Real-Life Communication
In this competitive business, nothing is more important than keeping
your customers. To that end, sometimes you must bend over backwards to keep
the customers coming back.
"Communicating effectively is important
in any profession, but nowhere is it more so than in the restaurant industry.
It can ensure or destroy your repeat business," says restaurant
manager Emanuel Valergakis.
Valergakis is the manager of a big operation.
His restaurant has several large dining rooms and a big staff.
When
an establishment is that busy, it's easy to see why communication is
so important. The staff can be strained to the limit, but the customer must
never know it. It's the restaurant manager's job to make sure all
guests are taken care of in a timely and courteous manner. But sometimes customers
can be difficult.
"On one particularly busy Saturday night, we had
a banquet for 75 guests which promised to be a real pain because the contract
called for separate bills," says Valergakis. "This was something we hated
doing, but because the person making the reservation had done business with
us in the past, and the halls were empty on this night, we complied.
"It
turned out that this was a family reunion. Everyone was happy to see each
other and it was a pleasure to serve so many happy people. But every family
has at least one jerk in it. This was no exception.
"Right from the
start, this loud and belligerent gentleman was unreasonable. He wanted unpopular
brands of drink we did not carry, he didn't like the seating arrangement,
it was too cold, then it was too hot and finally he wished to order from the
'a la carte' [dining room] menu.
"His waiter tried to calm
him down and explain that the group had a fixed menu, but he would make an
extra effort and get him the blue cheese dressing he wanted. He also asked
the client to be discreet because everyone else was having the French dressing
and it would be impossible to give 75 guests a choice of salad dressing."
Sometimes
that would be the end of it. But not this time.
"Monday afternoon,
there was a message for me to call the head office. It turned out that someone
from Saturday's party had called to complain about the service and that
they had been overcharged. The client had paid $21.95 for an item he found
in the menu for $12.95 and that the table next to his was served 15 minutes
before his," says Valergakis.
"I immediately contacted the staff that
worked on the banquet and quickly came to the conclusion that our belligerent
friend had made the complaint. I now had to phone him and deal with him."
This
is where you must put your communication skills to good use. You must deal
with this difficult customer in a way that will hopefully satisfy him enough
to keep him coming back.
Use the information in the story above and
write down what you would say to the customer on the phone.