6A- What the waiter really thinks

READING

3. READING

a Look at the title of the article on p.95. Do people in your country usually complain in
restaurants if things aren’t right, or do they suffer in silence? Have you ever “lost your
cool” in a restaurant? What happened?

b Read the article once.

How to complain in restaurants…without losing your cool

People often lose their temper when they try to complain about bad food or service.
So how do you do it effectively?

1- Ask to speak to the manager

Seventy-five per cent of all problems in restaurants are caused by bad organization, bad
training, or employing the wrong staff. The waiters are often innocent victims, so they are not
the right person to complain to.
2- Be clear about what’s wrong and what you want
Have a reasonable idea in your head of how you want the complaint dealt with (i.e. the dish re-
cooked, removed from the bill, etc.). Make your case politely, but clearly; don’t start your
sentence with “Sorry…”. What are you apologizing for?
3 - Put yourself in their shoes
A waiter’s job isn’t easy. You need to recognize the difference between when they are being
genuinely rude or lazy, and when they are simply overworked. Booking systems crash. A big
group of people who haven’t booked suddenly arrives. Staff get ill. Look around you. Are you
waiting for your drinks because the staff are chatting by the till, or are they rushing around
because the restaurant is clearly understaffed?
4- Respect people’s expertise
Never tell restaurant staff how you think a dish should be cooked or how a drink should be
served. If you want something done in a specific way, ask for it. Good restaurants will do it.
You don’t need to prove how much you know about food and wine by talking about your
holiday in Italy or your best friend who has a vineyard. Please also bear in mind that you
probably don’t know everything. They are the professionals. You aren’t.
5- There’s bad cooking… and there’s different cooking
The fact that a dish has not been made ”how you do it at home” is not a good reason to
complain. The same applies to portion size, unless you can see that the table next to you got
twice as much as you. But too much salt, important ingredients missing, undercooked fish,
cold or burnt food: these are all good reasons for complaining.
6- The menu is there for a reason
You want a dish served without one of its ingredients? Within reason, that’s fine. You want your
steak cooked until it’s like shoe leather? It’s OK to ask for that. However, if you want spaghetti
bolognese and it isn’t on the menu, that’s too bad. Similarly, you can’t expect the staff to run to
the nearest supermarket to get you some white bread because you don’t like the chef’s
wholemeal loaf.
7- Oh no, not TripAdvisor!
Don’t threaten to write a bad review on a restaurant review site if you are unhappy with the food
or service. If your complaint hasn’t been satisfactorily resolved on the night, email the restaurant.
You will be amazed how receptive restaurants can be.
8- Don’t wait to complain
Don’t continue drinking your vinegary wine or eating your overcooked steak until you are halfway
through and then complain. Similarly, there’s no point in telling the waitress who is clearing the
table that there wasn’t enough sauce.
Speak up while the mistake can be corrected.

F.Actualización: 05/01/2024 6A – READING 1

 6A- What the waiter really thinks
READING

Who do you think the writer sympathizes with most, restaurant staff or customers?
He sympathizes with restaurant staff – the article says ‘the waiters are often innocent victims’
of bad management; they are often overworked.

c Read the article again and complete it with headings A-H

3 A Put yourself in their shoes

5 B There’s bad cooking… and there’s different cooking.
1 C Ask to speak to the manager.
7 D Oh, no, not Tripadvisor!
4 E Respect people’s expertise
2 F Be clear about what’s wrong and what you want
8 G Don’t wait to complain
6 H The menu is there for a reason

d Look at the highlighted words in the article. What do you think over- and under- mean
when they are used before another word?
over = more than necessary (overworked – overcooked)
under = less than necessary (understaffed)

Speakers of Spanish
Go online for extra Vocabulary > How to complain

[Presenter] Hello and welcome to the programme. Now, complaining in a restaurant can be quite
difficult, and very few people know how to do it well. Today, I’ve got a restaurant critic
in the studio with me. He’s going to give us some tips on what you should do if you
aren’t satisfied with the service you receive. Good morning, Owen.

F.Actualización: 05/01/2024 6A – READING 2

 6A- What the waiter really thinks
READING

[Owen] Hello.
[Presenter] What’s the key to making a successful complaint, Owen?
[Owen] The most important thing is to act immediately. If you aren’t happy with something, say
so right away. That way, the restaurant will have a chance to do something about it,
and you won’t spoil the meal for everybody else.
[Presenter] How should we go about making the complaint?
[Owen] Call the waiter over quietly and calmly explain what is wrong. Express your
disappointment and then politely ask him or her to solve the problem. It’s important not
to blame the waiter as he or she may not be directly responsible for the problem. If a
dish isn’t cooked to your satisfaction, it is more likely to be the chef’s fault than the
waiter’s.
[Presenter] So, what should we do if the waiter doesn’t solve the problem?
[Owen] That’s when you need to take the complaint to someone in a higher position. Ask
politely to speak to the manager. Explain the problem to him or her and say why you're
not satisfied with the waiter’s reaction.
[Presenter] Are there any other ways of showing that we aren’t satisfied?
[Owen] Yes, you always have the tip to play with. Giving a small tip is a powerful way of
showing your dissatisfaction. Of course, you can always decide not to leave a tip at all,
but if you do that, the waiter might think that you have forgotten. Remember to
separate a problem with the waiter from a problem with the restaurant. If the food
wasn’t very good, but the waiter dealt with your complaint as well as he or she could,
then you should still leave a tip.
[Presenter] What about once we’ve left the restaurant? Is there anything we can do?
[Owen] Yes, there is. If you’re still not satisfied after you've complained to the waiter and the
manager, it’s time to go to the authorities. In the UK, you can contact the Citizen’s
Advice Bureau or the Office of Fair Trading, and in the USA, you can try your local
Better Business Bureau office. Most countries have consumer organizations like this,
and it’s important to know how to get in touch with them.
[Presenter] And finally, what should we do if we get sick after eating in a restaurant?
[Owen] If you get food poisoning and you believe it came from your meal, you should report it
to the restaurant immediately. If the restaurant doesn’t take your complaint seriously,
you can report your illness to the local health department.
[Presenter] Owen, thank you for that advice.
[Owen] My pleasure.

Online practice

What the waiter really thinks > Practice > The 7 worst customer service crimes:Activity 1

Read and listen to an article about bad customer service. Choose the correct headings.

The 7 worst customer service crimes

Mary Portas – broadcaster, writer, and shopping expert – names some of the most irritating
aspects of shopping …

1 Keeping too few checkouts

So many stores are guilty of this. The worst are the supermarkets. Then they ring the bell to
get a new cashier from out the back, and leave their finger on the bell, making a really
irritating noise.

2 Silent cashiers
Cashiers at supermarket checkouts now don’t even say the final price – you’re supposed to
see it on the bill. They’ve lost basic communication skills. Even worse is when they dump the
receipt and the change into your hand in one lump. Horrible.

F.Actualización: 05/01/2024 6A – READING 3

 6A- What the waiter really thinks
READING

3 Inappropriate offers.
At the newsagent’s, you go to the counter to buy a newspaper and they offer to sell a huge
chocolate bar for £ 1, as well. A massive bar of chocolate at 7.30 in the morning? How about
just smiling and saying good morning?

4 Terrible changing rooms

There’s a long queue to try things on, but they say, “You can only take in four items”. You
should be able to take a big armful. And there’s nowhere to hang your clothes, so you have
to put them on the floor. Except the floors are filthy.

5 Too much stock.

Again, many fashion stores are guilty of this. The rails are so full of clothes that you can’t
even see the sizes. You have to pull the hangers apart to look in, then they fall onto the
floor.

6 It’s a shop, not a social club

I hate it when assistants stand next to the till gossiping to each other. It’s all too common in
department stores, hairdressers, and coffee shops. All you want to do is pay, but it’s as if
you’re invisible.

7 Too much pressure to buy

This is why I hate beauty counters. You walk through the ground floor of many department
stores and a woman runs after you and sprays you with perfume, asking: “Could I just
interest you in..? Her face is usually orange, with eyebrows drawn on with a pencil. It says,
“You too could look like me”. Well, no thanks! I’m quite happy with the way I am!

1.  Keeping too few checkouts 5.  Inappropriate offers

 It’s a shop, not a social club  Too much stock.
 Terrible changing rooms  Keeping too few checkouts
2.  Silent cashiers 6.  Terrible changing rooms
 Too much stock.  It’s a shop, not a social club
 Too much pressure to buy  Silent cashiers
3.  Keeping too few checkouts 7.  Too much stock.
 It’s a shop, not a social club.  Inappropriate offers
Inappropriate offers.  Too much pressure to buy
4. Terrible changing rooms
 Silent cashiers
 Too much pressure to buy

F.Actualización: 05/01/2024 6A – READING 4

 6A- What the waiter really thinks
READING

Activity 2:
1. Supermarkets should make sure people 6. It’s important to limit the number of items
don’t have to queue for too long to pay. customers take into changing rooms so
 Agrees that they don’t spend too long in there.
 Disagrees  Agrees
 Disagrees
2. Cashiers should be more friendly 7. Changing rooms are generally
 Agrees uncomfortable and dirty.
 Disagrees  Agrees
 Disagrees
3. Cashiers shouldn’t chat to customers. 8. It should be easy to see what size clothes are.
 Agrees  Agrees
 Disagrees  Disagrees
4. Shop assistants shouldn’t encourage 9. It’s unreasonable to expect shop assistants not to
you to buy things you haven’t asked for. chat to each other while they are working.
 Agrees  Agrees
 Disagrees  Disagrees
5. Instead of chocolate, the newsagents 10. People on beauty counters usually look great
should offer people fruit to buy. because they use the products.
 Agrees  Agrees
 Disagrees  Disagrees

F.Actualización: 05/01/2024 6A – READING 5