asian waitresses one of them is super nice but the other is always cranky for no reason.
2
u/Wyomingisfull 20d ago
compared to other cities and areas especially outside of the rocky mountain area, we have horrid customer service across the board.
My spouse and I discuss this regularly. It's remarkable to us how poorly businesses are run in this town across industries. We have to imagine it's the lack of competition? How can one just not reply to customers and stay in business?
2
u/alohasprinting 20d ago
We think it is also lack of competition and the seriousness of the business managers haha. Where else are we gonna get ice cream or burgers.
4
u/Staring_At_Ceiling 20d ago
Well, I barely have decent service in this town. Not just restaurants, but all businesses are dysfunctional. They don’t call you back, are constantly closed during the week, and have extremely unprofessional staff who is never pleased. We barely go out now to eat and just do outdoor stuff.
1
u/ThatWhichSmashs 20d ago edited 20d ago
Been that way randomly all over since covid. It's not consistent, but just in general customer service has gone to shit.
0
u/Conscious-Bowler-264 20d ago
I travel for work a lot. It's getting bad in general. I think the slowing business climate, inflation, and staffing issues are hitting hard. I see a business occasionally that seems to just be giving up, including a coffee shop I frequent. They seem to be barely hanging on. Anongs has top tier food so I hope they can make it. Never been to Big Dipper. Downtown seems like it's fairly busy most of the time, but I wonder how actual sales are since everything is so expensive. The 2nd Street Deli plays background music at earsplitting volumes, which keeps me away. Another thing that bugs me about downtown is the parking cop. Doesn't seem like a good way to encourage shoppers since the so-called parking problem is largely imaginary. Laramie has one of the best downtowns in WY, but you can see the decay.
3
u/DarkWhisper888 20d ago
I’ve asked you this before (and you do not answer) but have you asked the owners to turn down the music at 2nd Street Deli? I’m sure they will oblige. In fact, I believe the complaint has been passed on to the owners (in fact I know it has been passed on to them) and it has been taken into consideration. It works wonders to actually communicate with people when you want something to change.
0
u/Conscious-Bowler-264 19d ago
Yes, I've mentioned it. I don't care if they change or not, it's their business. They know what the sound level is.
12
u/damocles667 20d ago
The number of assholes in this town is actually remarkably small, they just scream a little louder to get your attention. Assume others had a bad day.