Like many people with Celiac Disease and food allergies, I have trust issues with restaurants. Sometimes I go to a restaurant that gets absolutely everything right and amazes me with their knowledge and service. Other times, I’m appalled by a restaurant’s ignorance and unwillingness to go out of their way for a paying customer. I’ve written about steps, which restaurants can take to make their gluten-free or allergic patrons feel safe. Celiac and the Beast also had some great input yesterday, after having an awful experience at a restaurant.
Aside from having a gluten-free menu and having policies and procedures in place to ensure a safe meal, the service is what takes a restaurant to the next level.
The difference between an average restaurant and a great restaurant is customer service.
To me, good customer service is when the company or restaurants is able to figure out what the customer wants or needs and offer it before the customer asks. This doesn’t mean the company never makes mistakes; it simply means they acknowledge them, apologize for them and promptly figure out how to remedy it. It’s always validating to get what we want AFTER we ask for it, but we feel understood and valued when someone already knows what we want and gives it to us before we even ask.
How does can this type of service be implemented in a restaurant for food allergies or Celiac Disease?
- When seating a patron, ask right away if anyone in their party has any food allergies or if they need a gluten-free menu. I understand the legal reasons for putting a statement on the menu to notify your server if anyone has food allergies and am not suggesting that be eliminated; but when the server or host asks about dietary restrictions up front, it makes the customer feel more comfortable. This will demonstrate the restaurant is aware of food allergies and Celiac Disease.
- When the response is “yes,” tell them how you’ll handle it. People with food allergies or Celiac Disease, don’t want to be perceived as picky, annoying or burdensome. Once you find out what their food allergy is, explain how you’ll ensure their meal is safe and ask if they have any further requests.
- Ask for their feedback at the end rather than waiting for their potential complaint. If there was a mistake, offer some sort of concession before they have to ask. Although you obviously want to be careful not to make mistakes, how you handle it determines whether or not you have a repeat customer, and whether or not they’ll feel comfortable trying your restaurant again.
When it comes to food allergies and Celiac Disease, all I want is for a restaurant to be knowledgeable and honest. If this means they KNOW they’re unable to provide a safe meal for me, so be it. But a restaurant needs to be up front about this so they’re not putting their customers’ lives at risk.
Anything I missed? Have you had any great (or awful) customer service experiences at restaurants?
I can’t think of anything you missed – and I agree 100% about the customer service end of serving. If a person feels safe and welcomed, he or she will tell others and likely return. It works for everyone. Too bad so many restaurants don’t seem to grasp this.
Too many companies in general don’t seem to grasp it! It’s a shame because it’s really the service that keeps people loyal, not the product (for the most part).
You make great points. Eating out shouldn’t be so challenging. And scary.
We owned lodging & eating & cattering— for many years— my problem was being able to hire help that no matter how well you trained them– no matter how well you paid them— finding the quality of employees was next to impossible— didn’t matter how well yu tried– you had those employees who knew more then you did– or just didn’t care– I have trained hundreds & I mean hundreds of people over the years– & maybe 10% gave a damn!!! Fnding good employees in the service industry is HARD!!!! I know very very very well from experience– I have been there done that & bought the T-shirt!!! I suffer from MCS when we owned lodging– we cleaned everything with natural products– BUT– I WOULD AWAYS HAVE SOME EMPLOYEES THAT KNEW BETTER THAN WE DID AS OWNERS& MANGERS & TRAINERS-WE went through hundreds & hundreds of employees– rules & policiesare wonderful– but you have to have employees that respect them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It’s true. Finding people who truly care about the work they do is challenging, in many industries I think. It’s a shame.
I have personally worked 24 hour shifts at our own businesses because the employees didn’t show up for work– didn’t care– worke only long enough to draw unemploment– etc etc etc– owning lodging & resturants & cattering companines for many years I knew many many many many other owners also— ALL of our complaints stemed around finding good help– & it didn’t matter the wages or how much money they made–finding good employees in the service industry was our main problems— I probably would still own some of the businesses we owned IF WE COULD HAVE FOUND QUALITY EMPLOYEES!!!
Yeah, it must be frustrating hiring in those industries, especially because they’re not usually the most high-paying anyway. I do meet a lot of quality employees at restaurants, even teenagers, who truly care and make an enormous effort, though. They’re out there, but I trust your experience that they’re hard to find!
You seemed to have all of the bases covered, here. Great post!
In my opinion, great customer service shouldn’t be limited to just restaurants. I frequently shop at Bath and Body Works, and the associates there at first had no idea what products had gluten in it until I started asking. Upon my next visit, they were able to tell me which products to avoid and which products were to their knowledge safe for me.
If only all companies and stores were willing to go above and beyond like this.
I definitely agree with you that it shouldn’t be limited just to restaurants! As far as allergies and cosmetics or beauty products told, I CONSTANTLY get told by sales reps that because I’m not ingesting it, it shouldn’t cause a problem (with regard to nut oils and sesame oils) which is infuriating because it DOES cause a problem for me, and I wouldn’t go out of my way to ask if it didn’t. I’m glad B&BW was able to answer your question the next time they went in! It is too bad that not every company is willing to take that extra step.
They won’t want poison in their make up, so why would we?!
Exactly.
I have found a sandwich shop down the road from my house that, while they don’t stock GF bread, will make a sandwich for me when I bring it in to them. They will lay out new butchers’ paper, go get clean utensils (and latex-free gloves), and take nearly as many precautions as I would, myself. The last time my husband went in for us, one of the women exclaimed that her niece was just diagnosed as Celiac, and she “knew what to do for her!” People like that make all the difference.
I always say, “If you don’t know, be willing to learn.”
That’s fantastic! I feel so happy when I find places like that. It’s not a TON of extra work but it feels like so much for a Celiac or someone with food allergies.
Great post! I think some restaurants find it an imposition to be made responsible for preventing their customers from getting sick, especially when it comes to the little details of cross-contamination. But you’d never hear them say they’re “not responsible” for preventing food poisoning! Why is it so different?
Specifically being asked about allergies — or having the server or other staff not look utterly befuddled when you mention them — goes a long way towards comfort for me. Basic education the staff is key. I remember having a head-banging conversation with a very nice waiter at a steakhouse on vacation once — at that point, I was just dairy-free, and he came back to me, confused, because the KITCHEN STAFF was arguing with him about whether or not mayonnaise was a dairy product! Chain restaurant, tourist destination, all that, but still, it was bad, even though our waiter was good.
Nice post. One thing I hate is when a restaurant offers GF entrees, but no GF appetizers or desserts (other than a plain scoop of vanilla ice cream – lame). Also, when I tell the servers I need GF and its serious and they bring our a loaf of bread and place it right at my place setting. The best is when they say, “Oh…you can’t eat this…everyone else enjoy.” That sucks. I had one restaurant offer me a small bowl of almonds while they gave my husband the bread. That way I didn’t feel left out. It was awesome!
Yeah it’s definitely frustrating to get only one or two safe options!
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