It Pays to Speak Up

I am not normally a complainer. Stop laughing, it's true. I'm a very easygoing person, am not easily upset by everyday frustrations, and am always looking for the silver lining. However, when it comes to customer service, I do get a little bit picky. It's expensive to go out these days, and I am pretty annoyed when an establishment does not take basic steps to show me that my business is appreciated. Usually, if I'm disappointed in the service I get at a restaurant or a store, I just don't go back. But occasionally, I feel the need to let the powers that be know how I feel.

A couple of years ago, I went to El Torito with a couple of other people. We sat down about ten minutes before happy hour was to end, and it took forever to get served. But by the time a waiter finally approached our table, there was still a minute or two left before 7:00, so we quickly got in our order for drinks and that delicious fresh guacamole they make. When the waiter returned with the appetizer, he informed us that happy hour prices would not apply. He claimed that the computerized register locked him out beginning at 7, and that there was nothing he could do. "Bullshit," I thought. We asked to speak to a manager. A manager never came. I fumed in silence...It wasn't about the money, of course, we were talking about 5 or 6 dollars. It was the fact that this restaurant was not doing anything to try to make us happy! But we didn't push it any more that night so as to avoid unwanted additives in our food.

The next day, I went on to the El Torito web page to see if there was a way I could complain. I emailed the corporate office and basically told them that I was disappointed and I wanted to let them know so that they could improve customer service in the future. The response I received shocked me! I got a personal phone call from the regional manager, apologizing like crazy. He said that all stores have the ability to override the computer and that we definitely should have been treated differently. He said that he had spoken with the manager of the restaurant we visited, and that he wanted to make sure I returned to El Torito in the future, so he was sending me a voucher for a meal on the house.

A few days later, the voucher arrived, in the form of a typed letter from the regional manager. I decided to go to a different El Torito to, once again, avoid spit in my food. When I handed the employees at this El Torito the letter, they were bending over backward to make us happy. The manager personally came over to apologize for my previous bad experience, and he comped the entire meal for myself and my guest - drinks, appetizers, entrees, and dessert. I was so stunned and pleased. El Torito has a fan for life!