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People who were interviewed for their thoughts on what foodservice operators should be addressing included service -- either the lack of it, the lack of training for it or the inconsistency of it. While it is known that service is relative, there is no such thing as good, consistent service, and it does not exist. Unlike food, service cannot be controlled. No screening process, hiring process, personality evaluation, reference or training program can adequately keep on top of every front-of-the-house person as is necessary. Any time you have multiple personalities working in a foodservice environment with as much freedom as they have, you will have problems. The problems are not just the problems in the foodservice field, but in all areas where employee and customer interaction happen. A staggering decline in the quality of employee in the workplace and the turnaround is not happening anytime soon. The challenge is to recognize the problem and do the best to counteract it.

Last year Nation's Restaurant News did a special section called "Consumer Trends: What Do They Want (And Why)?" May 23, 2005, and something about it bothered me.

I reread the issue until it finally hit me - all of the people interviewed for their thoughts on what operators should be addressing were targeting details that they do well and think others should, too. Once I realized this, reading their comments became humorous ... and then sad.

You see, there was one comment made several times about service - either the lack of it, the lack of training for it or the inconsistency of it. For the sake of argument - and I know much will be said about my next statement - let's say we are specifically talking about front-of-the-house service, or that delivered by the host staff, servers, bus persons and counter persons.

Let's get real. While we all know that service is relative, there is no such thing as good, consistent service. It does not exist. I know that there are those who immediately will dismiss my comment or become indignant because I have never seen their operation, but I stand by the statement unequivocally. Let me explain before you fire off a letter bashing my ignorance of your unparalleled execution in the front-of-the-house.

Food, while it isn't easy, is easier to control than service. Look at The Cheesecake Factory with its high-quality offerings. They have almost unequalled success in delivering plate after plate of great food. Food can be controlled by a great kitchen manager, expediter or general manager. We do taste tests, product checks, line checks, temperature checks and who knows what else. Food can be controlled.

Service cannot. No screening process, hiring process, personality evaluation, reference or training program can adequately keep on top of every front-of-the-house person as is necessary. Any time you have multiple personalities working in a foodservice environment with as much freedom as they have, you will have problems. Of course, your GM is great and his store is running like a top. Yes, certainly your servers love their jobs and would do anything to ensure the success of your operation. Baloney.

Your GM is not at every table with every server taking every order. He is helping seat guests, or putting out a fire somewhere, maybe helping in the kitchen because you are short-handed. Your training program may be top notch, the best in the business, but that will only get you so far.

And that manager you hired? He may be knowledgeable in some areas but when you talk about good service with him, you are speaking in abstract terminology. The details swim around him like Einstein's theories. We have been neglectful in our specifics about service as an industry, and our incompetence is showing.

Chain executives are so far removed from the operation no matter how involved they are that there is no way they can truly know what happens in the units. Most independent operators are busy trying to cut labor or food cost, and their reliance on someone in the front-of-the-house with little or no training is costing them more than that $8-an-hour cook. Managers are required to fill out paperwork or fill in on shifts for absent employees.

My comments come from experience, my friends, not just mere observations.

In operations, I preached the good sermons about great service. I gave excellent examples of what I expected to see and was specific about common situations and how to handle them. I checked references, and my training programs were as detailed as possible. Testing became an obsession, and I was "in the zone." Ah, I was one of the best. I had tremendous confidence in my servers and what each table experienced.

Well, I had that confidence for a number of years, and then a nagging reality became evident. My die-hard passion for guest service was falling on more than a few deaf ears. Oh, I had the 10 percent of employees that we all get who do everything asked of them. Nonetheless, I suppose that my rose-colored glasses eventually turned gray.

I would hear a comment at a table by a server who did not know I was there and be shocked. My hostess would quote wait times with no rhyme or reason and could not explain to me why. These were mistakes by educated people - people who I thought cared about their jobs, my opinion and what our guests thought. But they didn't always, and that is what hurt the most.

They cared when it was convenient or when they passed their tests at school that day. They cared when they needed money for rent or their cars needed repairs. But on a regular day, it didn't really seem to matter. For some, even the financial need didn't matter all that much.

It is no different for a quick-service restaurant. The person taking the order at the counter has no stake in making sure the order is put in correctly, and that person's wage makes that observation a reality. For those who think I am wrong, try living on that wage for a month. If your bills are all paid and your family is fed, I will apologize profusely.

I would blow off such instances of apathy at first, thinking that we had made a bad hire. But after working with thousands of employees in several concepts, I realized that our industry's problem lies not just in our lack of training but in society itself. Parents have children with no manners, no work ethic and the tact of a goat. Children with a sense of false entitlement want a job and pay but have no desire to work for it. I have read article after article about Generations X, Y and Z, and how we should relate to them, how we need to be more on their level and come across as friends, not heavy-handed employers.

There are still operators out there who treat their employees as pieces of meat and confound many of us who wonder how they keep people at all. But for the most part, we are an industry of operators who sympathize, empathize and relate. And still there are those employees who don't show up for a shift because of a party they are having or have been to, or those who could care less about work in one place because they know they could easily find work someplace else. We have all hired them whether we know it or not - or will admit it or not.

Again, I know that there are some good employees out there, but that 10 percent I mentioned isn't enough. Guests are looked at as cash machines with the tip being the only consideration. How many times has a server performed poorly throughout the meal only to drop the check and suddenly become your best friend? We all see it everywhere else but refuse to believe it exists in our own operations. Wake up! You are as affected as anyone else, and your denial is becoming nothing more than a hollow ringing in the ears of those who know.

I am disappointed and, yes, jaded. But my sorrow comes from my experiences as a consumer as much as an operator. Our problems are not just our problems in the foodservice field, but in all areas where employee and customer interaction happen. Retail operations have the same indictment to bear.

The other day while shopping for a suit, two employees were talking to each other across two departments. When asked what her supervisor had said in a meeting, the other employee replied in a loud voice, "Just a bunch of crap."

As a consumer, I am offended. As a business owner, I am mortified. I hurt inside when I hear things like that. I want people to like their jobs. I want them to treat guests as family. I want to treat them right and pay them well for work well done. I guess I want it all.

Granted, I look at the operations of the Pappas family and still hold out hope. I know that there are islands in the ocean that exist in all arenas of customer contact. But they are few.

To those who say I sound too pessimistic, I say that I am just realistic. The past 10 years have seen a staggering decline in the quality of employee in the workplace and the turnaround isn't happening anytime soon. The challenge is to recognize the problem and do our best to counteract it.

What we have done so far isn't working. Independents must see the importance of this as an investment in people and not an expense. Executives in home offices cannot turn a blind eye to this any longer and must act. We have grown to accept this pathetic idea that we have done all we can.

Our managers must have more time on the floor. Try appointing a front-of-the-house GM and a back-of-the-house GM. Be creative, but do something! If we tackle this like we tackled food safety, our industry soon will reap the rewards others can only wish for. We are an industry of leaders and innovators, and our time to act is now.