I love going out to eat, especially when it’s somewhere new. Throw in an award winning chef and a memorable ambiance and you have a recipe for success.
Well, not exactly.
Service is a key ingredient, too. I am much more likely to return to a restaurant with good food and great service, than a restaurant with great food and poor service. The latter, unfortunately, was my experience last Saturday night.
To my horror, the following six service-related issues all happened during my meal. To make matters worse, many of these issues went undetected by the staff!
• Bread being delivered to the table with no explanation of the accompanying dipping sauce.
• Caesar salad brought to the table with no proactive offer of cracked black pepper.
• A side dish that never arrived to the table and later needed to be removed from the check.
• A tap water refill being poured into a glass that contained something other than tap water.
• A food runner attempting to deliver entrees to the wrong table.
• A salad delivered to the table already dressed rather than with dressing on the side, as requested.
Yes, it was a busy Saturday night. And yes, we were a party of 8. But with better communication, more attention to detail and a proactive mindset from the service staff, all of these issues could have been easily avoided.
What service blunders have you experienced while out to eat?
Did you return?