In the summer of 2013, a group of friends and I experienced a horrible restaurant experience that will never leave our minds. After a long day of playing football with my friends on a Saturday, hunger struck us all. None of us had a certain craving s we drove around until we found something that seemed suitable. After about twenty minutes we found a nice looking restaurant in the Burbank area. When pulling up into the parking lot it seemed quite empty for a Saturday, but that didn’t stop us from trying to feed out hunger. We went in a got seated next to man on the phone that did not stop shouting at whoever was on the other end of the line. We waited about twelve minutes before a server attended us, a little weird at the moment because only about 25 percent of the restaurant was filled including us; we placed our orders and began talking about the rest of the plan for the day. I looked at my phone and 20 minutes passed without receiving anything, not even our drinks! At this point everyone was getting upset about the service and talked to our waiter about what’s taking so long. He mentioned they’re trying as best as they could and our food will be ready in no more than five minutes. Ten minutes have passed and that was the final straw, I got up to talked to our waiter and asked if we can cancel our order because service was just horrible. At that moment the man sitting next to us got up mentioned he was the manager and asked what was the problem? I could not believe that this guy was the manager; he was literally sitting next to us this whole time on his phone and not even bothered to make the service better. Anyways we discussed our problem with him and how the service was horrible, he just said “oh, well thanks for coming”, we left the restaurant angry that time was wasted and our stomachs still empty. So we went to our usual restaurant were the service is very much appreciated. What makes the restaurant so great is quick service and the manager often walks around and greets customers, creating a happy environment. The restaurant that had horrible service is no longer open for business, while our usual restaurant still gets packed every weekend. Being a manager that makes sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to being doing makes the business run better, being manager with no concerns means no future.
Do you think managers that have no concern about the customers, will have a successful future?
Wowww. I have never seen a manager not care about the customers and their experiences. From my retail experience, we always try to deliver a great customer service. I am shocked by the manager’s answer: “Oh well, thanks for coming”. Is this the way a manager should respond to the customers? I am not surprised that the restaurant is out of business anymore. What make a business and a manager successful, is the service they offer to the customer. If you offer good or excellent service, customers will come back and you will still be in business. Otherwise, you will go out of business if you are a horrible manager and deliver poor customer service. Great post.
Glad you said something and left! That is not worth your money, I would have done the same thing. Especially because I get hangry (so hungry you begin to get angry). I believe that managers that have no concern about their customers will not succeed. They are the ones who motivate their servers, hosts, and managing staff, and if they are not uplifting and encouraging, how will the rest of the staff be? Poor customer service makes all the difference, if you do not have positive customer service, there is not a great chance people will want to come back to a restaurant like that.
This is a very interesting post. That is awful you had to experience that yourself. If a manager is not involved in the business and just simply does not care it will not be a successful business. The managers top concern should be the customers, since that is what keeps the restaurant running. The manager should have his or her values aligned with the company’s goals and mission statement, so a business will definitely fail if the manager acts like the one you specified in your story.
Interesting post! No, I don’t think that managers like this will have a successful future. If a customer has one bad experience they will remember it, never come back, and tell everyone about their awful experience. It’s all about your customers and making them happy. I can’t believe he was on the phone the whole time and not taking control of the situation. This just reminds me of the complete opposite experience I had. My family and I love Bob Chinn’s because the service and food is excellent. For than once, the manager walked up to our table, asked how we were doing,and made us feel welcome. My family and I still go there, we’ve been going there for years and will continue to go because the service and food is great!
Running a restaurant can be very difficult and competitive. Sorry to hear about your experience, but with that said I doubt that this small business will do well in the future. If you have poor service and management, my guess is that the food is probably not that great either. The restaurant probably lost quite a bit of business by making a bad impression on you and your friends as a good word of mouth can really benefit a restaurant. Great post!
I am sorry about your horrible experience. And no! There is no way they can survive! Personally, I care more about the service than the food itself (I understand if it’s unusual for most people). One reason I do that is that I already like the atmosphere there and it would be a plus to get to know the people who work there. I often find myself have the chance to talk to the waiters/waitresses or even the chef and tell them what I think was needed to improve or put on the menu.