Speaking Your Mind in 101 Difficult Situations by Don Gabor

Author:Don Gabor
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-07-24T00:00:00+00:00

#35 “THIS MEAL IS UNACCEPTABLE!”

Has this aggravating situation ever happened to you? You have a special evening to celebrate and you’ve made reservations at an expensive restaurant for you and your companion. Much to your chagrin, you wait forty-five minutes and then are seated near the kitchen. To make matters worse, it takes your surly waiter another twenty minutes to ask for your order. When your meals finally come, your companion’s steak is burned instead of rare and the accompanying string beans are ice cold.

Dining out is supposed to be a pleasurable experience, but nothing can leave a bad taste in your mouth faster than receiving a poorly prepared meal and then paying a large bill! Unfortunately yelling at the waiter or throwing a tantrum in public will only embarrass your companion and ruin your special evening.

Getting Poor Table Service? Ask to See the Manager

Conscientious restaurant managers know that dissatisfied customers do not come back or recommend their eating establishment to others. Correcting an unacceptable meal improves a restaurant’s reputation because patrons know that the management cares about their customers and values their business.

Here are some acceptable ways of dealing with an unacceptable meal and poor table service. Again, tact and assertiveness are your tools to correct the problem without getting upset or causing an embarrassing situation. Immediately call the waiter to your table. If he or she is nowhere to be seen, politely ask any other waiter or person employed by the restaurant to pass this message along by saying:

“Excuse me. Will you ask our waiter to come to our table immediately? There is a problem with our meal. Thank you.”

When your waiter appears, simply say:

“We have a problem with this meal. I ordered…, and as you can see, that’s not what we have received. I’d appreciate it if you would please bring me…. Thank you.”

If the waiter begins to argue with you by saying:

“You ordered your meat well done, not rare. I can handle this job, believe me!”

Don’t bother discussing the matter with your waiter any further. Politely ask to see the manager immediately. When the manager arrives, say:

“I’m sure you and your chef want to know when a meal isn’t prepared or presented correctly. I tried explaining the problem with our meal to our waiter, but he doesn’t seem to understand. Will you please tell the chef that we want our steak rare, not well-done. Thank you.”

A smart restaurant manager will quickly correct the problem and explain to the waiter how to handle customers who are dissatisfied with a meal. If the manager isn’t helpful, you can say:

“I’m taking my business elsewhere.”

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