The last time I had a bad experience at this restaurant, I told the manager. She then confronted the waitress we had a problem with right in front of our table.
I couldn't do that again. So what do I do?
Just pretend it didn't happen? E-mail corporate? Call corporate? Just not say anything and quit visiting this restaurant?
Let me give you the scenario:
My parents were getting in from out of town. We decided that we would meet for lunch. It was a few minutes after 1pm on Sunday. I walked in and had to place my name on the list. I was told that for 3 people, it was a 5 to 10 minute wait. I saw LOTS of empty tables. But 5 minutes wasn't that bad. My parents hadn't even gotten there yet.
One observation I made while waiting my 5 minutes was that none of the staff had a smile on their face. No one looked happy and no one was making eye contact with the customers. This concerned me.
I got to our table and within seconds, my parents walked in. They saw some friends at another table and stopped to talk. The waitress was super fast in asking me what I would like to drink. I told her and she returned with it. She then asked my parents what they would like to drink. They told her. This time it took over 5 minutes for her to return with their drinks.
Once we ordered, our meal took an extra long time to arrive. We finally got it. At this point, instead of just refilling our drinks, the waitress asks if we would like refills. Umm....I have less than a sip left and you just brought my meal....should that have even been a question?
She never checked on us during our meal and never asked how our food was. Which by the way, wasn't too good.
In the meantime, I noticed a couple that had been seated at the booth beside us. They ordered water to drink. It took this waitress over 15 minutes to bring them their water.
The main reason we picked this restaurant was because we had a coupon. The check came and it took her 15 minutes or longer to get the coupon reflected on the ticket.
At this point, my frustration level was at a extreme high. But I kept my cool. I didn't want to be rude to her and it affect her other customers.
So how would you handle this? Or would you just let it go?
Go ahead and sound off! Tell me what your thoughts are.
I think that I would send an email (privately...not on Facebook for all the world to see) to the restaurant manager and then maybe let him/her know that you have also sent that same email to their corporate office. They need to know what is going on and I would imagine that most are pretty clueless. I'm curious now...where were ya'll at? lol
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I would send that privately! And it was in Mt. Juliet....ugh!
DeleteI can't stand bad customer service! We have a choice as to where to spend our money...coupon or not. I've walked out of restaurants if it took them too long to bring my drink. That first mishap is usually a good indicator that service isn't going to be great. We don't know if it's the waitress's fault or if it was management's fault...but that doesn't really matter. What matters is that you, the customer, were not happy. I would definitely send an e-mail to corporate at the very least. I've done that in the past for a certain chain restaurant and have gotten pretty positive feedback from it. If you don't see the changes you want then let your money talk and don't visit the restaurant again.
ReplyDeleteTime to put this to the test. I'm ready to see if they will do anything. I don't plan on going back anytime soon though!
DeleteTipped poorly, or not at all, and never gone back. It didn't sound like there was any portion of the situation that was pleasant, so why bother. This is especially true if it has happened before. In the end you have to feel like you are getting what you pay for (time/money/opportunity cost), and if you aren't on multiple occasions, then it isn't worth it.
ReplyDeleteI don't plan on going back. At least not for a very long time!
DeleteGirl, don't we know about customer service! I still can't stand to walk into a store and not be spoken to or at least smiled at by an employee. You should definitely send some form of communication and maybe suggest a little retraining. You should also add your extensive background in customer service and hospitality. You and I both know that not saying anything might be more damaging in the long run and that someone would want to know what was going on and how they might fix the situation. Yes, retail doesn't always pay well, but it pays even less when people stop shopping and dining somewhere. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI know!!! All i'm asking for is for someone to be nice. If the kitchen was slow, tell me. If you're swamped because every table you have sat down at the same time, tell me. I'll be less upset if you tell me and apologize for the delays. And you're right. They need to know so they can fix it.
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