Hi there, I was browsing Mumsnet regarding washing duvets and came across your post.
This prompted me to join so I may shed some light on the matter. I have owned a restaurant and fortunate enough to gain industry awards. I was the owner, hands on, not the chef. I sold out around 2000 and for some crazy reason am looking to start a brand new venture with a close friend of mine who was the GM for Hakkassan and Sketch (London Hi end operations). All this means is that we pride oursef on serive and customer satisfaction.
So hear goes:
From an operators perspective large parties can be hard to manage especially at peak time. If this were our operation our policy would be, as follows, Party of 10 has to book in advance and we would allocate a dedicated person to oversee the table.
Ordering on three tickets is strange and tantamount for disaster. The order should have been taken all at once and then sub grouped if the party wished to have separate bills.
It seems they were unable to cope. Either they were overbooked, understaffed or missing key individuals.
The time delay is unacceptable however all was lost when the manager didnt respond promptly. Becoming rude wont achieve much but it is a way to let off steam and frustration. Having dealt with these situations I find that 99% of the time an apology and a free drink or course will appease. Some customers enjoy moaning and to be honest I always knew if their issue was genuine or they were drama queeens. The position set out in this post is not acceptable and managed appaulingly.
Now here is the good news.Whether operators and managers like it or not, tripadvisor has been a game changer. If the issues were set out on TA then dont worry about the response. Any good operator will never call you rude and tell you never to come back (even if they want to) because it backfires. Most potential customers will see that reply and it will put them off.
Secondly, anyone using TA will scan all reviews and I have a feeling yours wasn't the only one.
The only type of review to avoid are the wannabe food critics who wish to impress others and rarely know what they are talking about. If the review is simple like, The food took ages to arrive. The steak was cremated and we asked for rare, the chips were cold and the management werent obliging and didnt care.. Thats factul, to the point and sums up that persons experience.
To sum up, owning or running a restaurant is a nightmare however we do it because we love it therefore there are plenty of reasons you can have an off day but it's rarely the customers fault if managed correctly and with care.
My suggestion if you choose to email is, as follows.
Be concise and specific and avoid emotion and write to the owner or The M.D.
Dear Sirs,
we would like to draw your attention to an unpleasant experience we endured recently.
We booked a party of 10 for 12.30.
We arrived on time and were seated promptly. We ordered food @ 12.45 under three separate orders and it finally arrived at 1.45 etc etc.
Setting it out this way highlights shoddy service without you getting personal.
I hope this gives all of you an insight into the crazy world of food and drink. Its not for the faint hearted and wholly down to the team pulling together ensuring the customers have a wonderful experience.