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When you send something back . . .

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Started 9 months ago by KCMiller
Latest reply from 2thDoc

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KCMiller

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What do you expect from a restaurant when you have to send a dish back? I ask this because of what happened to me last night. Briefly, my husband and I went to a fine dining restaurant, and I ordered a dish that came out totally wrong (what the menu described as a walleye piccata came covered in very spicy cajun seasoning). I sent it back, nicely, then waited almost 20 minutes for my replacement dish to arrive, and it was pretty much just plopped down in front of me. No apology, no manager checking if it was OK, no offer of coffee or dessert on the house, not to mention no offer to take it off the bill. And the replacement dish was not well done, either - no seasoning at all, from what I could tell, just broiled fish - piccata is lemon, butter and capers, right? I didn't bother to send it back again. We just asked for the check, and the server didn't even ask why I hadn't eaten my meal.

The restaurant in question has been around for MANY years, and I understand that they were slammed last night - they had offered a Groupon that was expiring that day, and the place was packed. But is that an excuse? What do YOU expect when you have to send something back? Was I wrong to think that, at the very least, a manager would stop by to see if everything was OK?

Thanks for your input!

KC

Posted 9 months ago #
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I think the groupon may have had a lot to do with it. That is not an excuse and I think you have every right to feel wronged. This is how good restaurants go bad.

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeliberty
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apology is standard, even if you are at McDonalds. and a rush on the dish or free appetizer while you wait. Or free coupons for something. I was at easton and got take-out from PFchangs. i called it in, lady took my order, and I went to pick it up. they never fired the order by the time I got there so i had to wait, they appologized, offered me a free drink while I waited (I declined) and gave me 2 free appetizer coupons. I wouldn't hesitate to go back.

given the events of last night, there are wayyyy to many other restaurants out there. bad customer service will kill your restaurant. the other day, I went to a place downtown. there was the cashier standing there talking to someone, and 2 people behind the counter talking about some work duties. i stood there for about 3 minutes before turning around and leaving. at least acknowlege the customer and say "I'll be right with you" or something. there is no excuse for bad service and that is something I will not pay for.

Posted 9 months ago #
melikecheese
Merion Village
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In cases like this I wish people would publish the name of the place.

Why be "nice" and tip toe around it when you clearly had bad service and they did not care about your time there. if they give bad service and no one complains, why would they change the way they do things?

The more people who make public comments and voice their opinion, the faster their policy and processes will change, you also give this place a chance to speak up for themselves. Being busy is no excuse for the floor manager to not even stop by to talk with you.

Hopefully you at least put a review on Yelp! Too much being nice and we just won't know what places give crap service and we will keep going back to them.

Posted 9 months ago #
KCMiller

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melikecheese said:
In cases like this I wish people would publish the name of the place.

Why be "nice" and tip toe around it when you clearly had bad service and they did not care about your time there. if they give bad service and no one complains, why would they change the way they do things?

The more people who make public comments and voice their opinion, the faster their policy and processes will change, you also give this place a chance to speak up for themselves. Being busy is no excuse for the floor manager to not even stop by to talk with you.

Hopefully you at least put a review on Yelp! Too much being nice and we just won't know what places give crap service and we will keep going back to them.

(removed)- and yup, I did post a review on Yelp.

KC

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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How do the policies and processes change posting on CU vs. sending a direct email to the manager/owner or asking for a manager prior to leaving?

I was kind of glad to see you hadn't posted the name at first. Was hoping you would have an update with management or owners response to your experience. At least to me that's what I would consider a real review: we had x problem and this is how management took care of us.

Reading the OP, one might assume that the server simply didn't bother to tell management there was an issue and merely tried to sweep it under the rug.

Posted 9 months ago #
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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I know people love Groupon, but I think it leads to this kind of stuff. Restaurants lose money on those deals - what they are banking on are folks coming in, ordering drinks/extras and making up the difference. That happens sometimes, but not all the time. So, the restaurant gets slammed, the servers get pissy because folks aren't tipping to the correct amount (the amount the meal would have been w/out the Groupon) and the whole night kind of goes to shit, from the restaurant's perspective. I'm not excusing the actions of this one restaurant, or this server by any means - but I think that signing up for the discount programs can lead a restaurant down a path they weren't expecting.

Posted 9 months ago #
Twixlen
Westgate, Columbus
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lifeontwowheels said:
How do the policies and processes change posting on CU vs. sending a direct email to the manager/owner or asking for a manager prior to leaving?

I was kind of glad to see you hadn't posted the name at first. Was hoping you would have an update with management or owners response to your experience. At least to me that's what I would consider a real review: we had x problem and this is how management took care of us.

Reading the OP, one might assume that the server simply didn't bother to tell management there was an issue and merely tried to sweep it under the rug.

Yes - this as well. I really hope folks are still going thru the appropriate channels when they have an issue with a business. How can that business ever know that they had an issue? There's not a lot of credibility to Yelp reviews for this very reason - one person's bad experience doesn't mean it's a bad restaurant. Even multiple bad experiences, if it's obvious that the same server is on shift for all. How can that manager know there's an issue, without direct feedback from a customer - if not in that moment, then later, via a phone call or email.

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeliberty
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I don't care about if a person has to go through proper channels. that is more work for the customer, which, the reason I eat out is so I have to do less work. if a client goes to a restaurant and publishes their experience then that is fair game, that was their experience.

Posted 9 months ago #
KCMiller

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KCMiller said:
(removed)- and yup, I did post a review on Yelp.

KC

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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lifeliberty said:
I don't care about if a person has to go through proper channels. that is more work for the customer, which, the reason I eat out is so I have to do less work. if a client goes to a restaurant and publishes their experience then that is fair game, that was their experience.

How hard is it to ask for a manager in the 20 minutes you are waiting for the meal after sending it back? And if you have the time to pop on both Yelp and CU, you surely have the time to send an email saying the same thing.

At this point we assume the owner or manager is actually watching Yelp or a site like CU. And given the nature of running a business, it may not be the highest priority vs. a an email sent or call made.

Posted 9 months ago #
KCMiller

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I decided to remove the name of the restaurant - the other posters had a good point about what good will that do, and it could be an isolated incident brought about by it being too busy due to the Groupon.

I will say that, although we were told when we arrived that they were all booked up for the evening, that no tables were available but that we were welcome to sit at the bar, that during our entire time there (from 5:30 to 7pm) there were open and empty tables both in the dining room and out on the patio. And this is a restaurant that is usually very busy (as I said, they've been in business for many years, and you don't stay in the restaurant business if you're not busy). Sitting, as we were, at the bar, I had a direct line of sight into the open kitchen. I watched my plate being brought back by the bartender, watched the angry glance in my direction and the bad word on the lips of the cook, and when my new dish was ready, I saw the expediter in the red chefs coat take my plate, hand it to a runner, who handed it to the bartender who was waiting on us (along with everyone else sitting at the bar), who plopped the dish down in front of me and went back to another customer. And when we left, I did stop by the hostess stand to ask if I could speak to a manager, and the young (and I mean YOUNG) lady at the stand said, and I quote, 'he's pretty busy, is it important?' To which I replied that it wasn't, and left.

I'm not quibbling with how busy they were, or that perhaps the kitchen was slammed, or any of that. I'm just wondering if anyone else thinks that the restaurant could have handled this better.

KC

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeliberty
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I've worked in so many aspects of the food service industry, catering, deli, server, barback, bartender, all customer service positions. Me asking for a manager, looking for special treatment, etc etc is something I just don't do. yeah, management loves feedback so they can correct things, but on the other hand, a lot of people complaining are scammers and doing so because they want handouts. I would never want to be lumped in with that. I take the experience at a restaurant as a whole, and they either have their shit together or they don't.

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeliberty
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i will also say, anyone that hasn't seen the movie "Waiting" should check it out. it is to resaurants what "office space" is to working in an office. there are a lot of truisms in it.

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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O they certainly could have and it seems your issue came from the staff, not so much the management. Which is why I suggested, in addition to posting an on-line review, why not simply cut and paste this to an email to management? You might see some amount of resolution or nothing at all. In that case, you can give a much fuller review that is of much greater value than simply "service sucked".

My parents travel a lot with my sister and her dive team. They have definitely had more than their share of inattentive, rude, poor or otherwise horrendous service/product issues at some of the hotels or restaurants they patronize. They always seem to get pretty good satisfaction (hotel rooms comped, meals or deserts comped or a return visit comped) voicing their issues on the spot.

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeontwowheels
Highland West
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lifeliberty said:
I've worked in so many aspects of the food service industry, catering, deli, server, barback, bartender, all customer service positions. Me asking for a manager, looking for special treatment, etc etc is something I just don't do. yeah, management loves feedback so they can correct things, but on the other hand, a lot of people complaining are scammers and doing so because they want handouts. I would never want to be lumped in with that. I take the experience at a restaurant as a whole, and they either have their shit together or they don't.
lot of people complaining are scammers and doing so because they want handouts. I would never want to be lumped in with that. I take the experience at a restaurant as a whole, and they either have their shit together or they don't.

Having had a similar background, I tend to be pretty low key as well. Some of the more notable complaints I had to deal with were pretty ridiculous. That said, as someone who takes pride in working my ass off I would hate to see a good place go under and people out of a job because a few service staff didn't take pride or value their work. I tend to think the external customer's voice goes a little bit further to correcting issues just on the fact that they ultimately pay the bills.

Posted 9 months ago #
GW_Justice
Grandview Hts.
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I have only once asked to have a dish sent back to the kitchen, many years ago. The replacement I got was better - but it didn't solve the problem of the out-of-sync meals. The person (or persons) you are dining with will finish their meals well before you, then sit and watch as you eat your food.

I don't see any solution to this, even if the management expedites your replacement dish it will be an uncomfortable situation. I think the only response to a bad meal that works is to ask for more bread, eat the part of the meal that is tolerable, then mention your bad experience to the management on the way out. A bad meal is something that can't be undone. It can be made better by comps, but you can't make time reverse.

Posted 9 months ago #
lifeliberty
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GW_Justice said:
I have only once asked to have a dish sent back to the kitchen, many years ago. The replacement I got was better - but it didn't solve the problem of the out-of-sync meals. The person (or persons) you are dining with will finish their meals well before you, then sit and watch as you eat your food.

I don't see any solution to this, even if the management expedites your replacement dish it will be an uncomfortable situation. I think the only response to a bad meal that works is to ask for more bread, eat the part of the meal that is tolerable, then mention your bad experience to the management on the way out. A bad meal is something that can't be undone. It can be made better by comps, but you can't make time reverse.

very well written, +1

Posted 9 months ago #
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lifeliberty said:
very well written, +1

+2

Posted 9 months ago #
JoeMitchell

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never, just pay and leave

Posted 9 months ago #