To complain or not
 

Hubby took me for a romantic meal - or should I say tried too. The slightly pricier than usual restaurant was experiencing some difficulties that were kept a secret. We left after 50 minutes of just sitting there - when we asked when the meal was going to be served as we had been waiting a while, the waitress just laughed and said others had been waiting longer - that's what made me cross, we left after a further 10 minutes and went to Denny's instead:(

So do I bother complaining tomorrow or do I just leave it and never darken their doorstep again - I have eaten there at lunch time of 3 previous occasions and the meals have been superb.

Re: To complain or not
 

Sorry it worked out so badly for you.

Complain.
x

Re: To complain or not
 

I'm with Judy -kick butt red deer lady, or if all else fails, leave one of your dogs turds on the door step, that would at least make you feel better.

Mrs Miggins xxx

Re: To complain or not
 

Just forget it and move on - life is too short!

Just never go there again and badmouth them to anyone that will listen!

Re: To complain or not
 

<food service industry veteran>If they were experiencing difficulties [and they said there was a problem], then I'd leave well alone, restaurants often have problems "backstage" that the public aren't aware of (staff not turning up, staff walking out without warning) and the chefs can be somewhat temperamental. Plus there can be problems with food not arriving from suppliers and ovens suddenly deciding not to work...</food service industry>

Re: To complain or not
 

I agree (also ran hotel restaurant bar thingy!) if it was a bad night and as quite rightly put above when restaurants have a bad night then its reaaaaaly bad, the best thing in my experience would be to write a letter doing just the opposite.

ie they will have had lots of complaints making them feel even worse this morning - so write something nice - along the lines of "You came in for a meal and understand that there were some issues so decided to leave so as not to compound their problems. Agree that their normal service and food is fabulous and hope that whatever was wrong has been sorted and that it certainly won't put you off going again. Finish it off with a light hearted line to the staff - not every night will be like that bad days just sometimes happen - or something!

You have my word that they will remember you and you will get treated like royalty for not kicking them when they were down ;)

Re: To complain or not
 

I think you voted with your feet.

Re: To complain or not
 

I tend to agree with MMC. It is entirely possible that the owner(s) know nothing about what happened that night, and they NEED to know. My issue is really with the poor customer focus displayed by your server. This indicates a "poor fit" to the industry, along with the fact that some training is in order. I used to teach this stuff in the corporate world, and from what I have read here, everyone has a good point, but these places will NEVER improve if they don't hear it from the almighty customer.

Re: To complain or not
 

I too worked in the restaurant industry for a very long time - 5 years in management, so know all the pitfalls that running a restaurant entails.

At no point did anyone tell us that there was a backlog, at no point did anyone apologise, at no point did anyone try to find out how long our meals would be and the waitress didn't even offer to refill our glasses and two tables of 4 that were seated after us got fed. Really if they were having a bad night (as bad as it was) we should have been turned away or told that although we could be seated right away, there will be a delay of 20-30 minutes before we can take your order. That way we would have known and we could have made a choice.

I will write a complaint and explain where I feel as a customer they went wrong. The waitress laughing at us would be one point!

Re: To complain or not
 

Customer service is important to the success of any business, there is no excuse for bad service, catering, retail or whatever. If a restaurant is having problems, nothing prevents them from explaining this to the customer, apologizing and doing their best to put it right, complimentary drinks may have soothed many.

Few customers complain, only 2-3%, those that do are doing the business a good service, telling them where they went wrong and giving the information to put it right. Customers who complain are a businesses best friend. It is how you complain that gets the results.

We had a similar situation in West Vancouver. We had our starter and then waited for 40 minutes for the entree. We were told several times it would not be long. After complaining, they offered us a free bottle of wine, however we had already got though 2, so suggested they might want to take one off the bill, which they did after a bit of discussion. After a few more minutes, my mother told the waiter she was headed for the kitchen if it was not out in 5. Well when the time came, up she got and headed over, I have never seen a waiter move so fast, like a ball player trying to block her getting through. The food came out pretty quick then.

Their excuse was that lots of people turned up all at once, my question to them, was this the first time that happened in their 25 years of business?

There can be no excuses for bad service. Difficult situations can be resolved when dealt with correctly and customers kept happy.

Re: To complain or not
 

Silence is more dignified else you'll sound like the perennial whining Brit. :thumbdown:

R.

Re: To complain or not
 

One of the training sessions (that I remember) I had whilst at Beefeater was on customer service. A person goes to a restaurant, has a good meal and tells 2-3 people, who then may tell someone else. A person goes to a restaurant and has a bad meal and tells 7 people, who then tell 7 people. It's human nature, not whinging brits.

Re: To complain or not
 

Two to three is about right for satisfied customers, more like 12 - 15 dissatisfied.

You are doing them a favor letting them know and they should be grateful for the feedback. If they are not then that is their misfortune.

Re: To complain or not
 

The thing about complaining is that you need to complain to the manager or owner. If you complain to the "girl" who answers the phone or who is standing at the front desk, in my experience, she will look at you like "f*** you" and do absolutely nothing.

Re: To complain or not
 

No, the original 7 was correct. Half of the audience weren't listing to the drivel.

R.

Re: To complain or not
 

No, 12- 15 is correct, it was only the narrow minded or service challenged who were not listening.