You'd expect that when diners at a restaurant have a serious complaint about food or service, they would take it directly to the manager — or at least report it to the waiter. A new study from Cornell University reveals that serious complaints aren't always made personally, and that they can create problems for restaurant operators.
by Glenn Withiam
The report from Cornell University's Hospitality Industry Research Center is called "Complaint Communication: How Complaint Severity and Service Recovery Influence Restaurant Guests' Actions and Attitudes." The study, at no cost in chr.cornell.edu, confirms that most diners will speak directly to the manager when something is really wrong.
But not all customers complain in person. Some restaurant diners with serious problems will leave without saying a word and then write a letter to the manager. The report's author, Alex Susskind, a Cornell professor, cautions that those letters should be treated with care. It recommends that written complaints addressed to the manager be treated as if they were made in person. At the same time, it is almost impossible for a restaurant to compose an error after the customer has left the establishment.
Resolve customer complaints to ensure repeat business
When it comes to serious claims, Susskind found that problems with food topped the list, especially when errors in service were compounded by a food problem. The good news in Susskind's study is that most customers who have made a claim don't hold a grudge. To the extent that their claim is satisfied, most are willing to return to the restaurant. But that only applies to problems with food and service, even if the complaint has involved a serious error in the preparation of food.
There is another type of problem, however, that often causes guests to leave never to return. These are problems unrelated to the above two aspects, such as noise and atmosphere. Those "other" problems were harder to repair. But even if these were resolved, customers were less likely to return to the restaurant, even though respondents classified those "other" problems as less important.
Guests drew waiters' attention to minor issues, usually those that only involved service, Susskind found. Those problems could be solved easily and quickly. The most serious problems usually had to do with food. When the waiter could not remedy the problem, most customers turned to the manager.
Since it's virtually impossible to correct a problem after diners have left the restaurant, managers may want to make sure their waiters let them know when a customer has made a claim. That way, the manager could stop by the table before customers leave the place and make sure the problem has been resolved. A quick visit of that kind could go a long way in ensuring guests leave satisfied and return to the restaurant.
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Preview: Cornell Study Makes Revelations About The Most Serious Guest Complaints
