Attention: Restaurant management?

Question

I had a customer (muslim lady) come to me the other day with her food and point out it pancetta (pork belly) in it. The meal was cod served with beans, pine nuts and pancetta, she obviously misread (it was clearly stated) or did not ask what pancetta was and ordered it anyway. I felt i didn't really handle the situation at all and only apologised.

What would have been a good way to handle it?

Answer 1

This is all about customer satisfaction - will your Muslim lady come back again? It was her error selecting the fish dish, so simply apologising is a bit weak. Better to have offered to remake the dish without the lardons, or offer an alternative .

Answer 2

If the menu clearly stated that pancetta was in the dish it was her mistake and not yours. However, an apology was good. You could also have offered to have her dish remade without the pancetta at no additional charge.

Answer 3

I think I would have handled it the same way and just pointed out on the menu that it does say it comes with pancetta.  Maybe then ask if she would like something else.  I hate it where I work when people order a sandwich and when I take it out, they look at me accusingly and say, "Oh I didn't realise it came with chips", despite it saying, "Served with seasoned chips" on the menu.

I think sometimes people see what they want to see, the lady you spoke about probably just read "Cod" and thought that would be nice

Answer 4

You did the right thing and simply apologized. Unless she had asked beforehand if there was pork in the meal and was told no. Then you did nothing wrong. People with alergies(religious based or otherwise) It is up to them to ask before ordering and not just assumeing that something is not in their meal. There is nothing you can do but, apologize and maybe replace the meal with something else.

Answer 5

I think you were right to appologise, its sad but even if she wasnt muslim would you have risked your job just because of their stupidity, somttimes its easyer to just say sorry ok and not cause a scene.. after all the customer is always right.... right?