12 Most Common Restaurant Complaints to Fix at Any Cost

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If you guys have a food blogger friend, I am sure you know how it is to dine with them.

They always seek the best food and the best service at every restaurant. One tiny mistake by the restaurant and it goes straight to the feedback section.

Last week, my friend Rishab and I went to a Vietnamese restaurant to try some of their exotic dishes. I wasn’t expecting the restaurant to be crowded (because Vietnamese cuisine isn’t that accepted in my town). But to my surprise, the restaurant was brimming with people.

While I was praising the place to be so famous, Rishab was talking about the poor management and table turnover rate. He also said he’s going to leave feedback regarding this.

That’s when my blogger mind started to race and came up with something interesting to write. 

In this blog, I am going to talk about some of the most common restaurant complaints (yet very crucial).

Statistics on Experience and Guest Complaints in Restaurants

Before I  talk about the restaurant complaints and solutions, I want to make the point ‘why a restaurant needs to deliver a great experience’.

Here are some stats from different sources:

• About 72% of diners consider food quality when deciding on a restaurant (Toast).
• 90% of guests research about a restaurant online before dining (Upserve)
• 77% prefer peer reviews versus critic reviews (Upserve)
• A one-star increase in a restaurant’s Yelp rating correlated with a 5-9% increase in revenue (Harvard Business School)
• 75% said they won’t visit a restaurant with negative reviews on cleanliness. (Harris Poll for Cintas Corporation)

By now, you must have realized that it’s not just about serving food. It matters about the amount of effort you put in to make your restaurant stand out and the experience your customers get.

Word to the wise: Invest in a good restaurant POS to ensure you deliver a smooth customer experience.

Common Restaurant Complaints and Solutions

In the following common restaurant complaints list, I have categorized the complaints for you to gauge better. Read them and see if your restaurant has also experienced anything of this sort. Also, FIX them!

#1 About the food

Poor quality

Every time I dine at a restaurant and food turns out to be disappointing, here’s what I start to think — “I could cook this at home itself. I simply wasted my money on this food.”

It is one of the most common complaints in restaurants and restaurateurs must be mindful of it. People spend a good amount of money on your food, so make sure the quality is always up to the mark.

I know there are times when it’s tough to manage the kitchen. But don’t forget, “the quality of your food can make or break your restaurant.”

If the food is mediocre or unsafe or presents the risk for food poisoning, words about bad food quality are going to spread faster than you can imagine.

Overly priced

I know revenue is substantial for restaurants, but does that mean you’ll set high prices for the food?

Eating out at a restaurant is a financial investment for people. And I am sure, they don’t want to pay a heavy amount for a meal that is available at a lower price at some other restaurant.

You just cannot randomly set a price to a dish, you need to make sure it aligns with your expenses as well as your customers’ wallet.

Do your math! 

Word to the wise: Menu pricing isn’t a simple task; there are several things to consider such as food cost percentage, raw food cost, gross profit Margin etc. If you’re not aware of the process of setting menu price,  I would suggest seeking help from professionals. After all,  it is your restaurant’s sole source of revenue.

Long wait time

Personally, I hate waiting for my food. Even when I was a kid, I used to get annoyed waiting for the slice of the birthday cake to be passed down. And even now, I am still the same. It truly tests my patience.

I have also seen other people in restaurants who feel the same when they have to wait for their food. It is a common customer complaint in restaurants.

Again, I have said this before and I understand that managing a restaurant kitchen is no easy feat. But my friend, most customers don’t get it. They come to your restaurant to enjoy a good meal with the highest level of service. So, you as a restaurateur have to ensure the same.

I cannot help you in the kitchen, but I can definitely provide some tips. Here are two psychological facts you should know:

• Unoccupied time feels longer than occupied time. Meaning, you can always use something that would keep your guests occupied while you prepare the food. It could be Zenga blocks or a musical event or an open mic.
• Have you ever waited in a queue? If yes, then you will relate. It doesn’t matter how long the queue is, if it is moving fast, we don’t feel the wait time. But if the queue is short and is moving slowly, then the wait time feels longer. You can use this psychology at your restaurant too. Make sure your wait staff is taking care of every table at a good speed even if the crowd is more.

#2 About the surrounding

Weird temperature

I remember last year I walked into a restaurant in Delhi, India and just after 10 mins, I felt like walking out. It was the month of November and I was sweating inside the restaurant.

The diners’ experience sets the foundation of your restaurant’s success. Make sure you keep the perfect balance of temperature. Be it proper ventilation or a climate control system.

#ProTip: According to a report, 69-72 degrees Fahrenheit is ideal for comfortable dining.

Too much lighting/Too dark

I once had the thought of opening my restaurant, decorating the place with fancy lighting. I even told my friend how I want the lights to be. I thought it would attract diners.

But soon enough, my bubble burst! I was out with my girlfriend for dinner. And guess what, the lights were so bright that it destroyed my idea of a romantic dinner date.

So, when you’re working on the ambience of your restaurant, make sure the lighting is an ideal mix of both –  for the customer experience as well as for the infrastructure or interior design.

I would suggest doing in-depth research on it because lights highly impact a person’s mood and emotions.

Noisy & bad music

Noise is one of the common guest complaints in a restaurant. While many people can tolerate deafening din, many get appalled by it which impacts a restaurant’s overall rating.

I know that it is always fascinating to play loud music at your restaurant (because you feel it suits the vibe and trend). But you must understand that to provide a good dining experience, you should know the kind of music to be played.

For example: In terms of music, if your restaurant is all about fine dining experiences, then you can choose to light jazz. And when it comes to maintaining the noise, you have to know that a normal conversation is between 55 and 65 dB. So, you don’t want to increase the music sound, making customers raise their voices to be heard.

Obnoxious guests  

Imagine you have planned a perfect dinner for all your colleagues. You go to a nice restaurant, take your seat, and place your order. Now, while you’re waiting for the food, guests sitting at the other table are talking really loudly or people are being rude to the servers.

I am certain that most of us have experienced this (at least once). And it completely ruins the mood.

Now, I am not sure whether there’s any specific solution to this problem, but I still want to mention this. If you see a table or a group of guests disrupting others, then I feel you should communicate with them.

I know they might get angry and leave, but it’s better than losing out on multiple guests.

#ProTip: Don’t be rude when you’re communicating. Talk to them in the right tone and explain the scenario.

#3 About the service

Ill-behaving or rude wait staff

When it comes to service, this is a common complaint about restaurant service.

When I was writing this article, I found a review on TripAdvisor on the same. The guest wrote and I quote, “As always we found this particular wait staff to be very rude, unwelcoming, unhelpful, abrupt and unfriendly. She has served us several times before and always makes the experience less enjoyable.”

The best way to fix this kind of problem is proper training. You have to ensure that you’re investing enough time and effort in training your staff on each and every aspect of serving your guests.

Poor seating arrangement

Restaurants want to serve as many guests as possible to up their ROI. However, packing your place with tables isn’t a great idea.

I am sure, you don’t want to spoil the environment with noise and overcrowding. So, space out your seating arrangement intelligently.

If you want to avoid such common restaurant complaints, you have to take a strategic approach.

In one of our blogs, we have talked about the aesthetics of a restaurant and flexible floor planning. You can read it here and get an idea.

Low table turnover rate

Low table turnover rates also significantly affect guests’ experience in the restaurant. The lower the rate is, the more people have to wait.

And lately, it has become one of the common restaurant complaints.

However, this can be fixed.

In the same blog (the one I have listed above), I have also talked about improving the table turnover rate. You can read it and see if it helps.

Improving Table Turnover Rate

Discrepancy in checks/wrong calculation

This is one of the problems that highly impact your restaurant’s credibility. One miscalculation on the bill and it shows how careless you are.

Also, none of the guests would like it if they get a check with an amount that is higher than what they have ordered. So, make sure your billing is always accurate.

That’s not all. You should also take care of all the taxes properly with breakdowns and justifications. If you overcharge your guests in the name of tax, they also have the option to seek legal help.

There are several solutions available in the market that help restaurants on this front. I highly recommend you to try and incorporate one such system in your restaurant.

Absence of different modes of payments

I always prefer to pay using UPI or a card. Personally, I don’t go to restaurants that don’t have different modes of payment.

And I am sure, there are people like me who prefer the same.

Restaurants today have to understand that things have gone digital; people don’t carry cash all the time. So, you also have to be aligned with the preferences of your guests.

Incorporate different types of payment methods. Be it UPI or CARD or even vouchers.

At the end of the day, it’s the guest experience that matters.