Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.

are you a complainer?

2»

Comments

  • #32
    Eugene Norman
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,191 ✭✭✭Eugene Norman


    Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »
    I have no hesitation in complaining if I feel there is something worth complaining about. I really don't like this Irish thing of not complaining at the time, but then bad-mouthing the business later. It's so passive aggressive.

    Last year I had a meal in an extremely well-known Michelin starred restaurant in London. I was footing the bill, so expected everything to be perfect. It wasn't. My caviar blini was rubbery, and one of the cheese served as part of the cheeseboard was obviously unripened. Our waiter was rather surly in that way that only the French can be. Refused to accept that the cheese wasn't right. A quick chat with the maître d and all was rectified. The waiter was made to apologise and we got a lovely bottle of Yves Cuilleron condrieu on the house.

    Better than mumbling about it at the time before going home, getting drunk and writing a bitter and semi-coherent rant about the place on TripAdvisor.

    They were just shutting you up Aonghus mc Bogger. The cheese was meant to be like that. Michellian starred waiters know their cheese


  • #33
    jas376
    Registered Users Posts: 41 ✭jas376


    I was once advised by a chef to never complain about food in a restaurant. The reason he gave was that if the kitchen staff take exception to your complaint they can do anything they wish to your food and you'll probably never even know. For example, I've heard stories about saliva being added to soup and steaks being dragged across kitchen floors by belligerent kitchen staff.


  • #34
    eviltwin
    Registered Users Posts: 17,495 ✭✭✭✭eviltwin


    I'm quite a shy person but if I feel someone is trying to con me or isn't giving me the service I paid for I will have no problem complaining.


  • #35
    Baby Jane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 227 ✭✭Baby Jane


    Yes I have raised it if I think a service is poor - rarely, but have done so (Vodafone, UPC, a restaurant, and a bar). I have worked in a lot of customer-facing roles, and know what it's like for those dealing with the public and how unreasonable (to the point of lunacy at times) members of the public can be, so I like to think I can tell the difference between a valid grievance and just being a whinge.
    The one thing I have always ensured though is NEVER to be aggressive; it is possible to express unhappiness with a service via being polite and understanding and even pleasant, and to remember that it's not usually the fault personally of the person you're complaining to.
    This approach results in the issue being resolved/a conciliatory gesture. You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. If a customer is being an aggressive, abusive arsehole, no matter how valid their grievance is, it just causes the staff to lose any sympathy for them and not to be as willing to help them.


  • #36
    P. Breathnach
    Registered Users Posts: 12,089 ✭✭✭✭P. Breathnach


    I agree with Baby Jane about being polite. I work on the assumption that if I tell people what is wrong, they will put it right. That's what usually happens. If it doesn't, I'm prepared to escalate things - but that is rarely necessary.

    I'm quite willing to tell people about problems with quality or service. Why not? I give them money, and they are supposed to give me value for it.


  • Advertisement
  • #37
    Baby Jane
    Closed Accounts Posts: 227 ✭✭Baby Jane


    That said, sickeningly, a lot of the shouty types do get pandered to even if their grievance isn't valid - for a quiet life.
    So that approach can work, but I don't think being an absolute dick to people is worth anything.


Advertisement