You didn't tell me you needed any.

It was just a week ago that we stopped in Paducah, KY for the night.  We stayed at a Pear Tree Inn, just across the parking lot from a Texas Roadhouse.  We had made this stop before and had excellent service at both places and great carryout ribs from the Roadhouse.  Why carryout?  We had our big dog, 105 pound Luna, with us and weren't sure about leaving her while we out eating.  (The Pear Tree [by Drury Hotels] allows pets, so we were not illegal, but we did not want a "big dog bark" echoing down the hall while we were out.)

My wife ordered our ribs and at the appointed time, I walked over to get them.  The carryout cashier opened every box for me to view the contents before bagging them and asked me if I wanted a complimentary bag of peanuts.  She was friendly, efficient and the experience was good.  I included a $2 tip with my payment, not a lot, but not too bad for a few minutes work.

Back across the parking lot to our room I walked and it sure smelled good as we unpacked the bags of food.  We were ready to eat.  But there was just one problem.  No silverware or napkins.  Back across the parking lot to the Roadhouse.

I walked in to the carryout counter and explained that we had not received silverware or napkins.  The same friendly and efficient person looked at me and said "You didn't tell me you needed any     ----  so I thought you probably had your own."  There was not an apology and it was apparently my fault for not telling her I needed silverware!

I admit that I am a stickler when it comes to bad customer service. When I get bad service which the person tries to blame on me as having unrealistic expectations, I am liable to blow.  The next half minute of my story is censored, but fortunately there was a management person nearby who took charge.  Leaving the silverware and napkins out was an honest mistake (I think), but the response was inexcusable.

Otherwise the service was good and the food was great.  We will go back, in spite of what I said in the heat of the moment.

I believe you have every right to complain about bad service.  But you also have an even greater obligation to compliment good service.  In my view, the compliments should be given not only to the person providing the service, but also to their manager.

I have gone in search of a manager at restaurants far more often to compliment than to complain  (usually my complaints are levelled only at the server ------ the manager probably knows that the person is marginal or worse.  As managers and people we all need to hear "the good" ---- since people are so much more likely to let loose with "the bad".

Customer service is sometimes the only way one organization can really differentiate itself from competitors.  Even if the product or service is excellent, bad customer service can make it difficult or impossible to succeed.





 complaint---Dennys in nashville.   in to cracker barrel several times to find manager to compliment.  compliment --Hilton garden in in chicago. compliment --capt j's seafood deck cb grouper.