I'll warn you all that there is one tiny bit of suck on the employee's part, as well, here, but it's suck that could've easily been corrected if the customer wasn't so sucky.
I was working 10a-8p Monday, and at about 7, table 56 asks for a manager, so off I go.
The table had what I assumed were three generations of the same family: a 50-ish woman, a 25-ish woman, and a little girl of about 3. Since the little girl obviously didn't contribute to the conversation, we'll say SM is sucky mom and SD is sucky daughter.
Me: Hi, my name is csever01, what can I do for you today?
SM: Our waitress is just annoying!
Me: I'm sorry to hear that. Your server is Sally (close enough), right?
SM: Yeah, an older lady?
Me: Yes, that'd be Sally. In what way is she bothering you?
SM: Well, she didn't bring ketchup for her burger. (Points to little girl)
(That's the twinge of suck on our part - she should have brought the ketchup).
Me: Oh, I'm sorry about that! Has she been back to check on you?
SD: Yeah, like 3 times.
Me: Oh, I'm sure she would have been happy to correct her mistake if you had pointed it out.
SM: Well we didn't want to because she's just annoying. I mean, every time she walks up to our table, she's SMILING. Ugh.
(That's what HAPPY people do. I'm sure that's why you're confused.)
Me: (now realizing they are looking for free crap) I'm...sorry...? I can have the burger re-made for you so it's hot, and I'll make sure it comes out with ketchup.
SD: No, she doesn't want it now.
Me: OK, well, for the trouble, I'd like to offer you free dessert.
SM: ...
SD: ...
Me: ... Or, if you aren't interested in dessert, I can make an adjustment on the bill.
SM: We'll take the free dessert.
Me: (takes their order) OK, I'll be right back!
(While I was back there, I took the kid's burger off the bill AND took an additional 50% off just because I knew they would be trouble. I'm thinking they'll be quite happy.)
Me: Here's your dessert. And also, for the trouble, I've taken the burger off and taken an additional 50% off the total bill.
SD: I. AM. ABOUT. TO. BLOOOOW. MY. LID. HERE. You're telling me that after all this, you actually expect us to PAY???
Me: I'm sorry, ma'am, that's why I asked whether you'd prefer dessert or an adjsutment to the bill. But as I said, I've actually given you both.
SM: ...
SD: ...
Me: Would you LIKE me to take care of the entire bill for you?
SD: Well, duh, at LEAST that.
(Do you want us to pay YOU to eat here?)
Me: (REALLY biting my lip) Sure, I can do that, and again, sorry for the trouble.
When they came up to leave, they asked me for corporate's number.
Now, keep in mind that they basically got a free meal and free dessert because they didn't have ketchup on their table. I don't know about you, but if I was dining out and my server forgot to bring something, I would ASK for it the next time she came back. And Sally DID go back - 3 times, according to the sucky customers themselves!
I do believe they came in with a plan to latch on to ANYTHING wrong to get free food. The sad thing is that when they call corporate, they WILL get a $20 gift card. It's pretty automatic if you have a complaint.
And I still can't believe she was complaining that the server was SMILING.
I was working 10a-8p Monday, and at about 7, table 56 asks for a manager, so off I go.
The table had what I assumed were three generations of the same family: a 50-ish woman, a 25-ish woman, and a little girl of about 3. Since the little girl obviously didn't contribute to the conversation, we'll say SM is sucky mom and SD is sucky daughter.
Me: Hi, my name is csever01, what can I do for you today?
SM: Our waitress is just annoying!
Me: I'm sorry to hear that. Your server is Sally (close enough), right?
SM: Yeah, an older lady?
Me: Yes, that'd be Sally. In what way is she bothering you?
SM: Well, she didn't bring ketchup for her burger. (Points to little girl)
(That's the twinge of suck on our part - she should have brought the ketchup).
Me: Oh, I'm sorry about that! Has she been back to check on you?
SD: Yeah, like 3 times.
Me: Oh, I'm sure she would have been happy to correct her mistake if you had pointed it out.
SM: Well we didn't want to because she's just annoying. I mean, every time she walks up to our table, she's SMILING. Ugh.
(That's what HAPPY people do. I'm sure that's why you're confused.)
Me: (now realizing they are looking for free crap) I'm...sorry...? I can have the burger re-made for you so it's hot, and I'll make sure it comes out with ketchup.
SD: No, she doesn't want it now.
Me: OK, well, for the trouble, I'd like to offer you free dessert.
SM: ...
SD: ...
Me: ... Or, if you aren't interested in dessert, I can make an adjustment on the bill.
SM: We'll take the free dessert.
Me: (takes their order) OK, I'll be right back!
(While I was back there, I took the kid's burger off the bill AND took an additional 50% off just because I knew they would be trouble. I'm thinking they'll be quite happy.)
Me: Here's your dessert. And also, for the trouble, I've taken the burger off and taken an additional 50% off the total bill.
SD: I. AM. ABOUT. TO. BLOOOOW. MY. LID. HERE. You're telling me that after all this, you actually expect us to PAY???
Me: I'm sorry, ma'am, that's why I asked whether you'd prefer dessert or an adjsutment to the bill. But as I said, I've actually given you both.
SM: ...
SD: ...
Me: Would you LIKE me to take care of the entire bill for you?
SD: Well, duh, at LEAST that.
(Do you want us to pay YOU to eat here?)
Me: (REALLY biting my lip) Sure, I can do that, and again, sorry for the trouble.
When they came up to leave, they asked me for corporate's number.
Now, keep in mind that they basically got a free meal and free dessert because they didn't have ketchup on their table. I don't know about you, but if I was dining out and my server forgot to bring something, I would ASK for it the next time she came back. And Sally DID go back - 3 times, according to the sucky customers themselves!
I do believe they came in with a plan to latch on to ANYTHING wrong to get free food. The sad thing is that when they call corporate, they WILL get a $20 gift card. It's pretty automatic if you have a complaint.
And I still can't believe she was complaining that the server was SMILING.
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