dear mr. owner,
my family of 15 came to dine in your restaurant today around mid afternoon. i was excited because of the welcoming atmosphere it presented along the waterside. we ordered, looked around for a table. it was busy, but we made it work. we were excited to be there, until i had an altercation with you over ice. when i saw there was no ice, i asked a lady behind the counter if she was already aware that the ice was out. she said no, thanks for letting us know and she would handle it. based on what i observed, she made you aware of the situation and you got some ice. initially my daughter and i were the only ones standing there. once the initial bucket of ice came, around 8 teenagers jumped right in to grab ice (after i had been standing waiting patiently on the ice). i guess you noticed i was irritated (and i was a little, but not at u) and asked would a cup be good... i responded, "yes, that would be nice." i meant it as it was stated, meaning what i said exactly.... yes that would be nice. translated again, yes that would be great, awesome, fabulous. i was still frustrated with teenagers jumping in to take all the ice you had brought. you lashed out at me and said "i work here 12 to 14 hours per day. you have no idea how hard i work at this. i don't like your attitude........... and you walked away"! to be honest, i stood there with my mouth open. before you even unleashed on me, i recognized that you had to be an owner, at the very least a manager. i guess i assumed that because of the way you were carrying yourself. once i gathered myself, i went over and talked to someone that identified herself as a manager. she said yes, you were the owner. i briefly told her how upset you were and "how in no shape, form or fashion was i upset with you about ice, if anything you were trying to help. however i was upset with some teenagers standing around me." she tried to tell you, but again you walked away. as you left the back area of the kitchen, you walked past me again as i attempted to speak to you (calmly). then once again, you ignored me, but this time i insisted you hear "the part of the story you missed." at this time, you said well i guess this is where i'm supposed to say i'm sorry.
mr. owner, my husband and i owned a restaurant for 10 years. we have owned our own construction company for well over 30 years. we understand things happen, but what happened today was unacceptable. you displayed the rudest customer interaction that i have ever witnessed. not only that, but today you modeled for your employees how to handle customers. count your blessings that your employees don't handle customers in your fashion, and were working hard today to make your business great. each one i saw had a smile on their face, working hard to do their best. your manager that spoke to me was nothing, but nice. she handled things with ease, experience and maturity. if she hadn't already pointed out that you were the owner, i would have pegged her as the owner.
there were multiple problems today. first of all, you had a problem with me (your customer) and i was not having issues. second, once you assumed i was upset, you walked away as if i had the problem. third, i approached you multiple times with a calm demeanor to let you know i was not upset with the restaurant, and give you information, you arrogantly ignored me. fourth, even if i had been upset with you about ice, as a owner you should have handled it completely different. what happened was you out of control. fifth, there were some food problems.... that happens. restaurants make mistakes. restaurants and owners even run out of ice, serve cold fries, take longer than promised. what restaurant owners don't do, is act the way you acted today.
sadly, i won't return. it has nothing to do with running out of ice, cold fries or delayed food, those things happen. it has everything to do with the way i was treated by the owner. i don't think i've ever written an email to an establishment exhibiting my disappointment. today is a first for me, and that comes with 51 years of being around. my hopes is that you can take this email, reflect, make changes, and hopefully prove to the customers behind me that you are thankful for the business that this community pours into your establishment.
sincerely,
gina sullivan read more