I met with a small group of women professionals at a local guest house/restaurant for drinks last night. Being fairly new in town, I’d not yet been to this restaurant, but I was pleased to learn that they have a small selection of wines by the glass. The waitress was able to name the grape vaireties and tell me that all of the wines were from Austria, but she didn’t know any vintages or producers. She served me what was supposedly a St. Laurent, but I didn’t get to see the bottle. Before I had a chance to check the wine, she dissappeared. The wine had a penetrating aroma of browned apples and nail polish and didn’t taste any better. When she returned to our table (about 40 minutes later), I discreetly let her know that I found the wine undrinkable. Instead of quietly exchanging the wine for a different one, she told me rather loudly and rudely that I obviously had no idea what I was talking about. I asked her if she would be kind enough to show me the bottle and inform me how long it had been opened. She said her boss was a wine expert and she would have her check the wine. The waitress came back to our table without the bottle and without her boss, but she did inform us that even though her boss said there was nothing wrong with the wine, I wouldn’t have to pay for it.
Just as I rely on the medical, legal or investment advice of others in the group, they rely on my wine knowledge. They said that obviously the waitress did not know who I was. I told them that it didn’t matter if I knew nothing about wine at all. You don’t have to be a master chef or a sommelier to be qualified to voice a complaint in a restaurant, just as you don’t have to be a medical doctor to voice a complaint about your health care service.
I sent an email to the restaurant with a copy of an article I wrote for a trade magazine about managing customer complaints in the restaurant business and how complaints can be turned into an opportunity to exceed customer expectations and build loyalty. I doubt if I will hear back from them, but hopefully they will read the article. It is written from the viewpoint of the trade, so hopefully they will perhaps pick up a few tips on how to treat their guest better in the future.
