I regularly eat in my local Pizza Hut and enjoy the food and the experience very much - probably explains my size!
On returning from holiday recently therefore when looking for somewhere to stop for lunch my wife and I chose a Pizza Hut just off our route.
To say it was totally different from our usual experience would be an understatement. The restaurant was dirty, the staff were uninterested and seemingly untrained and the service was hence appalling.
In view of this I filled in their customer satisfaction survey, expecting to receive a call or email from someone to discuss my concerns further.
When this was not forthcoming I wrote to the manager of the branch, detailing my concerns - this was on the 3rd October. On the 17th October I received a reply, dated 5th October but as it was posted first class I don't know where the delay occurred. Either the Post Office were slow or the manager backdated it to make it look better.
The reply merely served to reinforce my concerns - apparently I should not have raised it with the manager but gone straight to Head Office! The manager's explanation was that he was on holiday at the time - apparently his staff cannot run the restaurant if he is not there.
To compensate me for the poor experience, he would like to offer me a voucher, but get this, it can only be used at that Pizza Hut. So I would have to travel out of my way to use this voucher and would also have to trust his word that all the issues had been addressed - I don't think so!
One of the supposed benefits of restaurant chains is that you should be able to expect the same standards of food and service wherever you go. We seem to have found the exception to the rule here as we have not previously had a bad experience.
It seems that Pizza Hut are a franchise operation, part of the Yum group. It is time the big bosses saw what some franchisees are doing to their image and took action.
** Update - November 2012 **
After writing to customer service and receiving no reply I took the next step and emailed the CEO of Yum.
Finally a satisfactory response. I was contacted by the area manager responsible for that region and was offered a full and genuine apology, a promise that the issues would be investigated, and a gift card I could use at ANY Pizza Hut.
Why it had to get to this stage I have no idea, but I am happy with the outcome and grateful to the area manager who finally did what those below them should have done.
The company's reputation has been restored with me! Shame it was necessary to go right to the top.
Showing posts with label Restaurants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Restaurants. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Overloaded Restaurant - Revolution Liverpool
Whilst on holiday recently my wife and I visited Liverpool's Albert Dock area. As lunch time approached we checked out the various eateries and selected the Revolution Bar which had a promising menu and being a Monday they were running an offer of half price on all food which was good (though to be fair some of the others offered similar offers so it was not unique)
Entering the bar it certainly seemed popular but not what I would call full and we had no problem finding a table. Shortly after taking our seats we were approached by a waitress whose opening greeting was 'It is about a thirty minute wait for food, as we have the Monday offer on'. This was not a promising start but we decided that that would be acceptable as we could have a drink and relax after much walking. She took our drinks order and disappeared.
Foolishly we expected she would shortly return with the drinks and then take the food order - how wrong could we be! After about half an hour we had still not received any drinks and there was a distinct absence of staff to assist us.
Given that we had been warned it was a thirty minute wait for food, and our order hadn't even been taken we decided we had had enough and went to find another bar to eat in. As we were leaving we heard an American couple commenting as they were paying their bill that it had taken two and a half hours for them to get a 'quick' bite to eat. Another table were also complaining that the thirty minute delay appeared to be somewhat under quoted.
I should have checked with Trip Advisor or other review sites before we went, as the reviews are somewhat mixed and it seems to be rated highly for drinks but somewhat lower for food. In particular there are a number of people who commented on the wait for food and in some cases they had to send it back as it was cold or had some other problem.
Given that the next bar we went to also had a deal on for meals but was able to serve them in a reasonable timescale (and the food was good) it is clear that it can be done. Revolution needs to get it's act together and if the offer is to continue they should make sure they can cope with the increased custom.
The availability of sites such as Trip Advisor (to which I have no connections) mean that where once poor service was reported by word of mouth, now it can spread much faster and wider. In future I will check even for bars and restaurants - easy with modern smart phones - and not just for hotels and holiday destinations.
Lesson learned!
Entering the bar it certainly seemed popular but not what I would call full and we had no problem finding a table. Shortly after taking our seats we were approached by a waitress whose opening greeting was 'It is about a thirty minute wait for food, as we have the Monday offer on'. This was not a promising start but we decided that that would be acceptable as we could have a drink and relax after much walking. She took our drinks order and disappeared.
Foolishly we expected she would shortly return with the drinks and then take the food order - how wrong could we be! After about half an hour we had still not received any drinks and there was a distinct absence of staff to assist us.
Given that we had been warned it was a thirty minute wait for food, and our order hadn't even been taken we decided we had had enough and went to find another bar to eat in. As we were leaving we heard an American couple commenting as they were paying their bill that it had taken two and a half hours for them to get a 'quick' bite to eat. Another table were also complaining that the thirty minute delay appeared to be somewhat under quoted.
I should have checked with Trip Advisor or other review sites before we went, as the reviews are somewhat mixed and it seems to be rated highly for drinks but somewhat lower for food. In particular there are a number of people who commented on the wait for food and in some cases they had to send it back as it was cold or had some other problem.
Given that the next bar we went to also had a deal on for meals but was able to serve them in a reasonable timescale (and the food was good) it is clear that it can be done. Revolution needs to get it's act together and if the offer is to continue they should make sure they can cope with the increased custom.
The availability of sites such as Trip Advisor (to which I have no connections) mean that where once poor service was reported by word of mouth, now it can spread much faster and wider. In future I will check even for bars and restaurants - easy with modern smart phones - and not just for hotels and holiday destinations.
Lesson learned!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
How not to run a restaurant
Recently we have had a new restaurant open just a few miles away.
This is part of the Chiquito chain and replaces an 'Old Orleans' restaurant that has been on the site for many years and although frequently quiet, served very good food, with good service.
The new Chiquito restaurant however has gone to the opposite extreme by being moderately busy but offering poor food and disappointing service.
On entering the restaurant we did have to wait a while before being seated, not because of a shortage of tables but because all the staff were running around, heads down and prodding away at their electronic order devices with a stylus.
We were duly shown to a table - standard fit I suppose, just too small to do the job! The waitress was pleasant but struggled with the electronic device and could have taken the order in a fraction of the time if only she was allowed to use a pad and pencil!
The first course arrived OK and tasted very good - no problem there. The trouble started when the main courses arrived. Given that we were a table of only two it should be within their capability to ensure both meals arrived together, but no they were slightly staggered in timing. I should have expected this because a nearby table had theirs delivered in three lots for a table of four!
I had ordered the fajitas which were excellent but this is where the small table got in the way. The tray with everything on is quite large and by the time you have your drinks on the table it becomes very crowded.
My wife ordered the chicken burger. This was where it all went downhill fast. The chicken in the burger was extremely dry and tough. We duly summoned the waitress, who had to call a manager because she was clearly not empowered to do anything.
A somewhat unkempt individual came to the table, and arranged for the chef to prepare a replacement, calling to the chef 'make sure you do it really nicely this time' - something that could be heard by the other customers.
The replacement burger was equally dry and tough despite this and once again the waitress was summoned, who then of course had to find the manager again. We decided that we had had enough and were going to leave. Graciously the manager agreed to not charge for the inedible food.
When the bill arrived, the way in which it was presented was confusing. So once again we asked the waitress, who summoned a manager (get the picture?).
This manager was far more smartly attired and professional in his manner and explained the confusion on the bill. He also did more to try and make up for the problems. However by now we had had enough, paid the bill and left.
This is clearly NOT how to run a restaurant. OK, it is new but I think the staff were poorly utilised, the electronic order machines took them away from being customer focused (and slowed them down) and at least one of the managers could learn about customer service. It would also help if the waitresses were empowered to address issues such as this themselves, OK not the cancellation from the bill but certainly organising a replacement meal.
I was extremely disappointed with the experience and given the price of the meals I am very reluctant to try the restaurant again.
The chain had a customer feedback survey on the Internet to which all customers are invited to respond. I reported my experience, fully expecting to be contacted further. As yet - nothing.
This is part of the Chiquito chain and replaces an 'Old Orleans' restaurant that has been on the site for many years and although frequently quiet, served very good food, with good service.
The new Chiquito restaurant however has gone to the opposite extreme by being moderately busy but offering poor food and disappointing service.
On entering the restaurant we did have to wait a while before being seated, not because of a shortage of tables but because all the staff were running around, heads down and prodding away at their electronic order devices with a stylus.
We were duly shown to a table - standard fit I suppose, just too small to do the job! The waitress was pleasant but struggled with the electronic device and could have taken the order in a fraction of the time if only she was allowed to use a pad and pencil!
The first course arrived OK and tasted very good - no problem there. The trouble started when the main courses arrived. Given that we were a table of only two it should be within their capability to ensure both meals arrived together, but no they were slightly staggered in timing. I should have expected this because a nearby table had theirs delivered in three lots for a table of four!
I had ordered the fajitas which were excellent but this is where the small table got in the way. The tray with everything on is quite large and by the time you have your drinks on the table it becomes very crowded.
My wife ordered the chicken burger. This was where it all went downhill fast. The chicken in the burger was extremely dry and tough. We duly summoned the waitress, who had to call a manager because she was clearly not empowered to do anything.
A somewhat unkempt individual came to the table, and arranged for the chef to prepare a replacement, calling to the chef 'make sure you do it really nicely this time' - something that could be heard by the other customers.
The replacement burger was equally dry and tough despite this and once again the waitress was summoned, who then of course had to find the manager again. We decided that we had had enough and were going to leave. Graciously the manager agreed to not charge for the inedible food.
When the bill arrived, the way in which it was presented was confusing. So once again we asked the waitress, who summoned a manager (get the picture?).
This manager was far more smartly attired and professional in his manner and explained the confusion on the bill. He also did more to try and make up for the problems. However by now we had had enough, paid the bill and left.
This is clearly NOT how to run a restaurant. OK, it is new but I think the staff were poorly utilised, the electronic order machines took them away from being customer focused (and slowed them down) and at least one of the managers could learn about customer service. It would also help if the waitresses were empowered to address issues such as this themselves, OK not the cancellation from the bill but certainly organising a replacement meal.
I was extremely disappointed with the experience and given the price of the meals I am very reluctant to try the restaurant again.
The chain had a customer feedback survey on the Internet to which all customers are invited to respond. I reported my experience, fully expecting to be contacted further. As yet - nothing.
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