How do you respond to poor service, specifically in regards to restaurants/food service?

I fully understand the differences between waiters and chefs, morpheus.

The only mitigating factor in my eyes is, if a place is packed full of customers. Where I eat doesn't change how I tip. Hell, if I went to a Chili's and the service was absolutely spot-on and very friendly, I'll happily leave 50+%.

If the place is packed but I can see that my server is making every effort to tend to us, I'll forgive some mistakes such as telling the kitchen that I wanted pepper sauce instead of mushroom sauce with my steak.

 

I'm not saying they need to come back ever ten minutes. But they should be refilling water, getting fresh napkins in needed, removing unused plates or glasses from the table, and when they do that... they ask if everything is okay.

 

I'm in agreement with this. Grab the dirty plates, refill the drinks etc, but you don't need to ask me if everything is fine or try to small talk your way into a tip. If there's a problem I'll flag you or I'll let you know when you're grabbin' those refills.

 

It is in EVERY training video at EVERY restaurant to check back and ask. We are gonna do it. It's our job.

If you wanna eat in silence. Stay home.

 

SeanMyklKing

Wrong. Sorry.

Wasn't in my training manual. Quit acting like you're the final authority on all things involving cooking and serving. You aren't. Get over it.

A good server should be just like a good bartender. You read people, you know which people you can mess around with and which people to leave alone etc. It's not difficult.

 

The tip I leave tells them exactly how I feel about their service.

 

You're missing my point. Don't tell me to leave you alone when you've come to MY restaurant to eat MY food. You are my costumer. I have the right to kick you out. I have the right to do whatever I want while you're on my property. I'm providing a service for you. I don't need you to eat my food. There is a nice couple waiting at the door that will appreciate what I'm doing. If you really want to eat without being "bothered" then I have a nice broom closet for you to sit in.

 

SeanMyklKing

Yeah, that attitude is why you'll never make it out of your girlfriends parents pool house.

Sorry but that's shitty business etiquette. You tell enough people that you don't need them and see what happens. Keep thinking you can do whatever you want. Kick me out, you aren't getting paid shit. It's not your property unless you have the deed. You say I'm your customer, but you act like I'm your slave with that attitude. I have the right to tell you anything I fucking please while I'm eating your food. I can say your food is shit. I can say your service is shit. You can't do a goddamn thing about. So keep that attitude and see how far you make it.

So no, I'm not missing a point, you're missing business sense and common sense on how to handle people when you're in the SERVICE industry.

Funny how that word service is there eh? Time to crack open Webster's.

 

I stand by my training.

 

You may be a good cook, but you're a horrible business man if that's your attitude and method.

 

I think there's an art to this. Some waiter/waitresses believe that the more they do for you, the more of a tip. I see what Glory's saying, and there are times where I'm trying to talk with noodle and we keep getting accosted by an OCD waiter. There are times when someone forgets about you (happened to me twice...heh). What I appreciate most, is someone who will take the time to look at the table, read our body language, and react accordingly. If dirty dishes, pick them up. I'll say something if I need something. Same with drinks. Do not ask me how my food is if my mouth is full, or if I haven't touched the entree yet. If I have a bottle of wine, and the glass is empty, fill it. Same with bottled water. If we are absorbed in our conversation, enjoying OUR evening, in an environment that makes us feel relaxed and intimate, don't bother us unless you need to do something. I think the entire process could work, based on a flowchart. It's that simple.

1. Guests are seated
- would you like something to drink?
2. Drinks arrive
- would you like an appetizer?
- inform us if there are any seasonal, or special appetizers
3. Appetizers arrive
- check drinks
- ask about entree ( as a customer, I'd rather take my time and order after appetizers. As a businessman, I'd rather get the order in as fast as possible to get them out the door. On the fence with this one. )
4. Watch drinks, appetizer
- if guests are not eating, ask to box or remove
- pick up the goddamn dishes ( don't know how many times a lazy waiter has left them when our entrees arrive )
- ask if ready to order entree
- refill wine/another bottle/more drinks/etc
- inform of any desserts that may take time to bake
5. Keep an eye on guests' entree
- do they dig in? leave them alone
- do they look around helpless, ask them what they need
6. NOW ask how the fucking food is...heh.

Rinse, wash, repeat for rest of the meal. That's all I ask. Just a little thought and foresight. Let us enjoy our meal and each others company.

 

I agree with uncharted and Glory here.

The service industry is about being pragmatic, maximizing customer satisfaction and ensuring as much repeat business as possible; not about the owner's ego.

Emotions have no place in the day-to-day running of a business.

Nobody cares what the owner wants. It's all about the customer.

 

I swear at some of the places that we go, the waiter has this radar and waits until approximately three seconds after uncharted and I put a bite of food into our mouths and then descends with a "How is everything? Can I get you anything else? No? Okay, I'll check back!" and takes back off with a chipper smile. While we needed a condiment, a utensil or something along those lines. I've also been walked past when I obviously haven't touched anything on my plate, my silverware hasn't moved and I've been trying to flag the waitstaff for awhile. Those are the times that I fully support the tip impact.

If the food is crap, it's not the waitperson's fault... unless they left it sitting under the lights for too long before taking it to the table. I've seen many a waiter get completely flabbergasted by uncharted asking to speak with a manager about the food (and sometimes the service), instead of reflecting the dissatisfaction with the meal in the server's tip (his food karma is legendary). And the places that we frequent, we get good service. I even tip at some of the take-out places we go to weekly... it ensures that they remember me and that my food is always exactly how I want it. When I call the Pho place, they answer the phone "Hello, Noodle, you want #19 and #39a with beef broth?" and the owner makes sure that the kids helping out know that it is me coming, so there is extra sauce, etc. I get greeted by name walking in the door. And you know what? That deserves a $2 tip on my $14.95 take-out pho order, every time. Same goes for a sit-down meal.

 

I come from the land down under,
Where service is shit and patrons chunder....

There is no tipping culture in Aus, and I firmly believe that's why good service here is hard to come by. But when I get bad service I'm usually pretty polite about it, I'll let them know if they fucked something up, if the service is really bad I'll just leave.

I work on a technical service desk, so I deal with people all day who are already in a shit mood because something isn't working. Most people are nice and are even quite understanding of work loads. Others are just assholes. But it's my job to cop it from time to time so I don't take it personally. But, knowing what it's like to cop an ear full of abuse for something that really, isn't a massive deal and is out of your control has made me extremely tolerant to fuck ups in hospitality. My golden rule is I do not get aggressive, rude, or disrespectful and never take it out on the waitresses or waiters. It's a tough job for low wage.

My two dear sisters, however, get really riled up by what they consider bad service and will get super aggressive. I flat out refuse to go out with them to dinner if they can't promise me they won't make a fuss. I can't abide people being rude to anyone when simple polite communication could resolve the problem most times.

 

I fall right between Wk and Glory on this. You don't need to bother a table every 5 minutes, but you need to ask if everything is ok. When I wait tables, I only ask the table once if, "Everything ok, guys?". This is mainly for people who order steaks. I try to give the steak people their plates first (if rotation of serving food is not a big deal) and let them cut into it (most people will cut their steaks right away). I'd rather know right then and there if your steak is over/under cooked. Overcooked means a brand new steak on the grill and could take 7-12 minutes to get back out. Refires can be done within a few minutes. This lessens the amount of time the person will need to get their food fixed and usually lowers the amount of anger from customer. I wouldn't want to wait 5 minutes or have to flag someone down if my steak is over cooked ('cause lets face it, it would have to come out raw and cold to get undercooked for me).

Now, after the initial question (because all the corporate restaurants I worked for *required* this question and you would have points taken away from you if you has a secret shopper), I only show up to refill drinks and take plates (for those tables that give me the "GTFO, we be eating" look). I usually do this with very minimal verbal interaction. I figure showing up to refill drinks, if you need something I'm right there. I don't hover either, I scan the table from a distance and check out key points on a table for things I need to do. I fucking hate people that hover, it makes me feel like I'm being judged in table manners.

Servers that bother you every 5 minutes, they suck. Servers that ignore your presence altogether, they suck. There has to be a middle line with this, a nice middle ground that everyone can be ok with. I try and walk that line when job prospects force me to become a food server and I hope to dog I never have to wait tables again. I fucking HATE waiting tables and dealing with the general public. I'd rather wash dishes than wait tables. Everyone is different and want their food served to them in a certain way. To get this right every single time is fucking hard.

To be a good server you have to be A) able to read body language, B) able remember everything you say/want, C) have quick hands and nimble feet d) do this all without controlling the actual food that is coming out for you while handling 1-6 tables at a time. This is fucking hard to do for anyone, so a good server is few and far between. I've seen some servers be sought after and have other restaurants try and get them over to their own business.

*****

As to the OP, I will leave a 10% tip if they suck. I have in two occasions in my life left no tip and wrote down everything they did wrong. I know what's the waiter's fault and what is the kitchen's fault. I know the normal lies that servers tell in order to take them blame off of themselves and fuck the kitchen over. I can scan a restaurant and know what's going on, how service is doing, if they are under/over-staffed, and if the employees are doing their job correctly. You live in the industry long enough and you can do this without thinking about it.

I will only go to a manager if it is horrible and I'm just disgusted with the whole experience. I talk to managers to give the server a good review more than I do for bad service.

 

Tiny assed tip for bad service. That way they can't think for a second that you've forgotten it. I used to leave a nickel. If I ever left two in a row, I never went back to the restaurant. Delivery gets the same treatment.

 

Seems like you guys have things covered.

Unlike uncle phil, I don't want to be completely left alone. I want to know that server is paying attention to my table.

That said, DO NOT interrupt my conversation to ask if I'm doing okay. It really pisses me off when I'm talking to my wife and the server just butts in to ask.

And we ALWAYS talk to the manager if things go badly. For one, it's important to me that the manager is aware of any problems happening in his dining room (as I assume the wait staff/kitchen isn't going to voluntarily fess up to mistakes). Also, as people have said, the root of the problem may not be evident to me or my party. Maybe it's the server's fault, maybe it's the kitchen's. Maybe it's the fault of the person in charge of ordering ingredients. Maybe the stoves/ovens aren't in working order. It could be any number of things.

Talking to the manager usually reaps more rewards than saving a few bucks on a tip. If the situation is bad, I'm usually comped my meal or given a gift card. I always keep my conversations with management civil and never raise my voice or make accusations. If you act like a normal person and frame the conversation with concern rather than anger, you'll usually come to a happier conclusion

 

If the service is good, I tip 20%. If it's exceptional, I tip 25%. If they screw something up and try to fix it or if the service is average or worse, I tip 15%, and come back some other time. If they don't try to fix it or if the service is bad, but stay polite, they get 10%, and I will never sit in their section again. If they get rude or inattentive, they get stiffed, and I speak with the manager to let them know they might see me in a year from now, but surely not before. Finally, if I get lousy service from cocktail waitresses at a bar twice in a row, I just order from the bar, and I let them know that's where my tab is if they ask, and if they make an issue of it, I ask to speak to their manager and tell him why I have a tab at the bar.