"The Food's Good, but the Service SUCKS!"

My friend Jody over at http://www.galacticslacker.com writes

Proposal for your blog: "Ask the Guy."

Dear, Guy, 

I want to know what to do when I get horrible service at a restaurant... repeatedly. 

I love the food, the atmosphere (or lack thereof) and convenience, but the servers are just lazy. I don't really want to punish the owners of this small independent, but .... well?

Sincerely,
Thirsty at table 12.

Thanks for supporting Mom and Pop Jody. Great question, and idea - an interactive blog! Peeps - yes, feel free to fire your questions my way (more details below). Altho instead of "Ask the Guy" I might go with "How Can I Help You?" (Or maybe "What Can Bald Do For You Today..?" Ideas?1?)

I'm betting almost everyone reading this can relate to your question to one degree or another. I'm guessing that by "not punish" the owners, you're implying that you are thinking of NOT patronizing the place any longer, because the service is just that bad.

First off, that is EXACTLY the type of feedback nearly every restaurant manager and certainly owners WANT to hear from their customers. In today's economy especially, things are tough for all of us. So if you're thinking about no longer spending money at their place of business, trust me, Mom and Pop WANT you to give them the feedback they need to address your dissatisfaction, and make you be willing to give them another chance (or two) before they never see your money in their bank account again. I've also found that restaurant owners can be pretty prideful people - do you really think they want people using this blog's headline to describe their restaurant??

It might seem strange or even tough, but you need to talk to them - or just write them a detailed letter. Tell them exactly what you told me - firstly that you love their food, but that you seem to never get drink refills or your customer service needs met when you come there. (You might even add "This is why I don't bring my family or business contacts here" if it's true, that is.)

If they value your patronage, this will likely light a fire under their aprons. If one customer tells them this, they know deep down that many, many more are feeling the same way - and may have already made the decision to not come back. With this exact feedback to work from however, they will almost guaranteed-edly talk to their wait-staff, and either crack down on policies, or begin to look into some "staff adjustments" over time. 

In a smaller town however, it's often hard to hire good people. When I lived and worked in Roswell NM, I feel that there were often employees that should have been disciplined (or fired) that we kept, just to meet the staffing needs. I think your Mom and Pop place faces the same issue. That's a possible reason btw, but not an excuse - just a challenge they need to overcome if they want keep your business. 

To make this approach most effective (especially since you mentioned the place is convenient for you to drop into) I'd recommend making a special trip, so that your visit and complaint is isolated from the incidents you're speaking of. I think you'll have much more impact if you make the effort to drop in when you're not eating, and not particularly upset (i.e., it won't be as easily dismissed as a "heat of the moment" complaint). Just be sure to drop in before or after the lunch "rush" so they have the time to sit and listen to you. 2-4pm is ideal for most places that serve lunch, but definitely not 11am-2pm. A letter might be effective, but a personal visit will show that you've put some thought into addressing this, that you really care, and that you're really at your wit's end and about to give up on them if changes aren't made asap. How could they not respond positively?

My only other advice (which I think you personally already get, bur for others) is to not make the mistake of thinking that tipping poorly is going to get the message across. While you may be justified to tip poorly for poor service, it will most likely have the opposite effect of what you're going for. Especially in small towns, with small staffs, you're just going to be spoken of amongst the wait-staff as "that guy who tips crappy" and they'll become predisposed to pay you even less attention. A vicious cycle, I know. While acting upon the common redneck phrase I heard a lot in Nashville "No tea, no tip" (pronounced "no tay, no teee-ip") by not tipping well may have given the redneck satisfaction for a moment.. what do you really think his tea glass looked like the next time he came in?

Remember tho, I'm 99% certain that Mom and Pop DO want your feedback. Most bigger "chains" utilize comment cards, "mystery shoppers" and/or internet feedback forms these days. Why? Because they really want to know how to keep you and your money coming back, and if some lazy employee(s) is/are screwing up the odds of that happening, they want to know. Sounds like your place is small enough to not be able to afford that, so trying the old-fashioned approach of telling the business owner how you feel is most likely your best shot at getting the service you want from the place you like to eat.

And please do let me know how it works out, so we can update the other readers.

Others .. How Can I Help You Today? Got questions you think I might be able to offer some parsley and sage advice on? Either use the comment field below (it's tricky, and you need to log in to a Google or Blogger account it turns out - so COPY AND SAVE your comments before trying to post - or just FB me, like Jody did. You can also e-mail me via guymalone "at gmail.com.

Get it? "Parsley & Sage Advice!" I think we have a winner...

I crack me up sometimes.