Thursday, 17 April 2008

Poor service

It has been suggested that as well as having nominations for great customer service on my blog, I also have nominations for CRAPPY service.

I agree that poor or rude customer service are causes of varying degrees of frustration and annoyance, but what do you think getting it off your chest in public, and having a dedicated listing of same down the sidebar of my blog?

I'm interested in any thoughts on the subject.
Posted on by Rita
15 comments

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

we shouldn't focus on the negative so much... our joy should come from the great experiences we have...

people are far to quick to complain.

LT

Anonymous said...

Agreed, LT. It's true bad service can ruin a meal anywhere, but if we praise the fantastic experiences we do have, let's hope the rest try to match up!

Susannah said...

Tempting as it is to open the floodgates, I also agree that we should focus on the positives for the side bar. Anything that is really egregious will come up in comments anyway. What we as consumers should be doing is passing on comments about negative experiences directly to the establishment. Too often, we grumble afterwards, but have neglected to give direct feedback at the time.
It doesn't need to be rude or objectionable, but it would help a lot of places if at some stage during the meal we pass on the comment (ie "The food was lovely, however we found the service tonight to be slower than we would like".)

Anonymous said...

Your side bar wouldn't be long enough.

Anonymous said...

Hi Rita,
I'm a bit worried that my email this morning may have been the catalyst for this suggestion.
My comment was made very tongue in cheek. Although the waitress in question definately deserves to be on such a role, I really don't think it is such a great idea either.
As LT pointed out, some people are very quick to complain, and what one person may find fault with, another may think is perfectly okay.
I think you cop enough rough comments sometimes,just reviewing restaurants without making it personal. Some ones Mum or husband defending their loved ones could get pretty vicious.
The gobbler would probably love the controversy though.
By naming those we feel are offenders, what good could it do really.
Susannah has a great point about reporting it back to the establishment. I have actually done that. That way a quiet word could be had, or a loud one if needed. If the service was that bad I'd even comment on it to the actual person. Just as I do when I receive great service.
I also agree with mehitabel. Just not enough room.

Rita said...

Thanks all for your comments. You have verified what I suspected, and I am totally with you all in your thoughts about needing to focus on positives rather than negatives - hence my current sidebar of great customer service providers.
I love seeing this list growing weekly.
But, as this blog incorporates peoples opinions generally, if that was what many people thought they wanted to see here, I would have considered it. As it is, you were all quite definite in your opinions, which match mine, so all's well that ends well.

Anonymous said...

Rita-my feelinga re that a sidebar of bad service offenders would be difficult not to appear as though it was a personal attack. Also agree with others that we should concentrate on the positives, as this is constructive. Everyone will still use your blog as a forum to discuss negative service & food experiences.

Christina, I dont like controversy for its own sake. In the past I have been very forthright with my opinions on mine & others blogs & they have often divided responses sometimes illiciting some passionate views, postive & negative.
I enjoy bringing up issues that get people ruminating & questioning things.
I alos dont generally do restaurant reviews firstly cause I dont eat a lot & secondly cause I feel if I cant really comment as objectively as I'd like.
Also, its hard enough to make a living here in food without someone sniping away on the side lines.
Rita I am not talking about you as I feel you reviews have a consistant & respectful tone that seperates them from our local trad media offering.

Anonymous said...

If you are going to have a 'negative' area I'd rather it show the owners who regularly go broke, owe suppliers big $'s and then somehow open another place 3 months later. It's my pet peeve of the moment. Probably get sued though.

Afterall bad service is really just bad management.

Anonymous said...

Rita me thinks you should get some legal advice before going down this road.
You as the publisher could be leaving yourself wide open for legal action.It is worth asking a friendly lawyer just in case.
- others in oz have been cleaned out for harming some ones good name and remember you would have to fight the claim in what ever court or state the writ was lodged in.

We live in legal times.

I'm not a lawyer but a pot shuffler

Cool Room

Rita said...

Guys - it's OK. I'm NOT doing it. I wouldn't have thought of it myself to do, as I don't think that way.
It was just coincidental that on one day, two separate people made the same comment to me, and I wanted to see what others thought about it, that's all.
You're absolutely right Cool Room. We live in scarily legal times, and I'm very aware of these issues. Also I simply wouldn't want to upset or alienate more people than I already seem to have!
It's a tough life here on the blog when you want to add your 10c worth of opinion to anything!

Whitey said...

10 cents?

Are you offering cash for comment?

Rita said...

Whitey - where the hell have you been? We miss you!
(That'll be 10c thanks!)

Anonymous said...

My father is a very big advocate of giving feedback directly to the restaurant not at the time of the meal, but in a letter or phone call another day. As a manager in the Hospitality Industry i would greatly appreciate such feedback at a more relaxed out of service time, or if it happened to be a night off and a staff member was acting out of sorts it would be great to know about!

Anonymous said...

My father is a very big advocate of giving feedback directly to the restaurant not at the time of the meal, but in a letter or phone call another day. As a manager in the Hospitality Industry i would greatly appreciate such feedback at a more relaxed out of service time, or if it happened to be a night off and a staff member was acting out of sorts it would be great to know about!

Whitey said...

It's good to be back. With the 10 cents - I thought you were offering to pay for each comment.

I would happily bag every restaurant where I have paid the bill. What an easy way to earn 60 cents!