Without Mentioning Names

By Deb Jenkins
Staff Writer

Oddly, over the last week I have been having conversations with friends about things that happen to them while out dining. What’s interesting is that 90 percent of them had not decided if they should say anything to the business, hmmm, but they are still talking about it.
So this week I wanted to touch base on the complaints-and-anger-while-eating-out issue. Okay, I know the title of my column is not Ann Landers, but it is “All About Food.”

There is nothing more upsetting then having a great meal and the wait staff is having their bad day while serving you; being told that you won’t be served because “we close in five minutes” at a coffee shop; waiting over 45 minutes to get your meal at lunch while only having 40 minutes to be there; ordering a meal that has in its title “eggplant” and not having it in the meal when it comes out, only to be told by the person waiting on you, “Oh it depends on the chef, sometimes they put it in and sometimes they forget.” EXCUSE ME!

All these examples I gave you, happened. So what are you supposed to do about it? Tell the business right away. Of course if you are so upset that you may lose control of yourself, don’t do it then. Wait, collect yourself, and then do it. This is not the time to make the evening news.

I usually will address the problem right away. I have had a few things happen in the last six months that I had to wait to address because I was too upset. I thought it important that the issue was not the food, but the experience. If you are lucky, as I have been, you get the manager/owner to understand that you want to come back to their place to eat, but not if the things that occurred are going to be the standard.

So why would someone tell you that you cannot be served because they close soon? I would probably pick another place from now on. Why would I want to take a chance on wasting my time just to be told I can’t be served?

And the eggplant incident: I could not believe it. I just decided to talk directly to the manager, who happened to be the owner, and we had eggplant faster than I can say “you betcha” on our table. And yes, I was nice about it, really I was.

Recently while out to lunch, I had a very long wait for a meal. I only had 40 minutes, after 35 I was more curious than angry about what was going on. I started taking notes and wondering if I should use a scale for all the places I have eaten, best to worst on service.

Ah, but then the owner was standing at my table, wanting to explain what was going on. I listened and changed my tune, left there thinking that you really never know what is going on behind the scenes. In this case it was from a horrible accident that had injured the unreplaceable main chef, backing everything up. And they offer a difficult fusion menu. The chef that was working never lost his cool, as busy as it was, and it was HOPPING!

The waitress, Chris, was kind enough to bring me a free appetizer and apologize for the wait. That always makes me feel better. By the way, she was the only one in the section I was in, handling it perfectly. For those of you who think they knew I wrote a food column, you’re wrong, They had no clue until I said I did. Also the owner paid for my meal, which I usually would refuse. I tried but they wouldn’t let me pay.

I know there are a million stories and I could go on and on about this. What I am trying to do is encourage you to tell someone that has an investment in the place, like the owner. They do not want the word of mouth to be bad stuff. They want it to be something like “You know, you will never believe what happen last night at the restaurant. They took care of the problem. They actually listened to what I had to say.” Yep, that is they word of mouth that most businesses care to hear.

So that’s it, just think about it as what you would want if it were your business. I always want tasty food that looks great before I get it into my mouth. And then when it hits my mouth all those God-given taste buds jump for joy. When I’m done, not only am I satisfied, but I cannot wait to spread the word. That, for me, can only happen if I have an environment of happy, smiling and knowledgeable wait staff serving me.

Let’s get off that wagon for now. I’m excited to be in Minneapolis this week, to go out and find something new to eat and of course share and tell you readers about it. Until next week eat well and stay safe.

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