I was eating at one of my favorite restaurants
and the waiter started complaining
about how demanding patrons were
and how they were never happy, etc. etc.
He thought he’d get sympathy.
My reaction?
This man can’t handle his job.
And I figured
that I was one of those ‘demanding’ patrons
he’d tell his next table about.
If you complain about your customers
to other customers,
you soon won’t have customers
to complain about.
If it is a legitimate complaint,
talk to your manager
under the guise of
‘how would you handle….’
If it is one of those work grumbles
we all get,
talk to a friend who is disconnected
to your office
(i.e. she won’t tell anyone
about your rather trivial complaints).
If you need an excuse
to give a customer
like
‘sorry, it has been crazy in here’,
present it as a positive observation,
rather than a complaint.
I once saw a waiter get chewed out
by a customer.
That waiter came to my table,
grinned
and said ‘she’s one of our regulars.’
I don’t know if he was joking
but we all laughed
and he was seen as a professional.
Customers buy
solutions.
Don’t load them down
with more problems.