It's a Hairy Situation

The economy is bad. We are trying to save money, not go out as much. We buy in bulk, and cook at home. But there are those days we as consumers make the choice to indulge and go out to eat. So indulge everyday, 3 times a day, others no so much. We go on the open road and we make a decision of who gets our business. Yes, who we give our business to, is our choice.
I had an incident on Friday that has made me discuss this with you all. This is not the first time things have happen but it seems as lately this problem has become common and businesses need to listen.

Hey business owner, do you wonder why sales are down, why people are not coming back, why you are losing loyal customers, etc?

I put a company on blast on Friday because this is how disappointed and frustrated I was. And when I did, I started getting stories from others that I was not alone. On Friday, I went to my use to be favorite restaurant, Chilis. Long story short, hair in our food, bad customer service, and management who really did not care. Which leads me here.

First, I want to talk about the hairy situation. I do not want to find anything other than the proper ingredients in my food. One of these things just doesnt belong here...a hair curled into a crouton. Food quality has been the #1 reason why many consumers stop going to a certain place. I took a personal poll amongst my friends and this was the biggest complaint they all had. You pick a restaurant because the food is good. You recommend a place because the food is good. We frequent a restaurant, Empire Cafe.
They have great food. I recommend it. My friend took me there for breakfast one day and I have been a frequent diner ever since. The presentation is great.

Second, Customer Service. Has anyone ever heard of the customer is always right? I have. It was drilled into me everyday at work when I worked for Sears. Customer Service was our #1 priority. I actually won several awards for giving great customer service in secret shopper polls. I took my job seriously, and gave every single person the same great service regardless of the day, regardless of how busy I was, or ridiculous the request. Customers would come back and ask for me by name. This was my very first job, and I was only 18 years old, going to school full time, and working part time. But where has the customer service gone to. With so many people out of a job, your mentally becomes am I irreplaceable? Ask yourself, are you doing your job to the best of your ability? No matter what the job may be, it pertains to everyone. My mom is in her 50s, and can out work all of the younger females in her line of duty. Her job is hard, not many want to do it, but she does it GREAT. Her employers know she does, that is why she wins awards every year for being employee of the month, and even year. All I am saying is give us the service we are paying for. We are the customers, if a business does not have customers they go out of business. Customer Service should be a priority. Going back to my Chilis trip, the reason we were more upset was because of the service we received.

And last but not least, managers, the people who run the establishments. Company hire managers to take care of their business. Managers are their eyes and ears. Have you seen the show where the CEO goes and works at his own company. That CEO realizes at the end of the show who works, how hard they work, and everything that they do not see in a daily basis from head quarters. I was very dissapointed at how the manager acted when we showed him the hair. He could have changed the situation around easily by a simple SINCERE apology.

Have you ever had this happen? Have you ordered ham and gotten bacon? Have you had a hairy situation in your food? Did anyone fix your situation? I want to hear what you have to say. We have a voice. Restaurant owners need to listen. Please comment.