I woke up this morning to a fantastic reminder to talk about our experiences with customer service and why one of our top goals is to provide the ultimate dining experience for our guests.
That reminder was an email from The Bay of Palms Resort along the Gold Coast in Australia. In 2010, Gwith and I went there to celebrate our one year dating anniversary. The pictures looked great online and we were very excited for a week at the beach. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations. Far from it. Upon arriving at 5:15 pm from the airport, we were informed that our access to food would be nearly impossible in about 15 minutes and the person at the front desk could not offer any suggestions on where to go. We were also informed that we’d get the first roll of toilet paper for free and have to pay after that. On our way to the room, we walked beside the pool which was beautiful in the pictures online! In person, not so much. There wasn’t any water in the pool and the lounge chairs didn’t exist. When we arrived at the room, we took a quick look around. The room was never updated and the bed felt like a ton of bricks. Even the tile floor was more comfortable (we know because we lied down on it to rest our backs the next morning)! In the morning, we had to use a coin computer in the lobby to arrange for another hotel. Of course, with 5 minutes left to book, we ran out of coins. There wasn’t a single person at the front desk to exchange change. In the end, we made it out of there. Ironically, this hotel sends me an email twice a year reminding me to come back. I suppose I haven’t complained because I enjoy the twice a year giggle and rolling of my eyes.
While this experience was at a hotel and not a restaurant (I have plenty of those stories coming up), it taught us both a lot about how poorly a place can be managed. During that time the front desk proved to lack knowledge, be non-existent at times, and the management put their money before their customers (the toilet paper is a clear sign). In our experience, successful businesses do not run when you sacrifice customer service by cutting costs. Just look at all of the shows like Hotel Impossible and Restaurant Impossible. The reasons those places are failing is because the owners just don’t care. If The Bay of Palms Resort owners had provided toilet paper, had a comfortable bed, a filled pool, and helpful tips on where to eat, we’d probably return there some time. Instead, their yearly emails are a joke for us to sit around the dinner table and laugh about.
On the discussion of cutting costs, sadly, we had an experience in Colorado where our favorite sushi restaurant (we were weekly regulars there for a couple of years) decided during the recession to cut down on the size of sushi pieces to thin little non-existent strips, raised the prices, and changed fish companies to a very fishy tasting supplier. As Gwith knows, it’s not about the sizes you serve, it’s about the amount you order. If you order more food from suppliers than you serve, that’s when you’re going to lose money. Also, if you need to raise the prices, raise them slowly and don’t cut down on the portion sizes at the same time! Besides the changes in food, the once friendly staff began complaining about the owner who was letting his frustrations out on all of them. Unfortunately, after a few weeks of these unpleasant experiences, we switched sushi restaurants. I doubt there’s a single business that wants their most loyal customers to switch restaurants and never return. On another note, the reason we found that first sushi restaurant was because the one near our house refused to offer gluten-free soy sauce; just another example of the lack of customer service.
Besides the obvious lessons learned from these experiences, as a person with life threatening allergies, I’ve also had my fill of allergic reactions due to incompetent restaurant staffs. The only place that I ever put up with was Pappadeaux in Colorado.
 |
| Gwith and I at Pappadeaux during his first visit to the USA, (April 2010) |
Our favorite restaurant, Pappadeaux, had a horrible habit of putting pepper on my steak. A few years ago, eating pepper on my food would result in my throat starting to close up until I took a Benadryl. I can say with absolute certainty that this was always the kitchens fault. Why? Because we had two favorite waiters who waited on us for years and knew my allergies. One time the manager informed us that my meal was done without seasoning, but a kitchen staff member saw it, thought someone forgot, and just poured it on. Clearly the communication in the kitchen was the problem. You may be wondering why, after having multiple reactions at this restaurant, we kept coming back. Two words: Customer service. While the kitchen may have been messing up plenty, the management knew how to handle the situation. The manager would come out every time, apologizing. Then, they would not only comp my dish, they would bring me a free appetizer/salad and dessert. In the end, they even had someone come to the restaurant to train their staff on allergies.
Other restaurants we’ve been to haven’t handled the situation nearly as well. We’ve had everything from them denying they did anything wrong, not comping the dish, or just shrugging it off as if it was a fluke. In my opinion, a restaurant staff is either competent in allergy control or they’re not. As Gwith would agree, it’s all about communication.
At The Counter in Colorado, the manager was incredible. My burgers were always cooked correctly, the staff was happy and friendly (the staff even had monthly bowling nights), the restaurant was booming with customers. Even in the off hours, it was filled. Fast forward to a year later, the manager wanted a raise and the franchise owner didn’t give it to him. The manager left and the new person in charge had no idea what they were doing. The waitresses would roll their eyes at our orders, the burgers came out bloody and rare or burned to a crisp, and within a year, the restaurant was closed.
Another poor management experience we’ve had was at Red Robin in California. Now, this was probably one of the most ridiculous stories we’ve ever had. Gwith (who doesn’t have any allergies) ordered the Caramel Milkshake with Red Hawaiian Sea Salt. That sounds simple enough, right? When they brought out the shake, Gwith looked at it, didn’t see a caramel color, but tasted it nonetheless. Of course, after he tasted it, he knew it was just plain vanilla. He let the waitress know who argued with him that there was caramel in it, he just clearly couldn’t taste it. Now, this is where it gets really bad. The waitress took the milkshake to replace it and then came back to the table to inform Gwith that they couldn’t add the whip cream and sea salt on top because they ran out of whip cream. Then, Gwith saw the bartender pouring whip cream on another milkshake at the bar. Gwith asked for the whip cream and sea salt that was part of the drink, and with an annoyed roll of her eyes, the waitress took the drink and returned announcing they had found the whip cream. Of course, she still couldn’t get this drink right, as it returned without sea salt. When Gwith asked about the sea salt, she responded: “Oh? You want that too?” By the shock in her voice, you would think this drink wasn’t on the menu and he created it himself. Gwith tasted the drink and it still
didn’t taste like caramel. Gwith asked to speak to the manager. Normally, the manager should come over and clear up the situation right away. Instead, the manager came over and I kid you not, argued with him for 10 minutes about this milkshake and why he clearly just couldn’t taste the flavors. They eventually brought out more caramel for Gwith to mix in himself and snarked, “It’s always had caramel but I guess you just need a lot of caramel to actual taste it.” As a chef, Gwith wasn’t pleased that his ability to taste flavors was being questioned. We have never returned to that Red Robin location since that experience.
 |
| Our last night in Colorado at the restaurant Ocean Prime (November 2011) |
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, there’s the restaurant Ocean Prime in Downtown Denver. This restaurant flourished in customer service when we lived out there (and hopefully still does!). Not only do I hold this restaurant near and dear to my heart because Gwith proposed to me the night we dined there, the managers and owners also went above and beyond. Besides giving us a lovely letter congratulating us on our engagement the following visit, they also did something completely unexpected before we moved to California. Our last night in Colorado, we went with my mom to dine there. When we sat down, the manager came over to us and we told him we were moving. In response, he took away our menus and proceeded to give us each a 6 course surprise meal (avoiding all of my allergies, I might add!). What happened next, was the most shocking of all. They paid for the entire meal. In my eyes, normally when an owner or manager hears that their customers are moving and may not be returning for years, the last thing they would think of is to give a free meal. But they did, and that memory will stick with us for a lifetime.
While I could go on with countless stories, I hope I’ve given everyone an insight into why we feel so strongly about opening a restaurant that provides customers with a relaxing, allergy safe, and friendly experience. Of course no one is perfect and I can’t say there will never be one error, but in the end, it’s how we handle that mistake that counts. The most important lesson is that as long as you treat and train your staff well and respect your customers, there is no reason they shouldn’t return. Respecting customers and employees should be the number one priority in any business and if an owner or manager can’t understand that, they shouldn’t be in business.
wow!
One of my favorite reads, Setting the Table by Danny Meyer, puts into words the concept of hospitality. I would love to give a copy to anyone who provides guest services. In my many years in the hospitality industry, I am discouraged by how little hospitality there really is. I am glad to read that it will be a priority for you.