How to Behave in a Restaurant
20th July 2014
I’m sure many of you will have been in a restaurant and witnessed customers acting rudely or unreasonably toward staff. Many of us have also read online reviews that sound entirely one-sided or suspicious.
In an era of anonymous online feedback, it is easy to forget that the vast majority of restaurant owners, managers, and staff work incredibly hard and care deeply about their trade. At the end of the day, they are human beings doing their best.
Here’s a great article I’ve recently read on how to handle restaurant complaints properly:
Top tips for restaurant complaints
So how do you go about complaining when the tasting menu isn’t quite up to scratch?
This is a post from Ingrid Stone and was originally published on her blog – “Letters of a Dissatisfied Woman”.
“1. To quote James Brown – get on the good foot. Restaurant people work hard, so begin by establishing a positive relationship with the waiting staff. Flatter them by asking what they like to eat, what wine they recommend. Showing that you care tells the staff that you not only value their opinion, it also matters what is on your plate.
2. Be nice – and it’s an obvious one, but make eye contact and smile. It is surprising how many customers abandon all common decency when their head is buried in a menu. Heck, you might even be rewarded with a digestif on the house for your efforts.
3. Now that you have created a basic rapport with the staff, you will not be considered a nuisance figure should you need to voice any concerns (politely of course) about your meal. Done respectfully, the restaurant might even welcome your feedback. It gives them the opportunity to make things better – not only for you, but for their other customers.
4. If the waiting staff cannot help, ask to speak to the manager. Use the bonding techniques as described.
5. If the above approach is ineffective, i.e. the restaurant/bar/café doesn’t give a monkey’s, you are fully permitted to share your annoyance to the max. The entire viral world is your oyster, so to speak. Post away about your bad experience and post photographs of your sloppy meal, leave damning reviews on Time Out, Trip Advisor, Square Meal et al – or if you are feeling especially creative, sing a song about the restaurant and post it on YouTube.
6. Finally – do not ever, ever complain about a meal after eating everything on your plate; that really is taking the biscuit.
Bon appétit.”
My wife and I live just outside Cartmel and thankfully we rarely see the above sort of behaviour, maybe it’s because people are enjoying their food so much 😁
Here’s my regularly updated food & drink guide for the Cartmel and Coniston Water areas.