I had the worst experience at a downtown restaurant for lunch this week. In 45 minutes all we got was our drinks, no food and no explanation as to why our food hadn’t arrived yet. Since we were sitting near the kitchen we could see that one of our appetizers had been sitting ready to deliver for over 20 minutes.

Since our waiter was not around to ask and I didn’t see any managers working the floor, I went up to the host station and asked to speak to a manager. They sent one over to our table just as soon as all of our food arrived, appetizers and entrees (drives me crazy!). I explained our long wait and that I thought it was ridiculous to make a customer wait 45 minutes for food. She was very apologetic and said she would comp our entire meal.

The situation could have been very different if our waiter communicated with us and apologized for the delay in food. Instead because it was mishandled I will probably avoid that location as a lunch spot.

My reason for sharing this story with you is that we all seem to complain about the bad customer service we receive. We hardly give praise when it’s deserved.  During the holiday season we all have this great sense of giving. Have you ever considered giving a great recommendation to a restaurant or business? There are so many ways to praise a business when you receive great service, you can tweet about it, write on their Facebook page, recommend them on LinkedIn or even write a thoughtful thank you card.

Share your great customer service stories with us in the comments or on our Facebook page! We’ll be sure to add our own for your review!