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Restaurant Situation
http://cookaholics.org/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=3482
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Author:  beccaporter [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 3:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Restaurant Situation

I understand that in print it's easy say we should have stayed, but if you could have felt it... it was very uncomfortable. I might could have gracefully made it through the meal, but my husband is not graceful.

More than anything, I was mad that someone dropped the ball repeatedly. Three times on Facebook, plus at least once when I made the reservation. I mean they messaged me on FB today just fine. It felt very intentional. I think he mistyped dinner instead of lunch, and he was quietly trying to get out of the whole thing.

I can certainly handle mistakes, I'm just not sure this was one. Plus, my husband said when the waiter went off to check with his manager, that he actually stayed in his view the whole time NOT talking to anyone. Weird.

Author:  TheFuzzy [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 3:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Restaurant Situation

Becca,

I'd speak with them. Most likely they will offer you a replacement free meal or something similar to make up for the mistake.

My guess is that they are likely technology challenged, and honestly screwed this up on the back office side of things.

I'm also wondering how much of your bad feelings about the visit were due to the messed-up reservation, and how much they were due to the attitude of the staff? It really sounds to me like the restaurant staff could have handled the problem more graciously, and not made you feel like a "charity case". What separates good staff from bad is how they handle a problem, like, can they verify your free meal without making you feel like a thief, even though the manager isn't available? Certainly Lance's response doesn't impress me: "oh, you're just one of hundreds of people we comp, please excuse us for forgetting about you entirely". I sense some defensiveness by the staff here. I'm also bothered by the fact that even after your letter, the owner didn't bother to contact you personally.

One of the things that impressed me with Colibri here in the city is how they handled things when OpenTable melted down on them. Their hostess explained to each patron that all of the reservations had been lost, and took people's word for it that they had a reservation and begged patience with filling it. The whole experience left me with a very positive view of Colibri, even though we were seated nearly an hour late. And that's because the staff made us feel wanted and begged our patience instead of treating the meltdown as our problem. Plus, you know, free drinks.

To sum up: they screwed up, and they compounded it by having a bad attitude about the screw-up. Now they need to make amends to you. If they don't, then you should definitely avoid their restaurant in the future ... and share that information with your friends on Facebook, too. I would give them one more chance before trashing their rep on Facebook, personally, but maybe you want someone to back you up when you take that call.

Author:  Da Bull Man [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 3:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Restaurant Situation

TheFuzzy wrote:
I would give them one more chance before trashing their rep on Facebook,



And fry em on Yelp, Urbanspoon, etc... :twisted: :lol:

Author:  TheFuzzy [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 3:51 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Restaurant Situation

Becca,

BTW, if you wanna see how I actually deal with really bad attitude from incompetent staff:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/rontoms-portlan ... MODxkM2R8A

I got some impressive hate mail over that review, but apparently it's been seen by a lot of people; it's the #1 review for Romtom's. They contacted me afterwards, of course, but at that point my evening was already ruined and I wasn't interested in giving them a chance to ruin another one. Plus, like your guy Lance, they were defensive and made up excuses for why they screwed up.

So that does bring you to an important point regarding your next conversation with Cotton's: if they start making excuses, just hang up on them. If they won't admit that they screwed up, then they will screw up again.

Author:  Amy [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 3:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Restaurant Situation

Sorry Josh, I don't agree with you.

"You catch more bees with honey than vinegar."

The reason I got the refunds I did (as mentioned in my earlier post) is because I was polite about the lack of customer service, yet at the same time firm.

And San Francisco is vastly different than Monroe, LA, or even Telluride, CO.

Assume the best...

Assuming the worst seems to be the mantra of society today, and it really makes me very sad.

Amy

Author:  TheFuzzy [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Restaurant Situation

Amy,

http://xkcd.com/357/

From my perspective, the restaurant has *already* blown two chances to make things up to Becca; when they got that letter, the owner himself should have called her, and if not the owner, the staff should have been very very apologetic, and they weren't. Now the burden's on them to admit their mistake, get down on their metaphorical belly, and crawl. I would give them a chance to do so, personally -- after all, they still owe her a dinner -- but I certainly wouldn't tolerate any excuses at this point.

Hmmm, I wonder if the owner has even *seen* that letter? I'll bet he hasn't.

Author:  Amy [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Restaurant Situation

Exactly...so don't blame the owner, and deny the restaurant business.

There are a lot of bad managers in this world. Trust me...I've seen it and lived it.

Amy

Author:  beccaporter [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Restaurant Situation

See, that's the thing. I've seen no evidence that Cory Bahr has seen it, and that bugs me. They have only been making excuses, and haven't even admitted to any wrong doing really. It's not like this was a glitch with their computer system. A person is regularly updating their FB page.

The waiter was trying to be nice, but he was definitely wanting me to drop the whole thing, and only went and checked after I did the whole awkward pause thing when he tried to shut it down. Never apologetic. Just managing us.

Author:  TheFuzzy [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Restaurant Situation

Amy,

Sure. But sometimes the only way to really get attention to a bad manager is to embarass the institution in public. Without his personal cell number, Becca has no way to reach the owner; the bad manager can stall her indefinitely. And, speaking as an employer, the owner is responsible for whom he hires. I've had to suck it up and lick the feet of clients when one of my staff really blew it, and I don't see why Cory Bahr should be exempt from that.

Unless ... Becca, is the owner listed somewhere?

Author:  Amy [ Wed Dec 11, 2013 4:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Restaurant Situation

TheFuzzy wrote:
Sure. But sometimes the only way to really get attention to a bad manager is to embarass the institution in public.

I disagree with this. Public shaming is rarely the best option. For me it's the last option.

Amy

P.S. To add...every time I've had really bad customer service I've been exceedingly polite with the rep. If that gets nowhere I ask to speak to a supervisor. And I continue (nicely) up the chain until I get to someone who can really help. Sometimes it's the in the office of the President of a company. But, I'm always polite, yet firm.

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