Restaurant Manager Gives Rude Customer A Grand Slam For Giving 1-Star Review and Calling Server "Stupid"
Reviews are only helpful if most of them say the same thing. If a place -- be it a restaurant or a tourist spot -- receives tons of compliments, then that should tell you that it's indeed a great place. Likewise, if it gained several backlash and negative reviews, that straight up tells you to choose another place to go.
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But what will you do if you own or manage a restaurant and receive a very bad review? First, admit that there could have been things that provoked the person to leave bad reviews. If that's not the case (and you're sure that you and your staff did your best to serve your customers), assume that the person likes to troll and shame restaurants.
Redditor u/scaredofalligators shared a series of screenshots to Reddit r/MurderedByWords. The photos show a review of a restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina and the response from the restaurant manager.
The review was titled "Horrible!" which you can assume that things will get even worse from here.
In the review, the person said that the appetizers were good, but the management was "condescending and "unhelpful."
"Half of our table got their entrees and the other half took over thirty minutes more. Service gave up at that point and we had to ask for management."
"The manager that came was patronizing and smug, and at times downright disrespectful."
"We felt as though they didn't care and could do without us as customers."
And the person concluded:
Good food and concept but poorly managed and operated."
The restaurant manager of this restaurant wasn't going to brush this off. They responded point by point, emphasizing that the reviewer wasn't telling the entire story.
The manager says the server did NOT give up. It was only after they (the servers) were called stupid by the reviewer that they did not go back.
Check out how the restaurant manager slams the reviewer:
The manager makes sure to answer the "complaints" point by point
"I instructed her (the server) not to return to your table after you verbally abused her, calling her among other things "stupid."
"I will not tolerate harassment of my employees."
Says the manager. He added: "It was only out of respect for the other members of your party and your children that I did not ask you to leave immediately.
The manager apologized for coming across as smug and condescending...
"If I came across as smug and condescending, I do apologize. However, when you indicated that a medium-well-done filet should take no longer than "3-4 minutes, tops" to prepare, I was a bit taken aback."
We have a team of chefs that have worked in highly-decorated restaurants in New York, Chicago, and Asheville, and none of them is aware of such a technique that does not involve pre-cooking or microwaving."
The manager also clarified that he did not demand to see the already-eaten food.
And here's the GRAND SLAM:
"Normally, if I am convinced that a restaurant and customer are not a good fit for each other, I would encourage that customer to try out other restaurants that might be a better fit."
"However, I would not wish your particular brand of malicious incivility on anybody."
All in all, a dramatic situation! Who do you think is in the right?