Dealing with bad service

dbnavan

I went into a resturant the other day with my wife, her mother, and her aunt. I wasnt happy with the service so I asked to see a manager,

the following was wrong,

1) Mother-in-law and I ordered same dish yet she got 5 slices of salmon, where I got 2!

Wifes aunt got a cup of coffee whereas rest of us got mugs,

Wifes Aunt got her lunch in 2 seperate parts!(5-7 minutes time gap)

I asked for the coffee while we waited yet it didnt come til after the meal.

When I complained to the manager, i was told "Well first off i wouldnt call the service deplorable"

Reason her aunt got a cup was they ran out of mugs "and there was refills anyway" Reason we waited so long was they only had 1 working coffee pot

no excuse for the rest, I couldnt be arsed arguing anymore with her, it is not the done thing to argue with someone who is unhappy with service!

I dont mind paying a good tip for good service but at the same time if I amnt happy I have no problem complaining! I sent a steak back twice before til it was right, Why should I pay hard earned money for something not as I want it!

Thing that fustrates me about the whole thing is the resturant wasnt local so I cant exactly boycott it, I cant complain to an owner cause she was the owner. I just couldnt beleive somewhere would argue the point of my opinion of their service.

OTliddy

There was similarly bad service a few days ago at a family dinner I was at in a new hotel, where my cousin got very poor service. He ordered beef, and got well-done steak(he likes it rare aswell), his mash potatoes tasted like a salt container was spilt into it. He asked for new mash, and the new batch was just as bad. He then settled for a plate of chips, which were also rank. The service was unpolite and slow. Everyone's else's dinner was pretty bad too. Some of the vegtables and the desserts were processed tinned crap, and they only had chef ketchup. How to deal with it?
He didn't pay and we will never go there again.

WexCan

Just write a letter and spread the word- not much you can do otherwise. The sad fact is they're not going to miss your custom.

Hail 2 Da Chimp

I worked in a shop last year and one of the managers told me " If you leave a customer with a good experience they will tell 5 people, if you leave them with a bad experience they will tell 20", Also "NEVER argue with a customer" think it was some of the best advice i got.

Maybe you should post the name that'd sure make a difference.

WexCan

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote:

I worked in a shop last year and one of the managers told me " If you leave a customer with a good experience they will tell 5 people, if you leave them with a bad experience they will tell 20", Also "NEVER argue with a customer" think it was some of the best advice i got.

Maybe you should post the name that'd sure make a difference.

Yeah, pretty simple customer service concept but some places don't seem to understand that they're running a business and getting paid by their customers, and their customer service standards directly affect their revenue. I mean it is the "hosiptality" industry isn't it.

Ruu_Old

The last 2 restaurants Ive been too have had crappy service. When that happens instead of leaving a tip or complaining about leave 1 penny on the table, that should send the message home What I do.

dizzywizzard

After travelling around quite a bit I refuse to leave a tip in this country now (I'm Irish) unless the service is exceptional. I was in Spain recenlty with 5 other people. Service was amazing and the bill for the 6 of us was always in and around 100 euro. That was including a couple of drinks etc...

I was out recently here in a chinese restaurant.. 2 of us with 1 bottle of wine 125 euro odd...

We have lost the run of ourselves.....

ferdi

name and shame

ferdi

dizzywizzard wrote:

After travelling around quite a bit I refuse to leave a tip in this country now (I'm Irish) unless the service is exceptional. I was in Spain recenlty with 5 other people. Service was amazing and the bill for the 6 of us was always in and around 100 euro. That was including a couple of drinks etc...

I was out recently here in a chinese restaurant.. 2 of us with 1 bottle of wine 125 euro odd...

We have lost the run of ourselves.....

amen to that.

pontovic

Well the best thing to do now dbnavan is to name this restaurant, because I know I'll never go to it if what you have said is anything to go by. They can lose alot more than one customer and with their flippant attitude they deserve to.

Hobbes

Can't name it here. I am sure there is somewhere he can complain to.

Not sure about the law in Ireland but in England you have to pay for the meal before you can make a complaint. Trying to leave without paying can get you arrested (in England).

jd

dizzywizzard wrote:

. I was in Spain recenlty with 5 other people. Service was amazing and the bill for the 6 of us was always in and around 100 euro......

One small point-would you work for Spanish wages here? (Not that I am disagreeing with the main point)

Sleipnir

How on earth did she get a job as manager of a restaurant with that attitude, that's what I'd like to know.

The only other thing you could do is find out who the owner is and write to them. I would be more annoyed with the managers argumentative psoture about the service than with the service itself.

Jumpy

Hobbes wrote:

Can't name it here. I am sure there is somewhere he can complain to.

Not sure about the law in Ireland but in England you have to pay for the meal before you can make a complaint. Trying to leave without paying can get you arrested (in England).

Sorry, but why can you not name it here?

Hobbes

Jumpy wrote:

Sorry, but why can you not name it here?

Because it could become a libel issue.

Saruman

I only tip for good service.. in Ireland where its not expected i only leave a few Euro.. Staff are well paid here. I was in China Palace in Mullingar.. lovely chinese food! Anyway service was excellent. Always had 2 people around waiting to refill water etc.. Food was quick. All in all it came to about €85 or so for the two of us.. full meal, starters, desert and glass of wine for wife (i was driving). I left a €10 tip i think

Had very bad service in the Dundrum Pizza hut.. actually.. had NO service there... 20 mins we were sitting and no one took our order!! When a bunch of new people came in and they got their order taken i threw the menu down and we left. I doubt they even noticed nor cared

Thirdfox

Jumpy: Probably to prevent a defamation action - boards.ie gets sued for thousands etc. etc. - can't prove what was said was correct.

Hagar

@dbNavan I have rather specific needs.

I would like different sized portions of the same meal for different members of our party.
Whilst most of us like mugs, one of us prefers cups, could they cater for this? Also the same person is a finnicky slow eater, could the meal be served in stages?
A coffee after the meal instead of while we are waiting would suit best.

Please could you recommend a restaurant to me.

Thirdfox

Still can't publish probably - innuendo present. Of course if you guys (cough mods) want to take the risk go ahead. The restaurant owners might not see and you won't have a problem...

(not legal advice btw)

i71jskz5xu42pb

Hobbes wrote:

Because it could become a libel issue.

Libel? Was it not a true account of what happened?

Hagar

What innuendo? To me this thread is a Godsend.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to get a restaurant to meet my personal needs?

cournioni

Hail 2 Da Chimp wrote:

I worked in a shop last year and one of the managers told me " If you leave a customer with a good experience they will tell 5 people, if you leave them with a bad experience they will tell 20", Also "NEVER argue with a customer" think it was some of the best advice i got.

Maybe you should post the name that'd sure make a difference.

You're allowed to treat one in every five customers like shíte then so!

Hobbes

PaschalNee wrote:

Libel? Was it not a true account of what happened?

You could PM him and ask him what the resturant was.

Jumpy

Hobbes wrote:

Because it could become a libel issue.

Ever heard of a restaurant review?

Some things I agree with, but boards is a little too strict sometimes.
If something is below standard. Name it.

i71jskz5xu42pb

Hobbes wrote:

You could PM him and ask him what the resturant was.

I just don't get why it this particular post needs to be treated like the third secret of Fatima? There are loads of posts on boards complaining about poor service and the perpetrators are clearly named.

Why is this tread singled out for the heavy hand?

Thirdfox

Even if it were true you must prove so in court (bear in mind if you don't manage to prove the allegations then damages will be increased - increased slur in court). And it will be up to boards.ie to prove the allegations were true, not dbNavan (no offence but boards.ie probably has more money and is therefore a better "mark").

Innuendo is where although it may seem the sentence/post was innocent for those in the know (i.e. those who read all the posts) will know exactly what it means. Courts/juries don't look favourably on innuendo either.

A plea of review would come under fair comment/opinion - need for the statement to be based pretty much only in opinion - here there were substantial facts alleged - probably won't succeed.

Perhaps a defence of qualified privilege - public had interest to hear it, but do you have a duty to publish?

In the end is it better to take a risk of court action or just announce it somewhere else?

Thirdfox

PaschalNee wrote:

I just don't get why it this particular post needs to be treated like the third secret of Fatima? There are loads of posts on boards complaining about poor service and the perpetrators are clearly named.

Why is this tread singled out for the heavy hand?

Well then boards.ie can be sued by the companies mentioned in other posts. Personally I haven't seen them, maybe moderators of the other threads feel it is okay to have potential libel actions on their hands.

The legal discussion forum will not allow the hint of defamation in it... any post that is considered defamatory will be deleted asap.

i71jskz5xu42pb

Thirdfox wrote:

Well then boards.ie can be sued by the companies mentioned in other posts. Personally I haven't seen them

How about this thread "Maggot in my Alpen".

Maybe you didn't see it. Find that hard to believe though given that you posted on that thread.

Pop on over to the any of the Commuting or Broadband discussions - no holds barred in taking pot shots at service provided by the various companies involved there. What's so different about this instance?

Thirdfox

Lol true - must have left my mind - yep Alpen can sue boards.ie for defamation. Didn't think of that when I posted on that thread (Hobbes did mention that it was against the charter though). Didn't give legal advice there either...

There is nothing different in this instance - people are not being hostile to the OP or this post - we're just pointing out that it could result in a lot of damage for boards.ie (just like in those other posts).

I had to add in the disclaimer into my sig so that I could not be potentially liable for anything that I say and people take as legal advice... in fact it would be safer to say in my sig that I know nothing about law at all and words coming out of my mouth are all untrue.

dbnavan

Sorry guys but to prevent the risk of being banned as much as I would like to I amnt going to name the resturant**, As for writing to the owner, according to the waitress it was the owner I spoke to.


** ~Agrees with prior post, we have no problem here naming bb companies and problems with them, ~

Libel :A false publication, as in writing, print, signs, or pictures, that damages a person's reputation

Thirdfox

True - you may know it's true but how will boards.ie convince 12 members of the jury that it is so? On your evidence? It's hardly impartial is it?

Like I said though - the restaurant probably won't take an action: 1. bad publicity 2. they might not know of boards.ie! (those are applicable reasons why the other potentially defamed companies mentioned elsewhere haven't taken legal action).