I've been a Customer Service trainer for decades, so perhaps I'm overly picky about behaviors that drive customers crazy. Here are two outrageous disruptions that ruined our meal in fav restaurants.
Having spent my younger days in the restaurant and the customer service industry for the food service industry I maybe can shed a little light. Most of the time it has to do with not having enough help. Cleaning the floors has to be done and usually it is done after closing at night but if someone didn't do the floors they have to be done when you have a spare person. I would suspect the person who cleans the table and that causes someone else who already is working with a full plate has to prepare for a large group and already being short staffed it causes tension in the ranks. A lot of things happen that the public doesn't see but a little patience would be a big help especially with local Mom and Pop places.
Hi Paul, thank you for your comment. I can appreciate your perspective. Two of my brothers are restaurant owners/managers and have shared similar stories about staffing issues, timing, etc. It’s a juggling act for sure.
I happen to know that you’re not overly picky or cranky. Matter of fact, I’m not so sure I’ve ever seen you cranky.
To the point - i’m not sure how comfortable you would feel sending or giving the owner a copy of your article but it has all the key points: Cust service, financial impact and feedback. The owner would be crazy not to apologize and do whatever she could to keep you coming back. If she and her staff don’t care they should consider another line of work.
Like you, Laura, these things grate on me and probably assume an importance beyond their actual significance!
I've lived much of my life in small country towns across Australia, and one of the common experiences is finding people (sometimes business owners) in retail & customer facing roles who just should not be there. This is generally driven by lack of jobs, or lack of people to fill them.
These businesses only survive because they have no competition - anywhere else, it's a business killer that an owner should make first priority to be on top of.
But it's their job, not yours.
Your "feedback vs never go back" numbers tally with what I've seen and my own experience. But I also think there is fundamentally no obligation on customers to provide detailed feedback on every transaction, and never can be. With most customer-service businesses it’s just impractical. How do you do it in a busy lunchtime rush? With a take-away? Over the top of a high counter? The stores just aren’t set up for it. If you’re at your local and it’s quiet, and you’re a regular – up to you. But to try to make this the “rule” is both unreasonable, and not how the marketplace works.
One of my sisters gives immediate feedback routinely - my observation is she is widely hated by shop owners and salespeople, almost none of whom take it well.
And while I can sympathise, those who make the “You don’t know the exact circumstances…” argument, I think are also on the wrong track. You can’t, and never will, and that’s why it’s just not your “job” as a customer. The supplier's job is to present you their best product, and yours to pay for it. Anything else is just a complete misunderstanding of the customer/supplier relationship in a very transactional market. This isn’t a boutique winery – some of these places are making thousands of sales a day. They need to keep an eye on how customers are reacting, but that’s THEIR job. And maybe I’m selfish, but my life is too full of my stuff to be across the lives and businesses of every single person I interact with every day.
I also see the "one disgruntled staff member" excuse. If the owner has poor and unhappy staff who are affecting customers, then they should be finding out themselves. That’s their job – they should be there, every day, on the spot. It’s possible for them to pick up that something might be wrong - you were there an hour or so, max, and managed to discern it. They do have agency in what happens in their own shop - many would be there probably 12-14 hours every day.
The same sister mentioned above is a great salesperson, fantastic with customers across multiple businesses. Me, not at all - I should never be in sales or customer service. It's a skill, a talent, a capability - a point of difference with your competition.
The customer-service business owner who says, while hanging up the "Closed" sign, "No one told me", is saying a lot more than they know.
Tony, super valid points! Kind of reminds me of some advice a friend once offered, “It’s not our job to fix them.” (I think that advice would be well-advised in many marriages! Grin) Thank you for your insightful comment. You have given me some great teaching points for my next customer service seminar!
Your comments are apropos. But there is another side to the story.
I've worked in a restaurant recently, and am trying like hell not to go back when the place re-opens for the summer.
It is one of the most dysfunctional work environments in the world. I've been sexually harassed by homosexual cooks. I've seen a restaurant blown up (not literally) by a meth addict cook. They had to close the place for the rest of the season, and we were all thrown out of work.
I've had to work a commercial dishwashing machine that couldn't meet the regulations for sanitation. I've seen chicken breasts that fell on the floor, and the cook just picked them up and fed them into the breading machine.
The drama in most restaurant kitchens is at insane levels.
All of this affects the servers, and even management. In most restaurants you visit, there will be someone who can't take it any more and is ready to snap. Sometimes, it's the manager.
I know full well of what you speak, Ken. Restaurants, as a rule, are gross beyond description. I did maintenance on all types, from small Ma and Pa independent diners, to national franchises everyone reading this would recognize. Smaller places are often pretty well run, but because of my many years-long working knowledge of day-to-day operations of chain restaurants, it ruined dining out for me in all but the most rare occasions. If the public really knew just how much filth lies on every inch of surface area of a typical franchise restaurant, they would never, ever eat at those places again. This doesn't even consider the poison they pass off as food these days, most of it I would have apprehension feeding to a dog. I hope you sell more subscriptions and photographs and are spared going back to work there.
Yikes! I’ll bet your story is not an aberration. My son has worked in a restaurant kitchen at a number of places and at one place they had chicken marinating in a drawer under the stove. When he went to clean it, he found chicken bits that had been there for who-knows-how-long. It didn’t seem to bother anyone when he brought it to the attention of the manager. So he cleaned it and then quit soon afterwards.
I hope you don’t have to go back there this summer, Ken!
This made me think. As did the note below by Paul.
Both of these stories can be explained by staff feeling overworked and stressed out by their next task. But they can also be explained by something else, I'd call it thoughtlessness. The staff were more focused on themselves and their task (clearing table, washing floors) that they overlooked the impact on their customers.
Yes, the table needed clearing, but it could have been done in a way which impacted customers less. Yes, the floor needed cleaning, but it could have been done in a way which impacted customers less.
Having spent my younger days in the restaurant and the customer service industry for the food service industry I maybe can shed a little light. Most of the time it has to do with not having enough help. Cleaning the floors has to be done and usually it is done after closing at night but if someone didn't do the floors they have to be done when you have a spare person. I would suspect the person who cleans the table and that causes someone else who already is working with a full plate has to prepare for a large group and already being short staffed it causes tension in the ranks. A lot of things happen that the public doesn't see but a little patience would be a big help especially with local Mom and Pop places.
Hi Paul, thank you for your comment. I can appreciate your perspective. Two of my brothers are restaurant owners/managers and have shared similar stories about staffing issues, timing, etc. It’s a juggling act for sure.
I happen to know that you’re not overly picky or cranky. Matter of fact, I’m not so sure I’ve ever seen you cranky.
To the point - i’m not sure how comfortable you would feel sending or giving the owner a copy of your article but it has all the key points: Cust service, financial impact and feedback. The owner would be crazy not to apologize and do whatever she could to keep you coming back. If she and her staff don’t care they should consider another line of work.
Bwahaha, you should have seen me the day I got a bad haircut! 😊 I was mighty cranky then! Thank you for your kind words though, Carole!
Like you, Laura, these things grate on me and probably assume an importance beyond their actual significance!
I've lived much of my life in small country towns across Australia, and one of the common experiences is finding people (sometimes business owners) in retail & customer facing roles who just should not be there. This is generally driven by lack of jobs, or lack of people to fill them.
These businesses only survive because they have no competition - anywhere else, it's a business killer that an owner should make first priority to be on top of.
But it's their job, not yours.
Your "feedback vs never go back" numbers tally with what I've seen and my own experience. But I also think there is fundamentally no obligation on customers to provide detailed feedback on every transaction, and never can be. With most customer-service businesses it’s just impractical. How do you do it in a busy lunchtime rush? With a take-away? Over the top of a high counter? The stores just aren’t set up for it. If you’re at your local and it’s quiet, and you’re a regular – up to you. But to try to make this the “rule” is both unreasonable, and not how the marketplace works.
One of my sisters gives immediate feedback routinely - my observation is she is widely hated by shop owners and salespeople, almost none of whom take it well.
And while I can sympathise, those who make the “You don’t know the exact circumstances…” argument, I think are also on the wrong track. You can’t, and never will, and that’s why it’s just not your “job” as a customer. The supplier's job is to present you their best product, and yours to pay for it. Anything else is just a complete misunderstanding of the customer/supplier relationship in a very transactional market. This isn’t a boutique winery – some of these places are making thousands of sales a day. They need to keep an eye on how customers are reacting, but that’s THEIR job. And maybe I’m selfish, but my life is too full of my stuff to be across the lives and businesses of every single person I interact with every day.
I also see the "one disgruntled staff member" excuse. If the owner has poor and unhappy staff who are affecting customers, then they should be finding out themselves. That’s their job – they should be there, every day, on the spot. It’s possible for them to pick up that something might be wrong - you were there an hour or so, max, and managed to discern it. They do have agency in what happens in their own shop - many would be there probably 12-14 hours every day.
The same sister mentioned above is a great salesperson, fantastic with customers across multiple businesses. Me, not at all - I should never be in sales or customer service. It's a skill, a talent, a capability - a point of difference with your competition.
The customer-service business owner who says, while hanging up the "Closed" sign, "No one told me", is saying a lot more than they know.
Tony, super valid points! Kind of reminds me of some advice a friend once offered, “It’s not our job to fix them.” (I think that advice would be well-advised in many marriages! Grin) Thank you for your insightful comment. You have given me some great teaching points for my next customer service seminar!
Your comments are apropos. But there is another side to the story.
I've worked in a restaurant recently, and am trying like hell not to go back when the place re-opens for the summer.
It is one of the most dysfunctional work environments in the world. I've been sexually harassed by homosexual cooks. I've seen a restaurant blown up (not literally) by a meth addict cook. They had to close the place for the rest of the season, and we were all thrown out of work.
I've had to work a commercial dishwashing machine that couldn't meet the regulations for sanitation. I've seen chicken breasts that fell on the floor, and the cook just picked them up and fed them into the breading machine.
The drama in most restaurant kitchens is at insane levels.
All of this affects the servers, and even management. In most restaurants you visit, there will be someone who can't take it any more and is ready to snap. Sometimes, it's the manager.
I know full well of what you speak, Ken. Restaurants, as a rule, are gross beyond description. I did maintenance on all types, from small Ma and Pa independent diners, to national franchises everyone reading this would recognize. Smaller places are often pretty well run, but because of my many years-long working knowledge of day-to-day operations of chain restaurants, it ruined dining out for me in all but the most rare occasions. If the public really knew just how much filth lies on every inch of surface area of a typical franchise restaurant, they would never, ever eat at those places again. This doesn't even consider the poison they pass off as food these days, most of it I would have apprehension feeding to a dog. I hope you sell more subscriptions and photographs and are spared going back to work there.
Here’s a little meme I came across some years ago. Seems apropos to drop it here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/me_irl/comments/ra7i8i/me_irl/#lightbox
Yikes!
Yikes! I’ll bet your story is not an aberration. My son has worked in a restaurant kitchen at a number of places and at one place they had chicken marinating in a drawer under the stove. When he went to clean it, he found chicken bits that had been there for who-knows-how-long. It didn’t seem to bother anyone when he brought it to the attention of the manager. So he cleaned it and then quit soon afterwards.
I hope you don’t have to go back there this summer, Ken!
This made me think. As did the note below by Paul.
Both of these stories can be explained by staff feeling overworked and stressed out by their next task. But they can also be explained by something else, I'd call it thoughtlessness. The staff were more focused on themselves and their task (clearing table, washing floors) that they overlooked the impact on their customers.
Yes, the table needed clearing, but it could have been done in a way which impacted customers less. Yes, the floor needed cleaning, but it could have been done in a way which impacted customers less.
Thank you for posting this.
Claudia, thank you for your comment. I agree that thoughtlessness was at the root of it. Appreciate your insights!