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Diners, stand up for your rights! From LA Times
- Thread starter meryl
- Start date
vicki-in-tucson
Well-known member
A story on the opposite end: a friend had dinner at a mid-to-high end restaurant in DC.
He was very pleased with the food and service so he told the manager the restaurant had done a really good job and that he'd had a wonderful time. The manager was so grateful for the praise that he gave my friend his dinner (and his companion's dinner) FOR FREE. The manager said that he almost never got praise from customers, only complaints. Guess a little praise goes a long way!
He was very pleased with the food and service so he told the manager the restaurant had done a really good job and that he'd had a wonderful time. The manager was so grateful for the praise that he gave my friend his dinner (and his companion's dinner) FOR FREE. The manager said that he almost never got praise from customers, only complaints. Guess a little praise goes a long way!
richard-in-cincy
Well-known member
another praise story
My dad loves a local buffet chain of restaurants, so we take him there for birthdays, father's day, etc. When my brother first told me, my first reaction was "should I bring my own barf bag?"
My brother insured me it was good food. When I went the first time I was blown away. It was real down home comfort food.
Then we tried another location and it was awful. When we next returned to the usual location, my brother asked for the manager (and he approached with trepidation, I'm sure he thought he was going to face irate customers). My brother told him how wonderful the food was and about the experience with another restuarant in the chain, and asked what was the difference at his restaurant.
The manager basically said he has a brigade of grandma's in the back cooking. He told them to throw away the "corporate" recipes and cook the way they do at home.
Go figure.
My dad loves a local buffet chain of restaurants, so we take him there for birthdays, father's day, etc. When my brother first told me, my first reaction was "should I bring my own barf bag?"
My brother insured me it was good food. When I went the first time I was blown away. It was real down home comfort food.
Then we tried another location and it was awful. When we next returned to the usual location, my brother asked for the manager (and he approached with trepidation, I'm sure he thought he was going to face irate customers). My brother told him how wonderful the food was and about the experience with another restuarant in the chain, and asked what was the difference at his restaurant.
The manager basically said he has a brigade of grandma's in the back cooking. He told them to throw away the "corporate" recipes and cook the way they do at home.
Go figure.
vicki-in-tucson
Well-known member
That is so cool...I love it!
Perfect! I agree with every comment, fully. Good point, too, that restaurateurs should
learn from retailers, who really understand service in the US.
I ran into a bizarre incident on my recent flight. I had ordered a particular red wine with my main course, found it corked immediately on smell and handed it back to the steward. He actually told me that someone else in the cabin was drinking it and immediately went to ask that passenger if he had noticed a problem with it. When he returned, he told me that the other passenger had no complaint.
Beyond, "What?!", I was actually speechless but was about to let him know that I really didn't care if the other passenger didn't have a nose.
What would you say to this character? It's not as though I was paying for the wine, or that the cost of the bottle was coming out of his pocket. I did have to bite my tongue. And just told him again that the wine was corked and asked for a different wine...which was fine. Very strange behaviour.
learn from retailers, who really understand service in the US.
I ran into a bizarre incident on my recent flight. I had ordered a particular red wine with my main course, found it corked immediately on smell and handed it back to the steward. He actually told me that someone else in the cabin was drinking it and immediately went to ask that passenger if he had noticed a problem with it. When he returned, he told me that the other passenger had no complaint.
Beyond, "What?!", I was actually speechless but was about to let him know that I really didn't care if the other passenger didn't have a nose.
What would you say to this character? It's not as though I was paying for the wine, or that the cost of the bottle was coming out of his pocket. I did have to bite my tongue. And just told him again that the wine was corked and asked for a different wine...which was fine. Very strange behaviour.
HA! I bet there are tons of people not familiar with the term "corked." I wonder if I could
tell the difference?
My friend is a wine buyer and had the same experience at a wine bar.
In some ways, I'm thinking the more sophisticated you become, the fewer people understand what it is that you're knowlegeable about. A flight attendant on an airplane is not someone I'd expect to have a range of knowlege about wine.
As a former server, whenever I encountered something I didn't know about (whether it was a steak cooked to temp or other issue), until I got familiar with the topic, I too would get flustered. Then I'd gain my compsure and do something about the problem.
I'm having restaurant service flashbacks right now. Often times I didn't A. Understand the problem B. Didn't know whether I had the authority to do something about it C. Depending on the issue...I didn't even know what the proper course of correction was.
tell the difference?
My friend is a wine buyer and had the same experience at a wine bar.
In some ways, I'm thinking the more sophisticated you become, the fewer people understand what it is that you're knowlegeable about. A flight attendant on an airplane is not someone I'd expect to have a range of knowlege about wine.
As a former server, whenever I encountered something I didn't know about (whether it was a steak cooked to temp or other issue), until I got familiar with the topic, I too would get flustered. Then I'd gain my compsure and do something about the problem.
I'm having restaurant service flashbacks right now. Often times I didn't A. Understand the problem B. Didn't know whether I had the authority to do something about it C. Depending on the issue...I didn't even know what the proper course of correction was.