I am about to vent.....We went out to dinner tonight. A well known Italian chain restaurant. So, it was by no means what i would consider a fancy establishment. Our dinner arrived and I ate one slice of the pizza I ordered when i noticed a long hair on the pizza. Needless to say, I was disgusted.
The waiter came by and looked at me kind of funny and said "your not eating, would you like a box?" I said "no, thank you" and whispered to him that there is a hair on my pizza. He immediately said "that's disgusting" and picked up my plate. Then he said "let me get you another pizza." I politely said "no thank you." He asked if there is something else off of the menu i would be interested in. Again I politely said "no thank you." I had kind of lost my appetite, but i did not say that to him. He offered the pizza again and said we could take it home. At this point i was saying "no, thank you" again and my husband piped up and said "that's fine, we will take another pizza and bring it home." My opinion - I thought the waiter handled this very well.
This particular restaurant has an open kitchen that customers are often walked in front of on the way to their table. Well, the waiter brought the pizza back to the kitchen and you could clearly see two other waiters and four kitchen workers examining the pizza. Ok, a little awkward, but no big deal.
Some time passes and a woman arrives at our table with a pizza all boxed up. She wasn't a server, because she wasn't dressed like the servers who all wear the same thing. But since she never really introduced herself, i am assuming she was a manager. I never asked for a manager and really didn't want to make a big deal out of this. She places the boxed pizza on the table next to me and says very politely "Here is your pizza". My husband and I both said "thank you" at the same time and thought that was the end of it. Boy were we wrong!! This individual stood there and said "I want you to know that the guys in the kitchen all have short hair and they wear caps." (I could clearly see that from wear i was sitting.) Then she said "so, this hair did not come from them." I could not believe what I was hearing!! My husbands eyes were huge, as i am sure mine were. I looked at her and i was just stunned and didn't really know what to say. So I said "Thank you very much." She walked away and i looked at my husband and said "is she implying the hair is mine?" I was floored. I couldn't believe what had just taken place. I mean, i guess it could have been my hair...i have long hair. I didn't pick it up off the plate to see how long it was and if it was actually a color match. (being a little sarcastic here.) But it also could have belong to the girl who brought us our food. She too has long brown hair. I think i was in shock and also didn't want to get into it anymore, as we were out to dinner with my 88 yr old grandmother. I could see if half the pizza were gone and maybe then it would have looked as though i was trying to get a free meal. (Which by the way we never asked for.) But there was only one slice of pizza gone. There were still like 7 slices left on this 10" pizza.
By this time my husband is bouncing our 17 month old on his lap because she is tired of being there, so i said let me take her outside and you guys finish up. I said "No rush!" and walked out. I even thanked the hostess on the way out who told me to have a good night. Yes, I had lost my appetite, but was more concerned about getting my daughter out of the restaurant. She had been there long enough and was getting a bit squirmy and i didn't want her to disrupt anyones meal.
My husband and grandmother finally come out and my husband says "the waiter took the pizza off the bill". My husband told the waiter he didn't have to do that because we got a new pizza. The waiter apologized again and said "don't worry about it, we want to make sure our customers are satisfied." My husband thanked him again and left him the same tip he would have received for the bill that would have included my pizza. My husband was impressed with the way the waiter handled the situation and didn't want the waiter to be penalized for the way the woman (manager?) handled it. My husband said, "I guess you made a statement when you walked out." then started laughing, because we both know this is not why i walked out.
Ok, so i have never found a hair in my food at a restaurant before, but i am going to put myself out there and say "Are you kidding me????" In my opinion, the waiter handled the situation better than the woman (manager?). Possibly because it's his hard earned money. But has anyone ever had an experience like this before? Years ago in my early 20's i was in customer service and would have never said something like that to a customer. I was not in the food industry, so maybe this is an acceptable way of handling this type of situation in the food industry. I don't know, but i was very insulted. I felt as though this woman (manager?) thought we just didn't want to pay the bill or something. We never even asked for the pizza to be taken off the bill.
Ok, done venting.
just~me
You handled it wonderfully
You handled it wonderfully and definitely have a reason to vent as far as the female manager goes-if that was what she was. I think she probably has had people in the past who have indeed tried to get free food by putting hair in it and maybe was tired and fed up with it and took it out on you. I have managed restaurants for many years and cannot even tell you how many times people have "found" hair in their food. A lot of times it will be long blond hair and not one employee in the building has long blond hair, including myself but they still insist it is ours. Anyway, I think you handled it well and the manager had an off night.
I think you handled this
I think you handled this situation great and so did the waiter and I think it's wonderful that your husband tipped so well for the matter. A similar experience I had a younger age just goes to show that some managers are not meant to be placed in that position. My experience went more like this. I was 19 or so with my 1 y/o son and my friend. We went to a local Mexican chain and actually we waited on by the rudest person, who 1. didn't check on us (our food ok, someone else brought out our food, no drink refills), and 2. served the table next to us (and I mean RIGHT next to us) much more diligently (he came and checked on them twice and joked and was much happier to be serving them). I knew right then and there I was going to say something to the manager. After I explained what I had encountered she actually said to me," oh, so and so, is never like that, I wonder if they are having a bad day." I looked at in in total disbelief and stated, "no, I think he just thought I wouldn't tip well because I'm a very young mom. Too bad for him, since I make ample money and I also work part time in the service industry. The fact that he was rude and now you are sticking up for his behavior when I could clearly see that I was treated differently makes me question your ability to manage and instead of leaving a small tip, I will leave none." Clearly not my most level headed moment and I was pretty mad, but it really made me question some managers. I worked in the industry a LONG time as either a job or a second job (about 6 1/2 years on and off) and I always try to remember that no matter what, try and make your customers happy, they are the ones paying your bills at home.
"It's not to late to become who you've always wanted to be..."
I think you handled it very
I think you handled it very well. I understand being put out. I hate when that happens. Here is my story:
We had family visiting from out of town and went to a restaurant that has animals like in a rain forest and storms every 20 minutes or so. The food is expensive, but always good. We waited for a long time to be greeted and then a very long time for our drinks to arrive. We had a 2 year old, 5 year old, 9 year and 12 year old with us. They were great. When our meal was finally over, she complained to the manager about how long everything had taken.She was correct, everything had taken a very long time and the place was not even busy. He basically told her she was lying. He pointed out the time the computer had printed out the order. We were surprised at his response. She was not wanting anything, but trying to let him know there was a problem that needed addressing.
Then our server told us that he was moved from the night shift to days because he is bad. That shocked me that the server told us this information. We have never been back.
KarilouMomof2 is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Tempe. Her daughters are 9 and 6.
I just wanted to comment on
I just wanted to comment on your Rain Forest restaurant experience. I am assuming the place with the animals and rainstorms is the same one. We had exactly the same problem with everything taking so long to come out of the kitchen as well . Our server told us that they are told by their managers to have it take a long time so that diners order more food. Strange philosophy, but that is what he said . When we complained to the manager, like you did, the manager told us the same thing, that we did wait that long and basically that we were lying as well. Needless to say, we have never been back either!
you and your husband handled
you and your husband handled it well, especially by saying thank you repeatedly and tipping the waiter. that manager was dead wrong - she should have apologized and moved on.
Susie is a discussion leader in the east valley for arizonamoms.com. She has two sons, ages 6 and 2.
I think you handled it well
I think you handled it well too. I'm so surprised to hear so many restaurants trying to pass the buck back on the customer when the customer is always right!! Recently we dined at the Olive Garden and there was a mother and her young daughter sitting across from us and the lady complained about almost everything, first she complained because her daughters soup was too thick and why was it so thick and not more brothy and then she complained about the bread sticks and they weren't right, they were too hard and not warm enough .. and this and that and it seemed like every time the waiter went back to her table she'd have something else to complain about .... when the same waiter came to check on us I asked him very quietly "are you ready to beat her yet" ... of course jokingly and he laughed and said yes ... so there definitely are people out there trying to get something for nothing and these people should be called out for it ... then there are those like you who truly wasn't making a big deal, wasn't trying to get of paying for it even though you shouldn't have had to and the manager goes off on you ... totally bad customer service!!!
You handled it perfectly. I
You handled it perfectly. I know when management treats customers
(me) rudely I am one to give 'feedback'. what i do is send a letter (similar to the blog you wrote explaining the situation) to the regional mgr or CEO (pending the next level of mgt.) I think it is important for upper upper mgt to know the level of customer service you were treated with in the situation. If the lady mgr was treating you this way she must treat other customers the same way (not to mention her own staff as well.) Constructive feedback - its a good thing!
LisaMommy is a discussion leader in Paradise Valley/Scottsdale area for arizonamoms.com. Her two boys are ages 5 months and 3 years old.
For starters, you are an
For starters, you are an outstanding individual. Very few would have handled that situation the way you did. I, myself, may have probably added a few words to her comment. I think this happens way too often, in my opinion. It's the new generation of "attitude". It almost feels as if some people have just lost their sense to customer service. Frankly, I don't even know why some folks even bother getting jobs in that industry or why managers continue to hire them. I personally am of the mindset that prefers to pay more for the same item I would find elsewhere if the customer service is going to be more pleasant. It's just about what makes one business stand out from the other amongst so much competition to sell the same thing! As a side note, I am sure she felt ridiculous when you didn't "engage" with her anyway. You did the right thing. Not worth the extra energy, especially in front of your child. You are setting a good example above all.
Aymee C. Buckhannon
Independent Executive
http://www.GilbertMom.com
Yes, you handled it the
Yes, you handled it the right way. I was eating breakfast at a bagel shop and got down to my last bite and there was a hair. The waitress said "Well it is not mine, it must be Bob in the back". Not what I wanted to hear. Nothing was taken off the bill. I have never been back. You're right customer service is gone.