Unit 11. Problems and Complaints (A) Flash on English for Cooking, Catering and Reception

 

Flash on English for Cooking, Catering and Reception Unit 11. Problems and Complaints (A)

 

1 Look at the pictures and match them with these common customer complaints. 1 cannot get the waiter's attention. 2 portions are too small 3 the bill is wrong 4 the order is wrong 5 food does not arrive     2 Read the text about problems and complaints. The first thing people usually want to complain about is slow service. It takes the customer forever to attract the attention of the waiter and when they finally do, the waiter tells them to wait a minute because it is very busy, or the waiter ignores the customer completely. This is always a bad start. The waiter must always go to the table immediately and, even if they are too busy to stay at that moment, tell the guest they will be right with them as soon as they can to take their order. Never ignore an angry, hungry customer! The waiter has finally taken the customer's order and time passes but no food arrives! What makes things worse is that all the other tables are receiving their orders and eating their food. What now? When the food takes a long time to come out of the kitchen, many waiters avoid customers until the food is ready. Don't! Check with the kitchen as to when food will be ready. Go over to the table and tell them when it will be coming out and apologise for the delay. Another complaint is usually when the food is delivered to the table and something does not come out the way the guest ordered it; for example, a steak well-done instead of rare. To avoid this complaint make sure you take time to listen to what the guest is ordering and write it down correctly. If you do not understand something, ask them to repeat it, especially if it has special instructions. When there is a misunderstanding, apologise and correct the order as soon as possible. The waiter brings the customer's long awaited meal. When the customer looks at his plate, instead of seeing the chicken and mushroom pie with chips he ordered, he sees poached salmon and salad - clearly it is the wrong order! Once again the server should make sure he hands in the right orders for the right tables and checks the food against the order pad when getting it from the kitchen. In any case, the server should apologise, try to resolve the situation as quickly as possible and maybe offer the customer a complimentary drink. The guest has been very patient, but when the right meal finally does arrive, the portion of fish or meat is very small and they can hardly see the vegetables on their plate at all, so they complain. A server should appreciate that every customer's appetite is different so the best thing to do is to apologise and offer to get them additional food like bread, potatoes, etc. Then tell the head chef so they can change the portion sizes in the future. Finally the disastrous meal is over and the bill arrives, but there are all sorts of items on it that the customer does not recognise or did not order. The customer complains about the bill. It is surprising how many people prefer to eat a mediocre meal at the right price than a good meal when a restaurant overcharges for it. A good waiter should never argue with a customer, but take the bill away, check it and bring it back with the appropriate alterations as soon as possible.   3 Read the text again and answer these questions. What should the waiter do if the customer complains... 1 that the waiter is ignoring them? He should take the customer's order as soon as possible. 2 after waiting thirty minutes for their food? 3 that their steak is well-done instead of rare as the customer requested? 4 that they received the wrong order? 5 about the size of the portion? 6 that the bi II is incorrect?   4 Write the translation of these verbs from the text in your language. 1 to make a mistake _____________ 2 to apologise _____________ 3 to appreciate _____________ 4 to argue _____________ 5 to overcharge _____________ 6 to hand in _____________ 7 to complain _____________ 8 to avoid _____________ 9 to attract the attention _____________ 10 to resolve _____________

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