Comments on: How to complain at a restaurant http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant Toronto's new weekly city magazine Tue, 21 May 2013 03:02:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 By: Gigi http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/#comment-42326 Gigi Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:13:15 +0000 http://www.thegridto.com/?p=83395#comment-42326 @Rania - What are those two restaurants? @Rania – What are those two restaurants?

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]]> By: Serving http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/#comment-42253 Serving Mon, 03 Dec 2012 19:34:20 +0000 http://www.thegridto.com/?p=83395#comment-42253 I disagree with you. I have worked at a couple of establishments where we practice the rules set above (2-bite rule, taking complaints seriously, doing something extra to reset the balance……) and although some customers do communicate with their servers, many others won't say a thing, despite there being lots of chances to do so. Simply using Twitter or YELP, etc to complain so that "the public" can hear them without attempting to communicate with the establishment first is cowardly and can be very damaging. I disagree with you. I have worked at a couple of establishments where we practice the rules set above (2-bite rule, taking complaints seriously, doing something extra to reset the balance……) and although some customers do communicate with their servers, many others won’t say a thing, despite there being lots of chances to do so. Simply using Twitter or YELP, etc to complain so that “the public” can hear them without attempting to communicate with the establishment first is cowardly and can be very damaging.

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]]> By: K http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/#comment-41865 K Thu, 22 Nov 2012 22:31:39 +0000 http://www.thegridto.com/?p=83395#comment-41865 YES. A co-worker and I have often said we wish there was YELP for customers. YES.

A co-worker and I have often said we wish there was YELP for customers.

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]]> By: Raina http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/#comment-41828 Raina Thu, 22 Nov 2012 15:39:05 +0000 http://www.thegridto.com/?p=83395#comment-41828 Or people could just stop going there. I don't understand it. There are two FANTASTIC Italian restaurants (that I know of -- probably even more) on Queen West, but on my walk home every night, there are people waiting for seats at Terronis. The food was mediocre and the service terrible. I guess people just like being treated like garbage. Or people could just stop going there. I don’t understand it. There are two FANTASTIC Italian restaurants (that I know of — probably even more) on Queen West, but on my walk home every night, there are people waiting for seats at Terronis. The food was mediocre and the service terrible. I guess people just like being treated like garbage.

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]]> By: jane street jane http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/#comment-41809 jane street jane Thu, 22 Nov 2012 03:02:05 +0000 http://www.thegridto.com/?p=83395#comment-41809 I've had this conversation many, many times with many, many people: Acquaintance: "The weirdest thing, I went to this Italian restaurant last night. It was fucked...I asked for parmesan cheese and the server flat-out denied me. I asked for the manager, but he also rejected my request, insisting that it incorporating parmesan to the dish would diminish its integrity." Me: "Terroni?" Acquaintance: "OMG! How did you know?!" Me: "Everyone knows Terroni and its insistence upon protecting meridonale culinary tradition. It's what they do, kinda off kilter, but that's the way they choose to do things." That's the hip response. But, what I mean to say is that Terroni is ridiculous. Please take it from a girl who was born in Calabria and immigrated here 23 years ago, NO ONE there would ever say no to a customer who requests parmesan for a particular dish. Even if considered weird (and it can be, depending!), no restaurant owner would say no! That's Italian hospitality. Italian food is for Italians ... we can enjoy it on our own, with our families and shouldn't have to insist upon it. Anyway, next time Terroni staff refuses your request, please respectfully accept, but do not provide a tip. That's because Italian servers (well, Calabria as far as I know) do not expect gratuities. If they should disdain, just inform them that you're trying to create an authentically Italian experience. Tanti auguri! I’ve had this conversation many, many times with many, many people:

Acquaintance: “The weirdest thing, I went to this Italian restaurant last night. It was fucked…I asked for parmesan cheese and the server flat-out denied me. I asked for the manager, but he also rejected my request, insisting that it incorporating parmesan to the dish would diminish its integrity.”

Me: “Terroni?”

Acquaintance: “OMG! How did you know?!”

Me: “Everyone knows Terroni and its insistence upon protecting meridonale culinary tradition. It’s what they do, kinda off kilter, but that’s the way they choose to do things.”

That’s the hip response. But, what I mean to say is that Terroni is ridiculous. Please take it from a girl who was born in Calabria and immigrated here 23 years ago, NO ONE there would ever say no to a customer who requests parmesan for a particular dish. Even if considered weird (and it can be, depending!), no restaurant owner would say no! That’s Italian hospitality. Italian food is for Italians … we can enjoy it on our own, with our families and shouldn’t have to insist upon it.

Anyway, next time Terroni staff refuses your request, please respectfully accept, but do not provide a tip. That’s because Italian servers (well, Calabria as far as I know) do not expect gratuities. If they should disdain, just inform them that you’re trying to create an authentically Italian experience.

Tanti auguri!

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]]> By: 2PintsLager http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/#comment-41769 2PintsLager Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:13:44 +0000 http://www.thegridto.com/?p=83395#comment-41769 Complaining isn't about feeling big or being snippy. It's about correcting a fault. It's about improving standards. Letting a restaurant loose it's clientelle and die a slow death, just because the owner isn't discerning enough to realize that his his burgers are substandard, is cruel. Let them know what you think. Successful businesses crave client feedback. By the time they realize that burger sales are down they may have lost a substantial portion of their client base, probable never to return. At the end of the year this may be enough to kill the business - leaving staff unemployed, an investment lost, a property unrented. So please for the love of your community mention that the burger is, in your humble opinion, a shitty burger. We will be happy fix things. Complaining isn’t about feeling big or being snippy. It’s about correcting a fault. It’s about improving standards.

Letting a restaurant loose it’s clientelle and die a slow death, just because the owner isn’t discerning enough to realize that his his burgers are substandard, is cruel. Let them know what you think.

Successful businesses crave client feedback. By the time they realize that burger sales are down they may have lost a substantial portion of their client base, probable never to return.

At the end of the year this may be enough to kill the business – leaving staff unemployed, an investment lost, a property unrented. So please for the love of your community mention that the burger is, in your humble opinion, a shitty burger. We will be happy fix things.

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]]> By: Matt E http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/#comment-41752 Matt E Wed, 21 Nov 2012 02:00:26 +0000 http://www.thegridto.com/?p=83395#comment-41752 I would only complain about my food if it contained a foreign object or something had very obviously gone wrong in the cooking process. If I order the burger, and it just turns out they make a shitty burger at this restaurant, I'd never complain just for the point of feeling big by berating and embarrassing a minimum-wage waiter. I'd just live and learn, and never order their burger again. When I dine with people who feel the need to get snippy with waiters over their food, I just die inside and want to apologize. I think you can tell a lot about a person by the way they act at a restaurant. I would only complain about my food if it contained a foreign object or something had very obviously gone wrong in the cooking process.

If I order the burger, and it just turns out they make a shitty burger at this restaurant, I’d never complain just for the point of feeling big by berating and embarrassing a minimum-wage waiter. I’d just live and learn, and never order their burger again.

When I dine with people who feel the need to get snippy with waiters over their food, I just die inside and want to apologize. I think you can tell a lot about a person by the way they act at a restaurant.

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]]> By: SAM http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/#comment-41750 SAM Tue, 20 Nov 2012 23:54:22 +0000 http://www.thegridto.com/?p=83395#comment-41750 who spits into the soup first, the Boss or the waitress? who spits into the soup first, the Boss or the waitress?

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]]> By: LALA http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/#comment-41747 LALA Tue, 20 Nov 2012 22:29:28 +0000 http://www.thegridto.com/?p=83395#comment-41747 who's** who’s**

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]]> By: LALA http://www.thegridto.com/life/food-drink/how-to-complain-at-a-restaurant/#comment-41745 LALA Tue, 20 Nov 2012 22:08:17 +0000 http://www.thegridto.com/?p=83395#comment-41745 The Grid should do a follow up story to this article (similar to the landlord-tenant stories) where we get to hear horror stories from servers' encounters with customers. Likewise it would be interesting to hear the stories of anyone whose experienced poor customer service. The Grid should do a follow up story to this article (similar to the landlord-tenant stories) where we get to hear horror stories from servers’ encounters with customers. Likewise it would be interesting to hear the stories of anyone whose experienced poor customer service.

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