Want the latest retirement plan adviser news and insights? Sign up for PLANADVISER newsletters.
Filthy Forks, Wisecracking Waiters Among Restaurant Diners’ Complaints
Top diner gripes are dirty tables, utensils or restrooms, garnering even more complaints than food, according to a survey by the National Research Center of Consumer Reports.
Men and women agree equally on the major complaints. Women tend to be slightly more upset about dirty or ill-equipped restrooms than men.
Server problems also figured strongly in diner unhappiness. Almost three-quarters of respondents (72%) cited impolite or condescending servers, followed by servers’ sloppy appearance or hygiene (67%) and server pressure in the diner to finish or leave (61%).
Other service complaints included servers removing food or beverages before the diner finished (59%), slow service (51%), not bringing water until asked (27%), calling the diner pet names such as “honey” or “dear” (24%) or becoming confused over which diner gets which meal (17%).
Some people want to know what’s in that Blooming Onion; others not so much. But the two groups were similar in their percentage, with a small percentage (14%) pointing out when not enough nutritional information is given, and a similar number (16%) feeling that so much nutritional information is given that it’s a turn-of to eating.
In descending order of irritation, other complaints are:
- Meals or beverages served at incorrect temperatures (66%);
- Meals not what was ordered (62%);
- Food doesn’t look or taste as described on the menu (54%);
- Tips of 18% or more automatically added to check; table not ready more than 15 minutes past reservation time (tied at 50%);
- Inaccurate calculation on check (48%);
- Tables that are too close together (39%);
- Loud or distracting diners at other tables; poorly situated table near a door or the kitchen, for example (both 38%); and
- Nearby diners talking or texting on cell phones (30%).
The National Research Center of Consumer Reports surveyed 1,003 adults in March for its findings.