ON THE TOWN:Hopelessly devoid of good customer service

Good service should not be something to celebrate. It should be the norm.

In one recent weekend, I was subjected to customer-service extremes, which led me to believe that although there is hope, there are still plenty of hopless retail establishments.

Unless something catastrophic happens on the first visit, most restaurants are worth two attempts.

That’s because judging a restaurant from one visit is like trying to review a movie by looking at one scene. If you happen to hit the low point in an otherwise worthwhile event, you’ll get the wrong impression.

Our first attempt at eating at a Costa Mesa restaurant started out poorly, with a bad experience in the parking lot and the valet service. That, of course, has no bearing on whether to continue, so we went inside to eat.

The restaurant was pleasant enough. The food was very good, and the service was good enough. But the restaurant did not have the wine I ordered. Another one was recommended to us, but it was not very good. For a restaurant with an Italian wine country theme, not having a wine on the list and then recommending something inferior was a poor start.

But the restaurant had promise, so when we got together with friends the other night, we decided to give it another shot.

Our reservation was for 8 p.m. Because we’d spent so much time at home just catching up, we arrived at 8:15, but I called the restaurant at 8 to let the staff know we’d be there in 15 minutes.

Inside, at 8:15, the host in the crowded restaurant told me that the wait would be at least an hour, quite possibly even 90 minutes.

“Because we are late? I phoned to let you know,” I pleaded.

“No,” came the reply. “It’s just really busy. All these people have reservations.”

No apology, no offer to buy us a drink, no nothing.

Then he said, “It could be less.”

“How much less?” I asked.

“Maybe half an hour or 40 minutes.”

I did a quick calculation and figured that by the time we got to another restaurant and waited there, we would easily have consumed the 40 minutes we’d be waiting for our table.

So we stayed. That was a big mistake. We waited an hour and 45 minutes, finally got seated, and although the service was very good, the fillet that the server told me was the best he’d ever had was just OK.

It wasn’t really the wait or the so-so food. It was that no one cared.

At two Newport-Mesa coffee bars, no one said “thank you” to me when I received my change. Unusual for them but worth noting.

At an oil-change shop I recently went to in Costa Mesa, the service and care, once again, was exceptional. That’s why I keep going back.

As busy as a high-end department store was during a recent sale, I got what I wanted and got in and out in record time, thanks to the heavier staffing and thanks to sales associates who are wired to serve. I don’t know or care if they are on commission, all I know is that they provide great service.

At a recent stop at an electronics store in Metro Pointe, I was waiting for my son when an already-busy sales associate walked up and asked me if I needed help finding anything.

That’s the type of good service that helps your business grow.