I Am Still Waiting For A Response From The Owners of My Local Italian Restaurant
January 15th, 2007
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am writing you this letter after having left numerous messages for the owner and manager of your restaurant. While I have enjoyed your food for the last three years — I have recently experienced many problems with my recent food orders and am hoping that the management will do something to make things right. I have kept detailed notes about my recent issues, which are outlined below:
10/12/06: Ordered extra chicken on chopped salad, with dressing on the side. When arrived to pick up food, asked specifically, “is there extra chicken on that chopped salad and is there dressing on the side?” Worker responded, “yes sir there’s extra chicken on that chopped salad and we’ve put the dressing on the side. Do you want bread, too?” The offer of extra bread was obviously some kind of misdirection, as when I got home and opened up my salad — there was no extra chicken and it was mixed in with the dressing.
10/18/06: Ordered the Italian salad that comes with the crisp pepper bread on the side. Only reason I ordered the salad was that I had a craving for the crisp pepper bread. When I got home with the salad, there was no crisp pepper bread, but instead - sourdough bread slices. I called to ask about what happened to the crisp pepper bread and the person who answered the phone said that you were out of crisp pepper bread, but no one told me when I ordered “the salad with that crisp pepper bread” that there would be no crisp pepper bread. This was a big problem.
11/3/06: Ordered a “super-tossed” caesar salad. Instead, got a tossed caesar salad. When I complained, your staff said there was no such thing as tossing a salad where absolutely every piece of lettuce is drenched in dressing. In fact, there is. That’s what a “super-tossed salad” is. Just add more dressing until it’s superly tossed. I can talk more to this point if and when you have time.
12/12/06: On this particular occasion I was stunned to find that I had been only given three croutons in my salad. When I called to ask why I had only received three croutons, your staff mentioned that they were “three big croutons.” I mentioned that even if they were huge croutons, three croutons are still not enough for any salad of any size. Your staff said that I could come back and get more croutons but it shouldn’t be up to me to add to the crouton-count in the first place. Then while I was waiting to find out if your delivery people could bring me additional croutons, I heard someone on the other end of the phone call me “The Crouton Crier.” I did not cry, but having a decent amount of crunch is necessary for a satisfying salad experience.
12/31/06: New Year’s Eve. Attempting to give your establishment one last chance, I ordered five chicken chopped salads, with dressing on the side, with extra croutons — super tossed. I received just that, with one exception. Each salad felt lighter than normal. While I haven’t weighed your salads in the past, I could tell by holding them lightly on my palms that they had less lettuce in them. I asked your staff if they’d recently changed the portion sizes to which they said no and that the change in weight must be all in my head. Well, let me tell you — after I finished eating I was still hungry. Something I normally don’t feel after eating a salad from your restaurant. I was shorted at least a half head of lettuce, collectively.
1/3/07: My last experience with your restaurant until I hear back from you. I swung by casually, ordered a lemonade. You’d think you guys could do lemonade correctly — but apparently not. Way too much ice. So much so that I got about three sips and there wasn’t any drink left. I asked for a refill but they wanted to charge me. I pointed out all the ice. No one seemed to care. A mountain of ice is a great way to make money but it’s a horrible way to make your customers happy.
I look forward to your thoughts on the above instances and hope you find a way to rectify the situation.
Sounds like a no brainer to me, with their attitudes you won’t get anywhere. In UK I believe we have a law which says you can pay for what you think the food is worth. I use it at work with the odd grumpy customer who refuses to pay, I just ask them for however much they honestly think their meal and service was worth, and they always pay nearly full price as they are so embarressed. You could try a bulk order of dressing overloaded chicken caesars and do a runner! Or just refuse to pay. Might work, then you might end up in a cell with a huge hommie who wants to call you ‘Bubba’.
Comment by rach — January 15, 2007 @ 11:19 am
Rach: Does that actually work? Would have been very useful while I was abroad a few months ago.
Comment by Steven Campbell — January 15, 2007 @ 12:12 pm
It seems rather evident that you’ve done something to rub these fellows the wrong way, which is much much worse than rubbing them the right way. In order to begin the healing process you might insist that they tell you how they perceive that you’ve wronged them and then commence about trying to heal those wounds. Perhaps with flowers, chocolates, and Italian food from the restaurant across the street.
Comment by James Cooper — January 15, 2007 @ 1:04 pm
James - Flowers I can do. Chocolates? No way.
Comment by Pauly D — January 15, 2007 @ 1:10 pm
Clearly you have never worked in the food service industry.
Comment by Brooke — January 15, 2007 @ 4:04 pm
I’d be careful with that restaurant, Pauly. They just might try to poison you to keep you off their backs.
And I probably wouldn’t order salad from them again. Who knows what’s really in the dressing?
Comment by Amy — January 15, 2007 @ 6:24 pm
Sorry Pauly, maybe it was your description, but those items you mentioned sounded yummy, despite their mistakes and omissions. You should just shut-up and enjoy the surprises.
Comment by Susan — January 15, 2007 @ 7:28 pm
From someone who has offered many establishments like your “favorite Italian” restaurant suggestions for how to “retain” a customer base, I commiserate. Remember the Seinfeld rental car scene? “You know how to get a customer. You just don’t know how to keep a customer!” Keeping in mind that you have long since gone past the “Three Strikes Rule” with your place…it’s time to give up on them. Also, you might consider watching the flick Waiting before going back there…they may have your “number”…and do some unspeakable things to your food. It’s all true! The service industry is not what it used to be. Hope you can find another “favorite” place. BTW…I spent 17 years as a corporate restaurant manager.
Comment by Skip — January 16, 2007 @ 9:41 am
You had problems with 6 differents orders with this same place, it’s time to give them up. A local restaurant like this should see you come in or hear you on the phone and be like, “BAM! Here goes that crisp pepper bread guy. That’s the kind of service your loyalty should warrant.
Regarding portion sizes, I have a friend who is convinced that when more than one person in your party orders the same dish, each dish will have a smaller portion. So, if you and I went into a restaurant and we both ordered the pasta marinara, our respective portions would be smaller than if you ordered the chicken and I ordered the pasta. You got five orders of the same salad and they appeared to be smaller portions than normal to you, so perhaps my friend might have a valid point after all.
Comment by Eve — January 16, 2007 @ 10:34 am
Toss this salad baby!
Comment by monkeyinabox — January 16, 2007 @ 11:27 am
I think the world is against you. Definitely, according to this evidence!
Either that, or Someone You Know Who is Not On Your Side works at that restaurant!
Comment by jadepark — January 17, 2007 @ 6:22 pm