NBR - Dealing with bad service

ravenclaw1 · September 2013

Seems like everyone is either having a baby right now or is cranky because they're not having one, so lets talk about something non-baby related

How do you deal with bad service? This could be in a restaurant, a doctors office, anywhere where there are other employees there to help you accomplish something.

My story-

The other day, we went out to dinner and I ordered a salad with no olives on it - I hate olives. The server brings it over.... covered in olives. I said I ordered without, asked it to be remade. The server argued with me that I never said "no olives" to the point where I told him to just forget about the stupid salad. He then got his undies in a wad and never came back to the table for the rest of the meal - we had to get up to get our own drinks and practically beg for the check. The manager came by with the check, he gave us a discount, and we gave the guy a crappy tip. It was awful service.

Anyone have good stories? (PS - I'm bored, so if this question is totally lame, just tell me

)

HeatherMc78 · September 2013

My DH is notorious for complaining about bad service. I am the shy one but he would have asked for the manager. You should have gotten more than a discount. I understand people work for tips but a crappy tip was definitely the way to go. I say not to tip but often they have to split it with the bus boys. It would not have been fair to them.

michelle7482 · September 2013

That is so rude! I always tip 20% but if the service is bad, I usually tip about 10%. But for that guy, I probably wouldn't have even left a tip. That was beyond bad service and he didn't deserve anything.

llybeck · September 2013

That sounds terrible! I'm one that rarely complains about service but if they were arguing like that, I would complain too, I'm kind of surprised they didn't just give you the meal for free.

The place I had the the worst service was a Best Buy. I wanted a very specific net book that worked well with my desktop as well as having the correct features so I could use it for checking my trail cameras AND it was on sale. I tried one Best Buy (service was awesome at this one) and they were out but they said the one near there had one in stock. Went to that store and the employee without even looking said, nope, didn't have any and proceeded to try and sell me several net books that would absolutely not work for me, he would not listen. As I was just about ready to leave, I looked up at the shelf and saw the one I wanted, I told the employee and again he said, nope, that's not it. I disagreed with him for a little bit, calmly explained that the model numbers matched up, and asked politely if he would just check. He flat out said no. I was pissed at this point. I told him I could get a manager or climb up the ladder myself but either way, I was getting the net book. He FINALLY got it after dealing with him for about 45 minutes, tosses it to me and goes, "guess you were right, hope you're happy with it." After he stomped off without another word to me I overhear him saying to another employee that he wanted it for himself because of the sale, so he was trying to keep customers from buying it.

I told his manager about it and they did little to help, I think I got free access to the geek squad for 6 months which I never used, and they were also incredibly rude. Ended up emailing corporate but never got a response. I still occasionally go to the one with good service and actually, the one with poor service ended up closing. It still pisses me off and at this point that net book is so old it's basically useless! It's hard to forget about poor customer service though.

Kristonita12 · September 2013

llybeck said:

That sounds terrible! I'm one that rarely complains about service but if they were arguing like that, I would complain too, I'm kind of surprised they didn't just give you the meal for free. The place I had the the worst service was a Best Buy. I wanted a very specific net book that worked well with my desktop as well as having the correct features so I could use it for checking my trail cameras AND it was on sale. I tried one Best Buy (service was awesome at this one) and they were out but they said the one near there had one in stock. Went to that store and the employee without even looking said, nope, didn't have any and proceeded to try and sell me several net books that would absolutely not work for me, he would not listen. As I was just about ready to leave, I looked up at the shelf and saw the one I wanted, I told the employee and again he said, nope, that's not it. I disagreed with him for a little bit, calmly explained that the model numbers matched up, and asked politely if he would just check. He flat out said no. I was pissed at this point. I told him I could get a manager or climb up the ladder myself but either way, I was getting the net book. He FINALLY got it after dealing with him for about 45 minutes, tosses it to me and goes, "guess you were right, hope you're happy with it." After he stomped off without another word to me I overhear him saying to another employee that he wanted it for himself because of the sale, so he was trying to keep customers from buying it. I told his manager about it and they did little to help, I think I got free access to the geek squad for 6 months which I never used, and they were also incredibly rude. Ended up emailing corporate but never got a response. I still occasionally go to the one with good service and actually, the one with poor service ended up closing. It still pisses me off and at this point that net book is so old it's basically useless! It's hard to forget about poor customer service though.

Omg, I'd be so pissed!!

krose0713 · September 2013

With waitstaff, I'm definitely a tip slasher. If it's something the server can't control, I'm understanding. But when it comes to a server being rude or disrespectful, there goes your tip buddy.

olga1311 · September 2013

I just don't tip when the waiter is rude like that. It's bs and I refuse to finance him being rude to me. I would also complain to manager.

Nukke · September 2013

Let's see. DH and I made a rest stop in a cute little town called Gananoque and stopped for lunch at a little family restaurant/pub. We got sammiches and fries, and the waitress took FOREVER to come over and get our orders. And she was just standing there kind of staring at the wall the entire time. The place wasn't full of patrons, she was just sort of .... staring. It was strange. Anyway, we ate our food, and I had a shit tonne of fries left, and asked for them to be put in a doggy bag. When she finally came back with the bill, she didn't have the doggy bag. I asked her where my fries were (I'd literally had half a plate of fries left. I hadn't touched a single one), and she said she threw them out. Oops. OK fine, that's fine, just give me some more. She looked really awkward and annoyed and said she couldn't. I told her to go to the kitchen, and get me another order of fries and put it in a bag. It's not hard. She left, pretended to do so and came back with nothing.

Normally I would have asked to speak to the manager, but this "quick stop" of ours was already over an hour and a half long, and I was annoyed. We simply didn't give her a single shiny penny. I told her I bartended and served for years, and she needed to get her shit together (I wrote it on the bill).

SweetPeaK26 · September 2013

I always tip, because I was a waitress for several years. However, because I was a waitress, I know what is and isn't too much to expect.

I don't tip bad when I can tell someone is new and just tryin to figure things out, even if they screw everything up!

I don't tip bad if we hardly ever see them but we can see that they are running like crazy.

I do tip bad if they are rude or lazy. I never dont tip, because I want to make a point (that I didn't just forget) , so I may leave 50 cents, but then they get the message that I don't think their service was worth more.

ravenclaw1 · September 2013

SweetPeaK26 said:

I always tip, because I was a waitress for several years. However, because I was a waitress, I know what is and isn't too much to expect.

I'm with you. I worked at restaurants for years, so I never just *dont* tip. But it does piss me off to pay someone for that sort of shit behavior.

Jenmarie279 · September 2013

I'll admit to being a total pushover. I very rarely complain, even though there have been several times where I should have. My dad was always an over-complainer, and I remember it embarassing the hell out of me as a kid, so that is probably why I keep quiet.

If anything, I just leave a smaller tip. I also always leave a tip. I just don't have it in me not to.

llybeck · September 2013

ravenclaw1 said:

SweetPeaK26 said:

I always tip, because I was a waitress for several years. However, because I was a waitress, I know what is and isn't too much to expect.

I'm with you. I worked at restaurants for years, so I never just *dont* tip. But it does piss me off to pay someone for that sort of shit behavior.

I never worked at a restaurant but I always tip. I probably go a little overboard and tip typically 25% but if service is really really terrible I'll only do 10% sometimes. I just think some people tip badly and their jobs can be pretty terrible if they have a bad customer so when I get good service, I want to make sure they know they did a great job. I usually try to tell them if they went above and beyond or tell their manager.

HBirdie · September 2013

I'm in the camp of not complaining ever, even when I should. It just makes me feel awkward. DH is exactly the same way, which I guess is good and bad... Good because he never embarrasses me, bad because if something goes wrong we just kind of take it.
Even stuff that's no big deal still makes me uncomfortable. Last week we went to Applebee's for dinner and I asked for a small salad instead of the fries that usually come with the meal. The waitress even made a point of asking if I wanted it to come out first, and I said yes. But then it never came, and I got fries instead of the salad. I just ate then anyway.
Also (this is worse, I guess), once at Olive Garden they gave me chicken on my Alfredo, even though I specifically said no chicken, then they charged us for it. I didn't say anything then either.

It's actually a little embarrassing to admit I don't have the balls to stand up for myself at a restaurant. Haha. I'm just overly polite in pretty much every situation. And I always, always tip.

happybride 276 · September 2013

In this situation I would have complained to the manager. It sounds like the manager didn't care either. If it wasn't a chain I would ask to speak to the owner and if it is a chain I would contact headquarters. You can often get bribes, I mean gifts, when you complain about terrible service at restaurants. Ohm and I would not have left a tip for the waiter at all. I whole heartedly believe that a tip must be earned and I am happy to over tip when I get good, not even great, service. I don't think just because you are in the service industry you deserve a tip, most certainly when you are being rude to your customer. I have been in some form of customer service since I was 15 and I always want my customers to be happy. I may be old school, but I personally feel like I represent more than myself, but also my company, and I don't want to misrepresent who ever I am working for.

olga1311 · September 2013

happybride 276 said:

In this situation I would have complained to the manager. It sounds like the manager didn't care either. If it wasn't a chain I would ask to speak to the owner and if it is a chain I would contact headquarters. You can often get bribes, I mean gifts, when you complain about terrible service at restaurants. Ohm and I would not have left a tip for the waiter at all. I whole heartedly believe that a tip must be earned and I am happy to over tip when I get good, not even great, service. I don't think just because you are in the service industry you deserve a tip, most certainly when you are being rude to your customer. I have been in some form of customer service since I was 15 and I always want my customers to be happy. I may be old school, but I personally feel like I represent more than myself, but also my company, and I don't want to misrepresent who ever I am working for.

I agree with this! IMO tip is not a given, it should be earned. And I refuse to tip someone that is rude to me and has done nothing to earn that tip.

TKtravels · September 2013

I used to shy away from just about any sort of confrontational action, but I'm getting bolder in my old age.

I have yet to encounter dining service as bad as @ravenclaw1 mentioned, and as PPs have said, I definitely try to give servers the benefit of the doubt, and don't hold it against them if they make a mistake or seem new.

The latest service issue I've had to deal with involved moving into a new apartment building. Our signed lease and loading dock appointment both said we'd be moving in mid-month. When we arrived, moving truck in tow (and with me being 35 or so weeks pregnant at the time), we were told that the apartment would not be ready for another 18 days. Some of the leasing people were trying to make things work for us, but one woman had the gall to roll her eyes at me and suggest I go to a bar down the street for a cocktail so I could relax a little.

Fast forward another day, and H is now halfway across the country for work.

I'm home by myself, eating breakfast in my new kitchen, in the nude, at 0630. I was told to be out of my apartment by 0800 so workers could come in and do the work that was going to prevent us from moving in. At 0645, my front door (right next to the kitchen) opens up as I'm yelling at whoever is there to GTFO and trying to cover myself with a towel.

Fast forward until later that afternoon. The cable guy calls me to tell me he is done installing our cable, but that the workers have left all of my possessions out in the hallway, unattended (and were seemingly gone for the day - I was not home because I had plans that I could not break to accommodate the screw up that was the building's fault). I had to call the leasing office and remind them to not leave my things unattended, and that being a not-super-strong, 35-weeks-pregnant woman, I was not going to be physically able to move my furniture and boxes back into the apartment.

The building that we moved into is not cheap, and it has a reputation for taking care of its residents. I felt that our moving-in experience did not live up to that reputation, and so I calmly and sweetly laid out my list of grievances with the building manager. I walked into the office hoping to get one month's free rent, and after negotiating with him for three rounds, I walked out with exactly what I wanted. I then sent thank you cards to the manager and to the leasing agent who I had worked with and who had advocated for the least stressful means of getting us moved in.

I've found that being nice and staying calm, as well as being able to detail whatever your service was lacking, and to suggest appropriate measures to rectify the situation, has helped me to get better service and to solve whatever problems may come up.

I'm also a huge fan of recognizing good/great service, and make it a mission of mine to acknowledge great service (in writing or with a phone call) at least once a month. I also use yelp.com a lot, and make a point of focusing on the good rather than the bad.

happybride 276 · September 2013

On, I wanted to add that I would never down a new waiter or cashier (or whatever) for being new. I actually have told plenty of newbies that they have been great and done a wonderful job because I think they need the support and encouragement. It's hard to start a new job and I have a ton of respect for people who choose to deal with the public as their primary role in their job. I agree that talking calmly can get the job done when complaining. If I feel like I am coming off the smallest bit rude I apologize to whoever I am talking about (unless its the person themselves) and say that my frustration is not with them at all and I am simply frustrated with the situation.

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