[NTLK] OT: Customers, was: Einstein and Xcode 4, problems with Cocoa graphics calls, HELP NEEDED.

[James Fraser]

Hello,

--- On Wed, 9/12/12, Matthias Melcher <mm at matthiasm.com> wrote:
 
> Not to say that complaints are always wrong and shouldn't be
> taken seriously, but very often, just by the kind of
> complaint, it;s easy to tell that the client didn;t invest
> any time into figuring out, what's wrong

[snip]

> The most common one is this one: "The beer/wine is bad. I won't pay." >(After finishing the entire half liter glass/bottle).

Well, if nothing else, you have to admire the dedication of such people, don't you? :D  

What I mean is: rather than taking a sip or two, and immediately declaring the beer/wine to be unsatisfactory, they have, instead, taken the time and trouble to finish the entire glass/bottle, first, before they decide that, yes, the half liter of drink they've just consumed was bad. :/

Perhaps it's one of those self-sacrificing gestures we all hear about from time to time (e.g. a solider throwing himself onto a grenade to save his nearby comrades)?  Maybe they figure that if they finish off the entire half liter of "bad" beer/wine, they'll spare another patron from ever having to drink it?

(That is to say, no, I don't get it either.)

> A customer had a bit of sauce under the plate. This can happen when >carrying more than one plate stacked on the waters arm. We apologized, >took the dish, warmed the food, rearranged on a new plate, returned the >plate with an apology and a free desert for both at the table. Result: a >review on facebook ripping us to shreds on how dirty we are... .


Perhaps I'm alone in thinking this, but my own experience in serving the Great Unwashed from time to time has taught me the following paradox:

"The more you do for some people, the less grateful they are."

While I think of it, though, I have to ask: how the devil did the customer see the bit of sauce that was -under- his/her plate?  [scratches head]

Whenever I go out to eat (assuming the restaurant will even let me in in the first place, of course), I am seldom afforded the opportunity to inspect the bottom of the plate I am eating from.  The only thing I can think of offhand is that the patron spotted the dab of sauce when s/he was handed the plate by the waiter.  Was that what happened?

(In which case, I'm torn between saluting them for their eagle eyes and rolling my own eyes at the fact that the patron appears to have waaaay too much time on his/her hands.) ¬_¬

I'm probably missing something here, but I can't for the life of me work out what possible difference it could make to a customer if a dab of sauce is -under- his/her plate.  Personally, I'm far more interested in what I see on the top of the plate than anything else, but perhaps I'm in the minority with such a viewpoint.  

(With viewpoints like mine, I find myself in the minority quite often.)


Best,

James Fraser

PS: Any chance you could compile a list of the specific complaints that net the complainants free meals (as opposed to a mere free dessert as above)?  Speaking as a Scot, I would be terribly interested in such a list.