I once heard a restaurant owner say, "We serve people, not food." That really made me think. All too often in the foodservice industry we feel as though the customers who enjoy our meals are too finicky, ungrateful, and rude. After all, the attitude of many chefs and restaurant staff is that we are doing them a favor by serving them. But who is really serving whom? Customers are vital to a business succeeding. This is true of any business whether it is food or fixing cars. If you don't have customers, pretty soon you won't have a business. Doesn't it make sense that our attitude should be one of happy service?
Everyone knows that restaurant managers set the tone for the staff. If the manager has the attitude that the customers complain about everything and are wrong in their complaints, then the wait staff will pick up on this stance and reflect it in their words, tone, and demeanor. Remember the classic adage of business, "the customer is always right." Don't just say it, believe it. Sure there will be demanding customers and people that will try to take advantage of you. But if you start off with the assumption that people have a genuine reason for complaint, you will get a lot farther in your customer service.
Sadly, many people are more likely to share their experience at a restaurant if it was bad, so don't give them cause to spread bad information about you. Like a personal attack advertisement can devastate a candidate in a campaign, negative word-of-mouth advertising can ruin a once profitable business. I remember a local restaurant that was very successful for a long time in my neighborhood. From the outside the building did not have a right angle on it; it literally looked like it would fall down at any minute. However, there was a large dedicated following because despite the poor appearance of the building, the food was delicious. The restaurant only closed down after the owner retired and still there were people calling and asking him to consider reopening.
When I was a teenager I worked at a local coffee shop. The owner was adamant about how pure and high quality his coffee was and would berate people who chose to add cream and sugar to their drinks. He went out of business because people would get upset and angry over the way he dictated his coffee preferences to them when they came into the shop. Customers choose to visit your restaurant and if you drive them away with your lack of service and destructive attitude of serving you will have no one but yourself to blame when the business fails. Remember you are in food service. Serving is a part of the title for a reason.
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