I’m putting this into GQ in the hopes of a good clear answer, but IMHO might prove more suitable.
This holliday the I had a situation that I didn’t know how best to deal with.
The Bippy family had gone to a nice restaurant we use ocasionally (4 times a year ish) where we normally get great service. This year though the service was awfull, food orders being forgotten, even after the waiter was reminded, drinks not getting topped up, food not getting cleared away for excessive periods…
We had several options, but weren’t sure what to do.
Grin and bare it, paying a normal tip
Pay a reduced tip, without comment.
Pay a reduced tip, telling the waiter why.
Asking to talk to the manager
Paying a full tip, but directly to the water server (who was giving an excellent service) not to the waiter.
Paying a full tip, and writing a letter to the restaurant about the problems.
This was a restaurant we will use again, so we didn’t want to make problems. We chose to do 1) from the above, but I am not sure that was the best idea.
What would doper’s in the restaurant buisness say would have been our best option?
Number 3, plus number 4. The waiter needs to know why the tip was reduced, and he probably already knows, the manager needs to know as well. If you are regular customers, perhaps you can make sure you don’t get that waiter next trip.
DEFINITELY talk to the manager - it’s not too late to do that still. I’ve been posting a lot lately in defense of good servers, but I would never suggest that anyone tolerate bad service! You are indeed paying for the privilege of being waited on, and you have every right to expect that service to be AT LEAST adequate!!
Oh, one other thing (I got all carried away with anger on your behalf and forgot to post my point) – the manager needs to know about your bad service experience because that reflects on the restaurant. It is possible that your server was just having an “off” night, but if he’s just a slacker, believe me, the restaurant doesn’t want him waiting on their customers. Be polite in your letter (or call), just as you were in your post, and I’m sure the manager will be understanding of your predicament.
As someone who eats out a lot, I agree with #3 and #4.
One other thing to consider, though: Was it the waiter’s fault? Sometimes crappy service is the result of bad scheduling and poor management, in which case #4 might not be meaningful. I’ve had mediocre to crappy service a number of times when my server was working his/her tail off, but the host/hostesses had them spread out so thin that everyone was getting crappy service. I do evaluate that sort of thing. At the places I go, usually there’s someone working there that has waited on me before, and if I get a newbie who was a substandard, I’ve mentioned it to one of the more familiar wait-staff. I’ve had pretty good success on return visits with that, and they never seem to “hold it against me.” (Or at least, if they did, they didn’t show it.)
Thank’s LifeOnWry, there was a deffinate wish not to cause any sort of embarissment at the restaurant by not tipping, or asking for the manager there. The restaurnat is really my brother’s concern (it is near where he lives, I weant to his family for Xmas) but I will make your suggestion to him, next time we talk. Our parents were also there, so we didn’t want to make any sort of scene in the restaurant itself.
I am known among my friends as the queen of complaint (and compliment!) letter writing. Here are my tips:
Be factual and polite, as LifeOnWry said.
Set the tone of your letter as if you and the manager are compadres working together to solve a common problem. In combination with my first suggestion, be complimentary in that you like the restaurant very much, but were unpleasantly surprised by the service on that one occasion. And you know that the manager would want to know about what happened.
Suggest possible future solutions for the problems you saw.
If you are looking for compensation for your experience, say what you would like. Does the server need extra training in the mechanics of serving, or in people skills? Was the service so egregiously bad that you don’t think the restaurant can possibly benefit from continuing to have that person working there? Did you blow a lot of money on what turned out to be a bad experience, so that perhaps a gift certificate for next time might make things better? Let the boss know how he/she can make things right with you (within reason, please).
I have found that often how a business handles a complaint makes me a more enthusiastic customer than if the problem had never occurred at all.
Side story: One time we went to a nice Mexican restaurant that was having an off night. The waitress apologized for the slow arrival of our food, telling us that they were unexpectedly extremely short-staffed in both the dining room and the kitchen that night. But she kept us apprised of the situation and kept our chip basket and drinks filled while we waited, and waited, and waited for our food. We weren’t on a schedule that night, so no big deal. We left a nice tip and complimented the hostess on our way out for the staff’s grace under pressure. She just about fell over – most of the other customers had apparently been complaining about the slow service. More flies with honey, etc.
Learn the names of the good waiters and ask the hostess to sit you in their section. This lets you put a positive spin on things. You get to praise the employee and the service. If you tip well, the waiter is going to love you as a regular.
My rule for tipping is you start at 15 percent and then you go up or down based on the service. You should tip because of the serivce/effort, not because of a feeling of obligation or guilt. I don’t know how low I’d go, though.
Most excellent advice, Scarlet, makes me wish for a clapping / bravo smiley.
I have applied the above technique, to the letter, although in person, a number of times. In every single occasion, the manager was thankful for the information, and offered compensation / correction unsolicited.
I always start the conversation along the lines of:
I/We really enjoy your establishment, and want it to be successfull, so I though you should know that … *
In one occasion, at a big-box hardware store where I was served by a woefully undertrained clerk when buying a garden-shed building materials package, it lead to a detailed review of the items in the package with both the lumber and hardware managers, resulting in a highly upgraded shed, for the same price as the base package, and a promise to review their original package, so it wound up helping everyone else who woul buy that package from then on.
This is also a great way to deliver a compliment, as it lets you highlight to the manager what a great asset an employee giving good service is, which is more likely to result in benefit to the employee, I think.
