Sugo Petaluma
5 Petaluma Blvd. South, Suite B
Petaluma, CA 94952
707 782.9298
sugotrattoria@gmail.com
The customer is always right or aren’t they?
About day one in my venture into cooking school in my
attempt to become a chef we were taught, "The customer is always right
". That was stressed if you
where the owner, the chef or the dishwasher the customer is always right. This
is a very service oriented business no matter if you have a Michelin Star or not.
If the customer is not happy with the service then the likelihood of them
coming back is highly unlikely. Well I guess Sugo missed that lesson. Customer
service can make or break any business and bad service can destroy a business.
In the food industry this is especially the case no matter how good the food
is. This was the case with a local favorite Petaluma restaurant Sugo.
Sugo unfortunately had not learned this valuable lesson in
customer services. There is plenty I am willing to overlook, especially after
being in the food industry. Having poor service when the restaurant is not busy
is pretty much a bad practice. This was the case while dining at Sugo.
Entering a near empty eating gallery during the beginning of
diner rush is a blessing and a curse. A blessing if you are in a hurry because
your meal can be prepared faster.
Usually you are able to have more attention from wait staff with out
being rushed if you’re early. A curse because it could indicate pending
disaster. My wife was not feeling especially hungry that night and had asked to
order a smaller proportion from the children’s menu. Our waitress issued a very negative response. “Absolutely
not! You must be 12 and under. The
chef is adamant about that.” Okay…
that harsh response was a surprise. Undaunted and yet still shaken my wife
asked, “ Then may I possibly order a different item. Is it possible to order the risotto and half of risotto boxed
because I am not very hungry?” Our waitress responded, “Our kitchen does not do
that.” When our dinner arrived my wife’s meal was rudely slapped down on the
table and an empty to go box dropped beside it. The waitress did not box the ½ proportion nor did she offer
to help or even provide a spoon with which my wife could accomplish the job.
Okay so restaurants run on a very slim profit margin. Portions are highly monitored to help
keep food cost down and in order to maintain profitability. That helps explain
why an adult usually is not encouraged to order for the children’s menu.
Usually the policies concerning this practice are expressed in writing on the
menu. This helps prevent confusion. This also clarifies to customers about policies and
practices. Fair enough, it is a
tough business to keep running.
This does not however excuse poor customer service. Every
one has a bad day. We can all understand that. No matter how good the food is; how
many special features such as showing movies on the wall while dining; no
matter how good your flashy web site is; it does not matter how cool your blog
is for your restaurant is. Not making the customer being felt wanted in a
services oriented business is suicide.
To make things perfectly fair to Sugo. My wife and I were in
a rush and we did not talk to a manger addressing our dissatisfaction with our
waitress. Nor did we call later. We did not return the rudeness we were served
up. We did not demand unreasonable request to rush our order.
So why put the time and effort into posting this at all? Is
this a rant, a chance at free meal, a flame war, an axe to grind or to have any
other alterative reason? No, no, no, no and no. I am posting this as a
cautionary tail for poor practices with customer services. I wish no ill to
Sugo but I will not be returning.
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