Do You Do Restaurant Surveys?

[MIGrandma]

I am kind of wishing they would stop doing surveys in restaurants. Generally when I take the time to do one on-line and get a code to write on the receipt we forget to use it, so it's mostly just a waste for us. And after last night's experience at IHOP I wish they would just go away. We were on our way home and decided to stop at one near us, it was about 9:00 p.m. so not busy at all. We were greeted and promptly seated, our server came over and introduced herself, was smiling and friendly so all was good. Until. The very first thing she mentioned was the "survey" she wanted us to take after we were finished. And said she would "prefer it" if we would do the survey in the restaurant on our cell phone as they would "get the results quicker."

She said her manager had promised them pizza if they all got all "excellent" marks. Okay, whatever. She asked what we wanted to drink, we said coffee and she asked if we wanted cream, I said yes. We were looking at the menu when she brought the coffee so I didn't notice, until she walked away, that she hadn't brought cream. We waited several minutes to order, and before our server came back another server stopped at our table (she had made a joke earlier, saying it wasn't fair because she wasn't going to be getting pizza as she was leaving - she was filling the sugar/sweetener containers) and I asked her for the cream and she went and got it.

Our server came back, took our order, a few minutes later brought out the food. The food is always good whenever we go (3-4 times a year), but the server never once came back to check on us. She had two tables of two customers each, so it wasn't like she was busy. I am extremely forgiving when a restaurant is busy and the servers are working hard. But when you only have two tables? Not so much.

Also, she had taken the other table's order just before we got our food and they ordered coffee and water and she asked another server to take it to them. I thought that was odd, since she wasn't busy. Then later she went to their table and apologized for forgetting to put in their order.

When we were completely finished she finally came back to the table (she had been in the kitchen chatting most of the time) but still didn't ask how the food was, just brought the bill and showed us the code to put in to take the survey, and again stressed twice more how she needed ALL "excellent" marks in order to get that pizza! She said "if you don't give me ALL "excellent" marks we won't get pizza."

DH did the survey on his phone but she did NOT receive all "excellent" marks. We didn't feel she deserved them. If she would have spent her energy actually giving good service to her customers, she would automatically been given "excellent" marks. And I don't think the manager should have promised them pizza if they all got "excellent" marks. Worry more about customer service than a stupid survey.

We'd never had a server be so pushy about the survey before. Most times they just circle the code and their name and say something like "I hope you'll take the survey." And that's it.

So, do you participate in restaurant surveys? Would it bother you if your server was pushy about it?

 

[Mizzoufan]

I am kind of wishing they would stop doing surveys in restaurants. Generally when I take the time to do one on-line and get a code to write on the receipt we forget to use it, so it's mostly just a waste for us. And after last night's experience at IHOP I wish they would just go away. We were on our way home and decided to stop at one near us, it was about 9:00 p.m. so not busy at all. We were greeted and promptly seated, our server came over and introduced herself, was smiling and friendly so all was good. Until. The very first thing she mentioned was the "survey" she wanted us to take after we were finished. And said she would "prefer it" if we would do the survey in the restaurant on our cell phone as they would "get the results quicker."

She said her manager had promised them pizza if they all got all "excellent" marks. Okay, whatever. She asked what we wanted to drink, we said coffee and she asked if we wanted cream, I said yes. We were looking at the menu when she brought the coffee so I didn't notice, until she walked away, that she hadn't brought cream. We waited several minutes to order, and before our server came back another server stopped at our table (she had made a joke earlier, saying it wasn't fair because she wasn't going to be getting pizza as she was leaving - she was filling the sugar/sweetener containers) and I asked her for the cream and she went and got it.

Our server came back, took our order, a few minutes later brought out the food. The food is always good whenever we go (3-4 times a year), but the server never once came back to check on us. She had two tables of two customers each, so it wasn't like she was busy. I am extremely forgiving when a restaurant is busy and the servers are working hard. But when you only have two tables? Not so much.

Also, she had taken the other table's order just before we got our food and they ordered coffee and water and she asked another server to take it to them. I thought that was odd, since she wasn't busy. Then later she went to their table and apologized for forgetting to put in their order.

When we were completely finished she finally came back to the table (she had been in the kitchen chatting most of the time) but still didn't ask how the food was, just brought the bill and showed us the code to put in to take the survey, and again stressed twice more how she needed ALL "excellent" marks in order to get that pizza! She said "if you don't give me ALL "excellent" marks we won't get pizza."

DH did the survey on his phone but she did NOT receive all "excellent" marks. We didn't feel she deserved them. If she would have spent her energy actually giving good service to her customers, she would automatically been given "excellent" marks. And I don't think the manager should have promised them pizza if they all got "excellent" marks. Worry more about customer service than a stupid survey.

We'd never had a server be so pushy about the survey before. Most times they just circle the code and their name and say something like "I hope you'll take the survey." And that's it.

So, do you participate in restaurant surveys? Would it bother you if your server was pushy about it?

I usually do them. If they are pushy or rude about the survey I note that as well. I like doing some of them esp the ones you get free stuff back. Krispy Kreme give a dozen donuts for doing them.

 

[Buzz-Light-Beer]

I haven't done a restaurant survey since I was a Senior in High School after my Date and I ate at Jimmy V's Steak House before going to the Senior Prom. The food and atmosphere was great and they really made it special for us who they knew were on there Senior Prom.

 

[Art 1]

Not once.

 

[Hrhpd]

Nope, never do them. So many companies base jobs, bonuses and everything else on perfect marks, so with the pushing, the surveys have become invalid. I don't want to be responsible for somebody losing their job if they are just having a bad day.

If a server had asked me in a restaurant to do it before I left, I would have politely told them that I don't participate in surveys. If they continued to push, I would just tell them that the next time they asked me about it, I would certainly do the survey, but they were not going to get all good marks.

If you don't want to do it, just speak up.

 

[Rhombus]

Nope, I don't do them. Don't do the surveys that the cashiers circle on the Kohl's receipts. Didn't fill out the survey when I bought my new car and the salesman pleaded for all 10s. This survey nonsense is a bunch of BS.