We have all been to a restaurant with someone who always seems to find something wrong. The worst part is that there are those that find something wrong simply to get something for free. It drives me nuts. If you are complaining in an effort to get a free dessert, something is wrong.
Years ago we moved to northern California. While we were on a house-hunting trip we were staying at a very nice hotel with a really good restaurant. In the middle of our meal the table across from us have a major issue. The customer claimed to have found a cockroach in their salad. There was a blow-up with the waiter and then the manager. After the offended party had left in a huff, the manager came up to us and explained that it was the fifth time he had the same incident happen. It turned out the “Offended” party had replicated a scene from the movie “Victor Victoria” that had recently played in theatres. Maybe the people at the table across from us were just bad actors.
The sad part is that the easiest way for managers of a restaurant or anyone in a service industry to deal with an unruly customer is to give them something for nothing. It is almost like we are being trained to complain. Social media is compounding the problem as complainers have a larger platform to hear their complaints and management is more than motivated to make complaints go away.
When I have a problem at a restaurant I will go out my way to try to explain that I am complaining to let the restaurant know about a problem and that I do not want something for nothing. This has actually worked against me. I once took customers to a very nice restaurant. There were 5 of us and we ordered a bottle of wine. The waiter “over-poured” the wine for 4 guests and then came to me with “you will want another bottle of wine”. The waiter then tried to “up-sell” a few more times through the course of the dinner. It was a situation where I didn’t want to make an issue in front of my customers. The issue just stayed with me. The next day I called the restaurant and got the manager. I told him that I wanted him to be aware but I did not want something for nothing. He handled the situation very well finally he said to me “I know that if I don’t give you something to come back you won’t”. He was right I didn’t accept something and I didn’t go back for 5 years. It became my problem.
I don’t have a solution to the problem. I do know that I make a practice of avoiding known offenders (you know who you are). I also go out of my way to complement good service. I am one of those relics that will still send hand-written notes. I send lots of notes. I also try to use social media to be positive. If you look for good stuff you can find it. In most cases it is easier to be nice. And besides, you probably are better off without the extra calories associated with a free dessert.
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