If you ask me, the biggest problem with Delaware restaurants today is lack of consistency -- one night, service and food can be fine, only to turn sour on the next visit. This presents an especially prickly problem for food critics, especially when diners visit a restaurant based on our recommendations, only to be disappointed because the chef has been replaced, the staffing levels are short, or the place is mobbed (sometimes because of the review itself).
A new survey makes an interesting observation on the ways restaurants go wrong, discovering that diners' main beef is with service, specifically rude wait-people. The “Ouch Point” study by Opinion Research Corporation found that a quarter of respondents had problems with rude service, followed closely by frustration with hosts and maître d’s who underestimate the waiting time for a table (20 percent). On a positive note, relatively few of those polled (12 percent) had problems with "ill-prepared" food; 10 percent said "cold food" is their greatest dining-out dissatisfaction.
Of course, it also depends on who is being dissatisfied. Diners in the 18-24 year old age bracket were more likely (55 percent) to perceive rude wait staff as a problem, compared with 32 percent of respondents over age 65. Better-off diners were more likely to have problems with rudeness, and also more likely to confront hosts who underestimate waiting times.
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2 comments:
My husband and I often visit local restaurants, chains as well as locally owned. I have found that we seldom have bad service. We are very pleasant to the seater and server, always telling them that we are in no rush. It is amazing how much better your service is if you relax and smile at your server! They deal with tough customers all day, and will really appreciate a friendly face, it changes your service immediately, try it, you'll see. Wouldn't you be more willing to go the extra mile for a nice person?
A writer recently noted the inappropriate and overused expression, "no problem", when the response should be "you're welcome". This is one of my pet peeves. Somehow, this annoying phrase has become commonplace. The expression, "no problem", is negative. When I say, "thank you", I don't expect that I am a problem in the first place, so why would you say I am NOT a problem?! Just to educate you on the proper response when someone says thank you, it is either: you're welcome, certainly, or my pleasure (as per the Ritz Carlton's extensive training of their staff). Would you be offended if I responded to your "no problem" by saying, "you are not an ignorant idiot"? Afterall, I'm saying you are NOT.
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