How to Deal with Poor Service

Poor service, even at a fast food counter, is irritating. In fact it is beyond irritating-there are times when we are tempted to raise our voices to fever pitch, and let that incompetent service person (and everyone else within hearing distance) know just how we feel about it.

But wait a minute before you yield to the temptation to make a scene that could cost someone their job, and/or label you as an impossible to please, sputtering old windbag, take a minute to think about it.

If improving the service offered in a particular establishment is your goal, there are much better ways to do it, but if the poor service involves more than just a couple of irritating moments out of your day, you still need to think first, before flying off the handle and saying or doing something you may regret later.

First of all, the old saying about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar is absolutely true. You don't really get improved service when you yell or complain. You get improved service by treating your server with respect ,and by giving him or her benefit of the doubt as often as possible.

Next time you find yourself fuming because the quality of service you are receiving doesn't seem to be what you are paying for, try these suggestions.

1. Use tact whenever you have to correct someone or make a complaint.

"My, the restaurant seems busy today. Is our coffee ready yet?" is a much better approach to a harried waitress than a snide, "Hey, where's our coffee? We've been waiting half an hour."

I quit eating lunch out with a friend a few years ago because she always managed to find something wrong, and raised her voice far beyond ordinary speaking tones to let the waitress or waiter know about it.

Once, she said, "It's about time! Since when does it take 20 minutes to scramble eggs?" But the comment that finally made me cancel our standing luncheon date was, "Is this meat fresh? The last time I ate here, I spent the whole night running to the bathroom." The giggles and stares from other diners kept me from enjoying my lunch, but my friend seemed oblivious. (I'm not saying her comments were untrue; just that she could have found other ways to get her point across-or if she was so dissatisfied, perhaps she should have chosen to take her business elsewhere.)

In the case of a more serious type of poor service, you will be more likely to get good results by saying, "Would you mind taking another look at my car? I'm still having a problem with that knocking sound when I put on the brakes," rather than, "I had my car in here for 2 days last week, and you didn't fix the problem. I want it fixed right, this time or I'm going to report you to the Better Business Bureau." Threats are definitely not the way to win friends and influence people. Neither is an attempt to affix blame.

2. Never embarrass a service provider, especially in front of another customer.

If you have paid for a service you didn't receive, or the service was performed poorly, wait until you have a moment alone with the service provider. He or she may not be aware that the coffee they served was not heated as hot as you like. Maybe they were up with a sick child all night, or have just been given a pink slip effective at the end of the month. Give them an opportunity to correct or explain why the service you requested was not up to your expectations. If possible, find something to compliment the server on. Criticism is easier to digest when a bit of praise comes along with it.

Even if no satisfactory agreement can be reached, you don't need to raise your voice or resort to name calling. Simply say that you are sorry they disagree, and that you will try to find other ways to resolve the complaint.

If the problem is relatively minor, just take your business elsewhere. Hopefully, the fact that you have expressed your feelings will be enough to cause the problem to be corrected for future customers.

3. Be patient while waiting for your service conflict to be resolved.

Many years ago, my husband ordered some radio-control equipment from a mail-order company and the order arrived minus one important component-the plans on how to use it. My husband was furious and fired a letter off to them by return mail. A week later they replied, using the salutation; "Keep your socks on, Sonny. A simple reminder would have done the trick." They were so right. My husband didn't get his missing plans any sooner by being snippy with them. Not including the plans in the order was probably just an honest mistake on the company's part.

My husband didn't order from that particular company again, and it was probably just as well since he had probably been labeled as a smart-alecky kid in their opinion.

I once had to return a printer to a well-known manufacturer and will admit that I got pretty frustrated by the time the deal was finally concluded. Later, they sent me a program disc for my trouble, and the printer has proved so reliable that I am glad now I did dredge up the extra patience that was required at the time

4. Contact outside sources for help only as a last resort.

If the problem is not a minor one, you may have to take further steps to find a satisfactory solution. For example, you may have paid for an expensive automobile part only to find the repair man substituted a cheap used one; or something you ordered online didn't arrive, and the company is not responding to your e-mails about it; or your favorite grocery store seems to be using false advertising to draw customers away from its competitors. There are lots of legitimate reasons you might need to go further than the local service person or his or her manager, to resolve a problem.

If the company you are dealing with is a franchise business, a complaint to their head office may suffice to correct the problem, but be sure you have facts to back up your complaint. That means the problem should be a recurring one, and that you have already made an attempt to deal with it at the local level without success.

Maybe you will have to report the establishment to the Better Business Bureau, or, eventually, even to take them to court to recover damages you have suffered. A company could lose their license to practice business in your area as a result, so these measures should be only used as a last resort. How much better to negotiate a settlement whenever possible.

Remember, service providers are people just like we are. That means we need to try, "nice," before we even think about getting tough. And, if possible, try it with a smile.