We were out to eat in Athens with the family and the restaurant was having issues. Understand that I am one of these people who will tell the hostess to seat us at another table if I don’t like the table she gives us. I will also send the food back if I am not satisfied with the item.
On this night, 5 of us ordered the Shrimp and Scallop Bisque at $9.00 a pop. I take one taste of the bisque and said “This is not very good…” It was bland and tasted fishy. Salt and pepper did not help so I sent it back and asked the waiter to take it off of the tab. Everybody else suffered through trying to eat it before giving up. When the waiter comes back, I ask him to take back all of the bisque. The waiter apologizes profusely and takes all 5 bisque off of the bill. Our conversation at the table at this point is should you return food if you are not satisfied or just be quiet.
The entrees arrive and the mashed potatoes and creamed spinach sides are cold. About that time, the manager walks up and asks if everything is okay. A chourus of “Fine” comes from our table. My response was “Honestly? The potatoes and spinach are cold.” He apologized profusely and brought us some hot food. Again, a conversation ensued around the table about should you speak up when things are not up to satisfaction.
My opinion is that if a restaurant is offering their entrees’ for $20 or more, I am not setting the bar too high by asking that food be palatable and hot. Is this asking too much???
As a business owner, you had better hope that your customers speak up when something is wrong. This at least gives you a chance to fix the problem. Unfortunately, most people do not say anything and just never come back.
What would you do? Speak up or say nothing and never go back?
December 16, 2010 at 3:35 pm |
This very thing happened to me Saturday. My food was especially bad and what did i say when the waiter asked how it was, “fine.”. I’ll be speaking up from here on out
December 16, 2010 at 4:09 pm |
Send it back !! It’s the only way the business can address it’s problems, keep you as a customer and learn how to be better. Research shows businesses that fix a problem the moment the customer makes them aware of it have over 8% of those customers telling up to 13 others how good the business is to deal with. Send it back and you improve your meal and you help the business. Great twofer.