Restaurant Service Manifesto

My girlfriend mentioned the other night that my Twitter feed was looking a bit "complain-y" (my word, not hers) and in taking a look, I agree.  Over the course of Thanksgiving weekend I posted complaints on Twitter about negative experiences with 3 businesses about service and/or quality issues.  I like to think that I also post when I have positive experiences at places but I think the old saying is true that customers who have positive experiences with your business will tell a few people and those who have negative experiences will tell EVERYONE. 

For me, it seems that when I dine out I have the same problem at a lot of different restaurants - which makes me wonder if it's a problem for anyone else.  Once my food has been served, the server will tend to act as if they are done serving the table.  There is no coming back to check and make sure everything is okay, if the order was correct, is everything is cooked as requested, etc. This is especially an issue if the food is delivered by someone other than who took the order, which happens at many restaurants.  If there is a problem and one or two people at the table are not eating because their order was wrong and the server is nowhere to be found, now the meal is awkward for the whole table.  No one knows whether they should eat or not, food gets cold, people are unhappy and the whole problem could have been solved with a simple 30 second "Hey, how is everything here? Everyone's food come out okay?"

Along those same lines, another issue I have had repeatedly lately is that I can't get anyone to refill my drink once my food has been delivered.  I have had this happen a number of times, I get to a place, sit down, order a drink, order food, get the drink - which is gone by the time I get my food, and no one ever comes back to see if I would like another.  Having practically grown up in my family's restaurant, I know how much of a restaurant's profit comes from booze sales - a lot.  Keep the drinks coming, servers.  This is especially important if you are serving any type of spicy food - Mexican, Thai, Japanese, Cajun, etc.  I have walked out of restaurants leaving food behind that I'm unable to finish because I can't get a server's attention to bring me another drink to cool off my mouth while eating spicy food.  So I walk away, unsatisfied, cranky, in seek of something to drink elsewhere and not likely to ever return no matter how good the food is.

And probably my biggest pet peeve - not bringing the check.  This usually happens after the two above complaints - I'm not being served any more food, I may not have finished the food I did order because I'm not being served anything else to drink, no one is checking to make sure everything is okay, and then I can't flag down or make eye contact with a server to get them to bring the check.  In my opinion, this is probably the worst thing a server can do to a customer.  I've got an empty glass, an empty plate, I may have somewhere else (a show, a movie, work, etc.) I'm supposed to be - but I have to wait for someone to bring me my check so I can pay and leave.  I'm trapped there - as I'm not the type to walk out without paying - and I'm frustrated and...what do I have to entertain me while I'm sitting there frustrated?  My phone - with access to a few hundred of my closest friends on Facebook and Twitter to tell them just how awful an experience I'm having at wherever I happen to be.  It's probably not the best way to handle the situation, but it is what happens.  To be fair, I also try to do the same thing when I'm having a wonderful experience or have eaten/drank something amazing, although I probably don't do it with the same frequency as the negative.  Another important thing to note - this is also the time I'm thinking about leaving a tip.  You could have been amazingly attentive and helpful in the begining of a meal, but if you've completely abandoned me once you dropped off the food and I've had to flag you down or ask you more than once for the check, guess what happens to your tip amount...

My stepfather ran a restaurant when I was growing up, and I spent a lot of time there - working, eating, and just hanging out.  I worked for 15 years in a service industry as a Customs broker, spending many of those years as an account manager tasked with coordinating work over a network to make sure that my clients were receiving the same high level of service no matter where their freight was being cleared.  In 2010 I walked away from a lucrative corporate job and ended up working on a food truck for 7 months having very direct interaction with customers.  So, I like to think I understand what it's like to work in the service industry and I bring that perspective as a customer when I go out.  I'm not horribly picky, I will even eat things after my order gets messed up if they are brought to me - I ordered mashed potatoes but got fries? Ok, I like fries too, I'll go with that if the alternative is sending back my order and waiting for new food while everyone I'm with is already eating theirs.  Forgot to bring me a drink I ordered?  That's cool, either bring another one or if I'm leaving, make sure the one I never got doesn't show up on my bill.  I'm more likely to be understanding the busier the restaurant is - things get hectic, orders get forgotten, you don't have time to come around and refill my water glass as often, etc.  I get that, but I'll give a few examples of horrible service I've received in the last couple of months...

-A higher end specialty cafe/lounge near Metro Center during Happy Hour, service was spotty as the bar filled up and got busy - completely understandable.  But as others cleared out, it was down to me, my girlfriend and maybe two other parties of two and the service no only did not improve, it got worse.  There were two bartenders handling 6 customers and BOTH OF THEM were standing with their back to their customers talking to each other.  We had been enjoying the food and drinks and would have stayed and kept on ordering more of them but it was difficult to get anyone to take an order from us and then once we did order we would wait and the drink wouldn't get made so we would have to remind the bartender that we were still waiting.  This happened to the couple next to us as well - again, there are 6 people sitting at a bar with 2 bartenders.  We sat for awhile with empty glasses and plates, could not get anyone to clear them, take our order for another, etc. so we finally asked for the check and left.  This place is two blocks from my office and I would love to make it a regular Happy Hour spot - but have not been back since this disaster of a first visit.

-A mid-level chain restaurant in the suburbs on a somewhat busy Sunday evening, not a horrible wait for a table but the restaurant was definitely busy when we got there.  We got seated, our server was very attentive for drink orders and food orders, someone else brought the food and then we never saw our server again.  No more drinks, no checking to make sure we got what we ordered, nothing.  Actually to be more correct, we did see our server again - she SAT DOWN at the table behind us which was full of young guys and gave them a very detailed run down on the wine selection, brought out samples, etc. all while we were trying to make eye contact with her so we could get to-go boxes, pay our bill, and leave.  We finally had to flag down another server who brought us our check, while our server was still sitting at the table directly behind us. I spoke with the manager on our way out, who apologized but we have not been back to either this location or this chain since.

-A popular Logan Circle restaurant/bar on a Friday night.  It was busy inside, so we agreed to sit on the heated patio to avoid waiting for a table.  It was chilly but sitting on the under was nice.  Our server was new, from what he told us, and VERY attentive when we got there - almost too attentive.  He brought drinks, took our food order, checked on us, made sure our food arrived and then...a large party was seated next to us and we literally could not get his attention to save our lives.  Not only that, but he moved the heater closer to the larger table without saying a word to us so now we're cold and not getting any service.  No more drinks, no water, we sat with empty plates and glasses for probably 20 minutes before I finally got his attention and asked if we could pay so we could leave because we were freezing.  I have gone to other restaurants owned by the same restaurant group, but not back to that one (which was a favorite) since that incident.  

-A popular, hipster type sushi place on H St. on a Saturday night.  Pretty busy, but no wait for a table.  From the time we are seated every request feels like an inconvience to our server.  Can we get some water? Can we order drinks? Can we order an appetizer? Can we order dinner? Everything was a struggle and he was dropping things off and immediately walking away so if we wanted to order something else we had to yell to get him back. By the time our appetizer arrived, we were ready for another drink but he dropped off the plate and ran off before we could order one, then a busboy brings our food out, no server to be found for drinks still.  We finally asked him to leave the water carafe at our table so we could have something to drink but I would have gone through about 3 beers with spicy sushi (at a nice profit for the restaurant) instead of water if I had the option to order them.  After awhile, I just stopped eating my food because I wanted another beer - did the server notice that we were both sitting there with semi-full plates and empty glasses and ask if we needed something else?  Nope, he walked by us several times clearing empty tables and talking to another server refusing to even look at our table, even though we were waving at him trying to get his attention.                                    

In all of these instances, I spent less than I planned to or would have, I tipped much less, and I tweeted more (using the name/twitter handle of the establishment) about the bad service I was receiving.

I get it, waiting table is a pretty thankless job most of the time.  The pay is bad, the benefits are usually non-existent, the customers can be rude and difficult, etc.  I don't always think the problem is just bad servers - I think it starts at the top with owners and management in restaurants - or at least it should.  If my experience at a restaurant is poor, the server may see a reflection in their tip depending on whether or not I perceive the bad experience to be their fault, but the real hit is loss of profit to the restaurant.  I won't order as much as I would when I'm enjoying my experience, and not only will I not recommend it to others, I will likely discourage people I know from going there.  The reality is that economically times are tough for most people. I'm fortunate to be able to afford to eat out fairly often, but also I'm a very good cook.  I can spend money on good ingredients and make a delicious meal at home so I don't need to go out to eat to have a great meal - but a lot of times I want to go out.  And when I do go out, I want to have a satisfying experience whether it's a high end fine dining establishment or a hole in the wall burger place - of course I adjust my expectations accordingly and don't expect the same level of service at each place, but the end goal is that I walk out of a restaurant, any restaurant, satisfied.  I shouldn't leave hungry, frustrated, or needing to go somewhere else to get what I came there for in the first place.     

What are you service pet peeves? Do you find yourself cooking more to ensure that you're spending your money on a dining experience you know you will enjoy rather than risk ruining a nice night with bad service at a restaurant?