Lockwood

So, thanks to a tip from Jen, who works for a company that evaluates service, I have a new gig as a mystery shopper for hospitality firms. The application involved a few questions probing your experience in the hospitality industry and some short essays to assess writing ability. As a former hotelie who is currently not working in the hospitality industry (and thus would not have any conflicts of interest with clients), I qualified handily.

Perusing the database of available assignments, it was quickly impressed upon me that all of these places were fairly upscale and quite pricey. Oh boy, getting paid for meals and hotel stays at places I can't/choose not to afford! Plus, I'd be able to take a guest with me. How much better could this get? I signed up for a bar evaluation at Lockwood, the restaurant at the Palmer House Hilton. Soon after, my inbox began to be barraged with paperwork on how to evaluate my experience. Hmm, there might be a catch to this "free food" deal after all...

The assignment was to go to Lockwood, order two rounds of drinks from the bar, and then order food from the bar menu. I was asked to pay close attention to the bartenders while handling cash, ask for a generic drink (such as a vodka tonic) to see if they upsell the drink, and identify a manager by the end of the night. If I didn't see a manager, I was supposed to ask for one. A list of suggested conversation topics with the manager was provided, including the prompt "Why doesn't this wine list have more South African wines?" Hah, somehow I don't think I'd be able to pull that line off. Oh, I also needed to meticulously remember times (when the food was ordered, when it arrived, when the plates were cleared, etc), appearances of the employees (without using race as an identifier), and whether employees smiled and made eye contact. And those were just the major items. Needless to say, in total, there was a four-page long checklist of items to observe. Have I mentioned how unobservant I generally am? Like the time I participated in a psych experiment designed to test eye witness accuracy, and I didn't even notice the mugging happening in the video?

For extra reassurance, I brought Jen with me for this first evaluation. After all, she probably knows better than me what to look for. We sat down at the bar, and I nervously watched our bartender like a hawk, while trying to hold up a conversation with Jen. After a while, I did start to relax (or maybe it was the alcohol hitting my bloodstream), but having to monitor and scrutinize the experience definitely puts a damper on happy hour. Luckily, a manager was clearly visible, so I didn't have to awkwardly ask for one. The highlight of the night was definitely the food; we ordered the Kobe beef sliders and the bruschetta, and both were fabulous, definitely a step above your usual bar food. The bruschetta in particular was innovative, and was presented in three small crocks that included roasted red and orange bell pepper, portabello mushroom, and heirloom yellow and orange tomato.

Immediately afterwards, I went home and began writing up my evaluation report. This took quite a bit longer than I'd anticipated, as I racked my brain to remember who cleared my glass, or how long it took for our food to arrive. There were a few mistakes made (they didn't ID us, a credit card wasn't held for our tab), but overall, I thought the experience went well. Next week, we'll see how good my write-up was because each report gets scored for completeness and style. Hopefully, the number won't be abysmal and I'll be able to keep signing up for new evaluation opportunities.

Update:
-Time Out Chicago's review of Lockwood from Jan '08 roundly pans the restaurant. Oh my, I did not have the same experience at all. Evidently things have improved since the beginning of the year?
-Critiquing the Critics, from Lockwood Executive Chef Phil Foss (the rest of his blog is quite entertaining as well)