Responsibility Is a Two-Way Street

This Saturday, after performing many and varied tasks and accomplishing my goals for the day, I decided that I would treat myself to a simple, but tasty, meal from Chili’s. Not wanting to shower and attire myself as would befit a diner at this restaurant, my fingers made their way to my keyboard and quickly located online my local Chili’s menu and phone number.

Being a man given to finding a good menu item and sticking to it, I soon settled upon my regular Chili’s order, the grilled chicken sandwich and french fries (every proper meal includes a vegetable). Having thus prepared myself for the task at hand, I picked up my cell phone and called Chili’s.

Chili’s is setup like most restaurants, primarily catering to eat-in diners. However, Chili’s also has a carry-out food service that, at least at my local Chili’s restaurant, is quite popular and does a very steady business. Therefore, ordinarily there is nothing special about placing a "to go" order at Chili’s, and a member of the public should have no difficulty in having his order taken. Regrettably, on this occasion the "ordinary" course of events did not go as planned.

I pulled out my trusty cell phone and dialed my local Chili’s restaurant. A man (we’ll call him Paul) answered the phone and asked how he could assist me. As I have done in the past, I stated my intention to place an order "to go." Paul asked me to "please hold," which I did. However, after about ninety seconds on hold, my call was disconnected. My reaction was one of mild annoyance, but with the thought that when I called back, I would get immediate service rather than continuing to wait on hold. So I called back.

Paul answered the phone again. I restated my desire to place a "to go" order. This time Paul invited me to place my order. Happily I began to do so, indicating my preference for cheddar cheese instead of Swiss, and a request to hold the tomato. To my increased annoyance, Paul cut me off mid-way through my order and again placed me on hold for no stated reason. I held the line for five minutes without hearing back from Paul or anyone else, at which time I disconnected the call.

For the third time I called Chili’s, wondering what was so difficult about placing a "to go" order at a restaurant that featured a "to go" food service. Again, Paul answered the phone.

With my frustration level mounting, I calmly told Paul that I was endeavoring to place an order to go. For the third time in as many calls, Paul just as calmly placed me on hold (for the record, I did not reference my previous order attempts in either my second or third phone calls). Four minutes of on hold time later I determined to drive to the restaurant and speak to the manager in person, purposing to wait on hold until either my call was taken or I arrived at the restaurant.
Locating my wallet and keys, I quickly got in my car and headed for Chili’s (approximately a twelve-minute drive). Just before my phone call reached the thirteen-minute mark, someone at Chili’s disconnected the call. Suffice it to say, I was literally not a happy customer when I pulled up in front of the restaurant.

Walking inside, I was greeted by the capper to my evening, Chili’s host. Perhaps hostess would be a more appropriate term. In my opinion, blatantly effeminate is a very charitable description of this person, as opposed to another word I could legitimately employ. Already in an unhappy frame of mind, I tersely informed the "host" that I wanted to see the manager. Rather surprised by my request, as I had just stepped into the restaurant, the "host" nonetheless walked to the back of the building and procured the manger per my request.

Stepping off to the side of the waiting area with the manager, I briefly acquainted him with the disturbing lack of service I had received in my repeated endeavors to place a "to go" order with his establishment. Informing him that I had placed three separate phone calls to his restaurant, had been disconnected on two of those phone calls, and had waited on hold a combined total of almost twenty minutes, I also gave him the name of the man to whom I had spoken during each call. I finished my comments by stating the obvious fact that the events of the evening were "unacceptable." Fortunately for him, he quickly agreed. Additionally, he promised to speak to the employee in question about the matter.

At this point the tables turned and Chili’s redeemed itself in my book by providing me with a "to go" meal for free: my grilled chicken sandwich, french fries, and an added chocolate shake for good measure. While waiting for my food, the manager brought me a complimentary lemonade to enjoy as I watched the Longhorn’s en route to a 25-22 victory over Ohio State. Fifteen minutes later I was back in my car, free food in hand, ready to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I suppose that the moral to the story is two-fold (I know that there are more than two, but that is how many stand out to me at the moment). One, expect promised service to be delivered as promised. Be understanding, be ready to make exceptions when appropriate, but also be prepared to enforce promises made. Otherwise, at least in a restaurant scenario, you will allow poor service to continue without consequence to the offender, thereby permitting the potential for a bad reputation to fall upon the remainder of the restaurant staff, most of whom are probably very competent and professional about their work (the "host" excluded in my personal situation).

Two, as a manager be prepared to take responsibility for a problem, seeking for ways to alleviate the offense, and assuaging the piqued customer by whatever reasonable means are available. This will likely engender good will in the customer and encourage him to continue to frequent the establishment in question, or at least give him cause to refrain from telling all of his friends about what a terrible business the manager oversees.

Both morals require the exercise of personal responsibility, whether it be in the offendee or in the one ultimately responsible for the actions of the offender. My reward for demonstrating responsibility was a free dinner. The manager’s reward was a customer who will return to his restaurant and who will not take the matter to a corporate level.

There are additional avenues down which I could take this post, such as the question of yielding rights, but I’m going to let all reading this account exercise a little personal responsibility and answer that questions themselves, if they have it. Perhaps I will speak to that matter in the future.

Just a night in the life of yours truly!