Poor Service: Point - Counterpoint

[quote="Courtenay Kunnecke"]HEY THERE DAVID A!
I apologize you felt that you were treated badly. However I think that the report of your experience is slightly exaggerated and at times trivial, so I am going to post my little version.


For those of you who feel that Courtney's apology was inadequate - I don't agree. She apologized for their feelings ie THEY FELT they were treated badly. That is their opinion. Courtney obviously doesn't think they were treated badly; and that is her opinion. If she doesn't believe they were treated badly, then why should she say "I apologize that you were treated badly"

Believe me, the customer is NOT always right.I would like to relay a little incident that happened at my place. A couple came in and were seated. The wife proceeded to take a phone call, and indeed talked on the phone throughout the whole time the server was trying to take her order. She said she wanted a Greek salad but didn't want Feta (makes the whole salad pointless but there you go). Her husband said he would have her feta. My server told her three times that black olives came on the salad along with lettuce, cucumber, red onion, tomato and green pepper. She said (around her cell phone) that that was fine. Oh, she also wanted shredded cheddar on her Greek Salad. When the salad arrived, she pulled a face and said, "Ugh, I don't like black olives!!!

I looked over and saw her sneaking a piece of feta off her husband's plate. At the end of the meal, she said to my server "They were the best black olives I have ever had (kalamata of course), and the feta was good too". So, if she had just ordered the Greek salad as it is meant to be eaten she would have been happy!!

Steve - first day using the quotes? Kidding. But seriously, you gave Marsha my quote!

very likely under the influence of some high end KY bourbon.

LOL Steve we have got to hook up for a Browns game sometime, I will supply the designated driver..

Look, I didn't have any dog in this hunt in the beginning. You all know I'm in favor of addressing a complaint with management BEFORE posting about it on the internet; I've said so many times.

My problem was with the flippant, condescending tone of Courtenay's response, and her (what seemed to me to be) insincere apology. For all I know everything happened exactly as Courtenay says; I wasn't there, none of us were there. I'm willing to accept she's a perfect server that's never done anything wrong in her life - but I'd still have a problem with her response. That's where I am with it, and it's the only interest I have in it at this point.

Steve - first day using the quotes? Kidding. But seriously, you gave Marsha my quote!

Ooopsie-Daisy

very likely under the influence of some high end KY bourbon.

LOL Steve we have got to hook up for a Browns game sometime, I will supply the designated driver..

Alan

Designated driver ? Nahhhhhhh you just come on over to the house and we'll spend the afternoon eattin' BBQ, hammering back some yellow fizzy water and crying in the empty cans. Afterward you can crash in the guest room.

Hi,
I will take this opportunity to apologize to all those people who came to eat at Maido or DKD and had a bad experience. My intention as a cook is for everyone to enjoy the dining experience at my restaurant. I try to put positive energy into my food (that's why I started super happy hour menu at maido if you ever read the menu) and try to create good working environment so that my staff are happy to work, therefore our guests get good service. However, this is not the case sometimes obviously. It does hurt my feelings when I hear anyone had a bad experience at my restaurant. I don't get out much (since I have 13-15 hours shift 7 days but enjoy so much!) and when I do, I REALLY want to enjoy the moment.

Everyone has goals and dreams, right. Mine is to create world peace. I believe this starts from me. Individual happiness ultimately create peace in the world I strongly believe. So, I want to do that with what I got. That is my food. I want to create peace through my food.
We all do our best. Our kitchen staff were working hard. But because it sushi, we make it one by one. Sometimes it does take long time for you to get your food at table. But again, we do the best we can to serve you.

I love all my employees and I do appreciate them very much for working. I do appreciate so much for those people come to dine at my restaurant. I also do appreciate those "bad" comments too so that we can improve our service.

So, very very sorry if anyone had a bad experience before. We will keep doing our best to contribute something good back to Louisville. I like Louisville.

r

Hi,
I will take this opportunity to apologize to all those people who came to eat at Maido or DKD and had a bad experience. My intention as a cook is for everyone to enjoy the dining experience at my restaurant. I try to put positive energy into my food (that's why I started super happy hour menu at maido if you ever read the menu) and try to create good working environment so that my staff are happy to work, therefore our guests get good service. However, this is not the case sometimes obviously. It does hurt my feelings when I hear anyone had a bad experience at my restaurant. I don't get out much (since I have 13-15 hours shift 7 days but enjoy so much!) and when I do, I REALLY want to enjoy the moment.

Everyone has goals and dreams, right. Mine is to create world peace. I believe this starts from me. Individual happiness ultimately create peace in the world I strongly believe. So, I want to do that with what I got. That is my food. I want to create peace through my food.
We all do our best. Our kitchen staff were working hard. But because it sushi, we make it one by one. Sometimes it does take long time for you to get your food at table. But again, we do the best we can to serve you.

I love all my employees and I do appreciate them very much for working. I do appreciate so much for those people come to dine at my restaurant. I also do appreciate those "bad" comments too so that we can improve our service.

So, very very sorry if anyone had a bad experience before. We will keep doing our best to contribute something good back to Louisville. I like Louisville.

Hmmmmm....pretty classy response.

Might just be the ideal closing statement to what has been a very active topic.<hint-hint>

I'm with Courtenay on this one. I know I've seen far more servers abused by customers than the other way around. FAR more. I'm not saying it happened here. Only Courtenay and O.P. know, and they each have their own perspectives. But Courtenay obviously cares and stood up for herself and that's OK by me.

First time poster - go easy on me please.

I just have to say that as a friend, and as a co-worker of Courtenay's, she has always shown grace and humility in the most trying of situations. I was the other server working on the night in question, and I can say emphatically that David A, and his longtime friend were not treated poorly by Coco. I watched her put on a smile, and HAPPILY "tap dance" for David A. She is a wonderful server, person, friend, and co-worker. She is a HUGE part of Maido's success.

If someone posted smething negative about me in a public forum, I'm pretty sure I would have reacted in an emotional manner. Not to say that this is the best way to handle an attack, but it is real. Im personally offended by David's post, and it wasn't even written about me. I love working, and dining at Maido. As a staff member, and as a friend, I can't watch an integral part of our team torn apart in such a public way.

"Just sayin."

Toki, thank you for your classy response to this- the thread that will never end.

I hope everyone reads Michael Sell's post, I wish I had written it myself.

There has been a lot of emotion connected to this thread and I will let it be, I think enough has been said. But I will say that I find Toki's philosophy when it comes to pleasing the public and valuing her staff refreshing. There are always going to be snafus, real or perceived, when it comes to servicing the public. I think the test is if the bumps can be used to build a better experiece next time and I know Toki is committed to this end.

I would hope the posters who have had negative experiences would try again (Maido is my home away from home so I feel a bit proprietary), but if it isn't for them then that is fine- lots of other choices in Louisville. How lucky are we to have so many top notch original restaurants to choose from. Something for everybody.

There needs to be a sushi summit to put this in the past while working also for a more better future. Maybe one of you Maido regulars (I swore off sushi for the year) could get David A and Courtenay at the same table over some beer and a few rolls. Just don't go cheap domestic with the beer and all will be fine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4fWN6VvgKQ

The notion that dares not speak its name: "The customer is not always right," which has been said at least twice in this thread. In America, there is less open and honest discussion about this assertion than race relations, the more conventional choice of 800-lb gorilla to try pushing under the rug.

As such, time to bone up on my Mencken, so I'm outta this one.

The notion that dares not speak its name: "The customer is not always right," which has been said at least twice in this thread. In America, there is less open and honest discussion about this assertion than race relations, the more conventional choice of 800-lb gorilla to try pushing under the rug.

As such, time to bone up on my Mencken, so I'm outta this one.

If Robin doesn't mind maybe the forum can do its part to pull the rug back on this a bit.

First, according to this page "the customer is always right" dates from the early 1900s, and is credited to the late, great Marshall Field store in Chicago, but according to the same cite: "What they were attempting to do was to make the customer feel special by inculcating into their staff the disposition to behave as if the customer was right, even when they weren't."

So from its retail roots what it was meant to mean is that even when the customer is wrong, you should make them feel like they're right. But as with many great ideas, over the year the saying has taken on a life of its own to the point that it lost its original meaning and veered off to some kind of literal granting of absolute customer rights.

Is there one "right" answer?

Maybe Mencken said it best: "Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood."