The Restaurant Doctor - Electronic House Call

ELECTRONIC HOUSE CALL - March 16, 2001

I am home for a few days before the "big trip" of the month -- Kalamazoo for a Sysco program, Tel Aviv for the Israeli Hospitality and Tourism Conference, Indianapolis for the Hoosier Hospitality Show and Columbus for another Sysco program -- all in eight days! How's that for an itinerary?

ANOTHER SLICE OF LIFE
Lisa Hashem wrote recently with a problem that you may find familiar:

We have run into a problem with a few customers and I wanted your opinion. My husband and I have a new restaurant (5 months), upscale but not fine dining. We have nice carpet, mahogany booths, etc. We are in a corporate area which is our main draw for lunch as well as mom's out with their kids. The area is middle to upper class (a lot of stay at home mom's).

The problem is with a group of 3 women and their 4 children. They come in usually once a week. The mom's chit-chat the entire time they are there and do not pay attention to their kids. The kids throw an entire bag of potato chips on the floor....they jump around on the booths, they put sauce on the windows & make "paint with it", they pull on the vertical blinds, etc. The mothers don't stop talking long enough to answer the waitress asking for their orders. After they leave we are unable to sit anyone in that section because of the huge mess. When the rush is over it takes at least 30 minutes to clean the area.

The last two times they were in, other guests asked our hostess if she could do anything about their noise level, so she politely asked if the kids could please not scream so loud (not sure of her wording). Well, last week the same thing occurred. The hostess asked if they could lower their voices(the kids). My husband went over and asked (he actually fed the baby while he was sitting with the group! ) It ended up that the group told our hostess she was mean and she didn't like them. What do we do next time they are in? (They said they'll be back!)

I hate to turn away customers but these women are beyond difficult. They keep the waitstaff running after things they end up not using and they tip less than 10%. Last Thursday they said they didn't get silverware (they did have silverware but didn't use it) and didn't tip at all. The tipping is the least of our problems. I'm concerned with how to accommodate this group so everyone is happy. Should we ignore that they are "trashing the place" during each visit, or just brush it off as kids making a mess? How much of a mess and noise is tolerable to keep all guest happy?

A note from the Doc:
This may come as a shock to those who have me pegged as a bleeding heart guest-hugger, but you have an obligation to give the rest of your guests a pleasant dining experience as well. Since this group has had ample opportunity to "get their act together" and showed no interest in doing so, I would say you are within your rights to refuse service to them (as politely as you can, of course.) If they get upset -- and they probably will -- you still haven't lost anything.

There may be a slight legality to all this in your state that you might want to check out, but you clearly have to take some action. I know that in California you need a notice somewhere that says you have the right to refuse service to anyone, but get on top of this situation before it starts costing you the business of others. I suspect this will not be the first time this group has been 86'd from a restaurant. Ah, the joys of dealing with the public!

Have an idea to offer Lisa?
This discussion continues on my message board.

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