A Call to Arms Against Bad Service!

This is a request for us, as customers, to take a productive stand against bad service in restaurants (and in general).

Have you ever had service that was not satisfactory? If so what did you do about it? Have you ever though that the issue isn't big enough to complain and risk having your food sabotaged by the staff?

I have had a string of bad experiences and have had a sharp learning curve on how I best handle these situations. It all comes down to letting the correct people know about your issue and informing them without attaching them.


Recently I took some advice from a restaurant to visit, with my dinning partner, their sister restaurant as they were closed for dinner. The sister restaurant turned out to be a cigar lounge/bar. To us it was unacceptable to eat bathed in smoke so we left. I took the time to email the original restaurant that we were unhappy about the advice, which turned out to be a miscommunication on the nature of the venue. They were exceptionally apologetic which was an acceptable end to the issue, however they invites us back for a complimentary meal. The meal ended up being a full dinner with wine included, the experience was surreal and fantastic.


At another restaurant that we visited was out of stock of the first three wines that we tried to order and to add to the frustration the main I wanted was also out. Again I sent an email detailing the events. They researched what had happened that night and sent me a full report and an invite to dinner for two.


This is not meant as a challenge as to who can get the most complimentary dinners, but rather to remind restaurant management that bad service comes from bad management.


If you can see a potential issue that may undermine your experience, be proactive about it. If you don't like your waitrons demeanour, ask for someone else to serve you. If this is too upfront for you, ask the manager to move to another section and inform the manager that you want a different waitron. Unsatisfactory food should be dealt with immediately, not with a snide remark when the plates are cleared. Enough with leaving a restaurant unhappy and only complaining to your friends!


Lets make a concerted effort to make any bad experience be followed by a good one. Eating out is supposed to be an enjoyable experience in the least!