Rob Scot
Google
We ate dinner here with our extended family last weekend (24.09.22). The building is very nicely renovated but the service we experienced was incredibly poor. We waited a very long time for my father-in-law’s meal to arrive and after waiting 10 mins from the time the rest of the plates had been served we alerted a waiter to the missing dish. The waiter disappeared without returning and 5 minutes later we then asked another waiter to investigate what was going on. After some minutes he returned saying the kitchen was very busy the cooks were stressed as the restaurant was full and they only had 6 burners to cook on. The second waiter then tried to appease the situation by apologising and offering other cold alternatives, at which point the first waiter returned with a replacement meal which had been hastily prepared. On inspection my father-in-law found that the liver dish he had ordered was completely raw, the second waiter then examined the plate and agreed it was unacceptable and returned it to the kitchen. As an alternative the waiter then offered my father-in-law a plate of cheese and ham and some bread (which we were subsequently charged 27 Euros for). By the time this cold plate was served half an hour had gone by and the rest of us had already finished our meals. The dishes we ate were all fine, but not particularly special, but you can imagine our collective disappointment at not being able to eat together, as this was meant to be a special occasion.
Of course, mistakes happen but Gretchen’s restaurant is pitched as a high-quality venue not Burger King (and in fairness to Burger King I expect they might have handled the situation better). We won't be going back again because we don’t think the restaurant handled the situation professionally. Here's a few suggestions to avoid losing more customers should this happen again:
1. Check all the plates are served and the customers are content with what they ordered within a few minutes of the service being 'complete' (this didn't happen)
2. When a waiter is alerted to a problem, they should report back to the customer immediately (this didn't happen)
3. When the problem is identified, don’t blame your colleagues or the equipment (this did happen)
4. When you try to catch up and get the missing plate out do make sure it is properly cooked (this didn't happen)
5. When you are still flailing around after 30 minutes don't make any further excuses, get the customer anything they want within reason and tell them its on the house (this didn't happen)
6. When you prepare the final bill, try to be generous - even a small reduction or a free glass of wine or two (on a bill of several hundred Euros) would go a long way as an apology (this didn't happen).
7. This is an 'incident' where the manager or front-of-house should have made a formal apology - not just the waiter. (this didn’t happen)
Mistakes happen, but it is how you deal with them that counts. Restaurants are not just selling food; they are selling an experience. This was an experience that could have been avoided, at every one of the steps listed above, and is one we would be very happy not to repeat.
