Restaurant owner restores my faith in customer service

In an era where customer service is virtually non-existant in many establishments, I want to give a great big shout-out to a restaurant owner who has single handedly retored my faith in customer service and mankind in general. 

Last week my buyer’s agent, Julie Sommerfeld and her buyer were touring homes in the Ahwatukee area.  At lunch time they were looking for a nice place to relax, regroup & enjoy lunch.  They happened upon Le Ragazze Italian Grill but alas, as they tried to open the door, they noticed the restaurant was not open for lunch.

As they turned to go, a gentleman inside opened the door and asked if he could help them.  Julie explained that they hadn’t noticed the restaurant was closed and asked him if he could recommend a restaurant in the area.  He replied that accept for a sandwich shop, there really wasn’t anything nearby.

At that, he opened the door wide and said, “I’m Lefty Karropoulos, the owner, come on in and I’ll whip you up something for lunch”.

The ladies hesitated as they were a bit taken aback by the offer, but Lefty insisted and they were hungry, after all.

Lefty graciously escorted them to a table and asked them what they would like.  After a brief deer-in-the-headlights pause by the ladies, he suggested a nice salad and accompaniments.

Within just a few minutes, Lefty returned to the table with a beautiful gourmet salad and all the fixings.

As the ladies enjoyed their lunch, Lefty worked on paperwork at a nearby table.  As the ladies talked, it was soon discovered that Lefty and Ms. Buyer were both from New York and Lefty proceeded to share how happy he was to have made the move from New York to Ahwatukee.  Ms. Buyer was thrilled to hear this testimony from a fellow New Yorker and it calmed her fears about the relocation.

As lunch ended, the ladies asked for the bill.  Lefty waved his hand and said “on the house”.

Now tell me…where in the world can you find a restaurant with customer service like this?  The only place I know of is Le Ragazze Italian Grill located at 1334 E. Chandler Blvd. in Ahwatukee.

If you’re ever in the area for dinner, please stop in for a delicious meal and be sure and say “Hi” to Lefty!