Good evening All,
I felt it was important to mention that no one is perfect. Just like we have bad days, a restaurant can have a bad day too.
When I'm visiting a restaurant and have a bad experience, I'll write my review, but hold off on posting it. If ever you're in a situation where something is going wrong, whether you received the wrong dish, the server was rude, your food was not cooked properly, whatever....The best thing to do is to bring it to the server's attention. If that fails, you may need to escalate it to the manager or owner. Sometimes it's an easy fix. Mistakes are made because again no human being is perfect. When a restaurant is extremely busy or they are short staffed, the likelihood of a mistake greatly increases. When learning a new job no matter where we work, it takes time and there's no doubt we will make mistakes. Keep that in mind. Be honest and try to be reasonable. Any owner or manager wants to ensure all issues are resolved so that you'll come back. The way the complaint is handled makes all the difference in the world. Also keep in mind that the way the complaint is voiced is equally important.
If your concern is not addressed and you are not appropriately compensated, then I say go ahead and post your unfavourable review. Speaking from the restaurant's perspective, I'd argue that the customer is not always right, but I feel it is extremely important to manage expectations and be fair. After all, the customer is paying and you want them to come back. It is also important to avoid causing a scene that could paint the establishment in a negative light. I've seen owners and chefs with highly inflated egos go off on a customer in a crowded restaurant. In the long run this will hurt their business. For every person that likes a dish, you'll have another that doesn't. Is one right and the other wrong? Which one? Think about the expression "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". You might think you're God's gift to the world, but your opinion is irrelevant. Ultimately it is others that will decide whether or not they like your food. Just because the chef or owner think their food is the best, doesn't mean it is. Confidence is sexy, arrogance is a major turn off. At the end of the day, the majority opinion wins. If you can't handle criticism, the restaurant business is not for you.
My Mom was a caterer for many years and I can tell you it's a tough business. When the owner isn't there, it is not unusual for things to be different. No one could make bread like Mom, so clients could always tell the difference when she didn't make it. She worked extremely long hours and always tried to forecast what clients would need when she was going to be away, but she couldn't read minds or be there 24/7. For her fresh was always key so making things in advance was difficult if not impossible. As previously mentioned, consistency is extremely important when building a clientelle.
Not long ago I was out with a girl friend. We ordered our dinner and 45 minutes later, it still hadn't arrived. It was busy and we were in no rush, so we decided we'd give it another few minutes before reminding the waitress. Suddenly the manager came over apologizing profusely for the delay. There was a problem in the kitchen which should not have affected us. He told us he was picking up our cheque. When we finished eating he insisted on bringing us coffee and dessert on him. This was not typical and he assured us the next time we wouldn't have to wait so long for our food. A perfect example of how an issue, which we hadn't even raised, was addressed leaving you feeling appreciated. We did go back and continue to go back. It's also nice that they recognize us now and go out of their way to make sure we're comfortable and our food comes out quickly. This is how you keep your clients happy. Being able to admit when you've made a mistake or inconvenienced a client speaks very highly of the organization and the importance of customer service. To be honest, we didn't expect him to pick up our bill, a simple apology and explanation for the delay would have sufficed. We left there thoroughly impressed and grateful. To further add, I commend this guy for being attentive and paying attention to what was going on in the restaurant. On a busy night keeping an eye on the bar, tables and the kitchen is a challenge. Before a complaint could be made, he nipped it in the butt and made sure the customer was happy. I'll review this restaurant in another post.
Having been a waitress, there are times where no matter what you say or do, the customer will not be happy. Just do what you can to diffuse the situation and remain as professional as possible. Very hard to do at times, but very necessary in this line of business.
That said, when I have a bad experience chances are I'll go back in and give them another shot. If there's no improvement I'll post the unfavorable review in the hopes that they will read it and work on the problem(s). Reviews are not intended to bash a place, but simply provide constructive criticism to help them improve their business.
Good luck!
Carm the Foodie
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