how does this complaint letter sound?

[CynJ]

I am so peeved at Ruby Tuesday!!! How does this irate letter sound??



Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing this formal letter of complaint in regards to the service that my husband and I received at your restaurant on Sunday, May 18th, 2003.

We arrived at the restaurant about 6:45pm, the restaurant parking was not full and the restaurant itself did not seem particularly busy when we walked in. We were shown to a booth towards the right of the door that we were barely able to squeeze into. When I asked the hostess if there was another table available as that booth was uncomfortable, she gave me a pained look and told us to “hold on”. We were then moved one booth over and the new booth was not much better.

We placed our drink and dinner orders without incident and went to visit the salad bar. Making our way down the salad bar my husband noticed that there was a long black hair in the potato salad, I caught a passing waitress and told her about it and she went to find the hostess. What happened next was totally unacceptable. When the waitress told her that there was a hair in the food the hostess said “just take it out”, and the waitress did just that- with her fingers picked the hair out of the potato salad and left the bowl there. I met my husband’s gaze of disbelief then I looked at the hostess and she came and removed the bowl of potato salad in a huff.

We went back to our table and picked at our salads as we had both lost our appetites for them by this time. Our dinner orders arrived, I had ordered beef fajitas and my husband had ordered the honey barbeque ribeye with the mashed potatoes.

Never in my life have I seen fajitas like what was placed in front of me. The beef was not the usual thin strips that I normally get at Ruby Tuesday, but rather big hunks of beef which I assumed where sirloin tips, and the beef was not seasoned. Along with this there were the sautéed onions and peppers, or more accurately I should say, the four strips of onion and one strip of pepper. The plate of “fixings” was disgusting to say the least. The cheese and sour cream had both been melted, the lettuce was wilted, and there were only a half dozen pieces of tomato.

My husband’s dinner was just as disappointing as mine. His steak was so tough he could barely cut it, let alone eat it, and his mashed potatoes were ice cold.

We were never asked if we wanted an additional beverage, and no one checked to see if our meal was okay, and we were not even asked if we wanted dessert.

We are very very upset with this meal and the $39.07 that we paid for it. I did not leave a tip as the service did not warrant one.

Normally the quality of the food and the service at Ruby Tuesday makes it one of our favorite places to dine out but given the quality of both this past Sunday my husband and I will think twice before dining at Ruby Tuesday any time soon.


Sincerely,

 

[RUDisney]

I think you've spelled everything out clearly. If you get no satisfaction from the manager, go online and send it to corporate with a further explanation.

 

[Keli]

I think that is a good letter of complaint. You described the situation well. The only thing that would be better is if you had at least a first name for both the hostess and the waitress. If you can remember those names it would be a good idea to include them.
You might want to post the letter on planetfeedback.com I've had some success with the letter I wrote about bad service (ok, incredible success-the manager showed up at my house three days later with flowers, an apology, and letter stating that my party of 12 would all receive free meals if we would go there again. They also had a cake there when the meal was rescheduled, it was a graduation party originally) I just wrote the letter and sent it through that website so you might want to try that.

 

[CynJ]

in the printed letter I have also included the check# so they can look it up.

 

[Hnymoon@Dixie]

I agree with the above, the more details. What a horrible experience...GROSS!

 

[mickeyfan1]

I think your letter was very well written. Smart of you to have the check number, too. Many many years ago, DBF, now DH, took me to the Wendy's drive through near our apartment. When I unwrapped the hamburger, it was rancid, I couldn't believe that someone would have wrapped it with out noticing the stench. Ihave NEVER eaten a hamburger from Wendy's since then and I bet that I have been there less than 10 times over the last 30 years.

 

[TIdoublegaER]

I would complain to the health department as well about the hair in the potato salad and the employee using her bare hands to pick it out. Sounds like they need a surprise inspection since it sounds like codes are not being followed.

 

[kejoda]

I would do everything that everyone suggested.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I would try and find the name of the person you want the letter to go to. If you can't find a name, get rid of the "Dear Sir or Madam" and just start into the letter. Other than that, it is matter-of-fact, to the point and not emotional. Good letter.

 

[jfulcer]

Did you mention something to the manager right then and there? You didn't mention that in your letter. If you did, it's important to note that the manager blew you off, and if you didn't next time you should ask for the manager. Most times when presented with situations like this the manager will make it ok...

 

[Chattyaholic]

You didn't mention complaining to the manager about the situation, I really feel you should have done that first. If you ate your dinner and paid the bill without saying a word about it to the manager then I really don't feel your letter will get much of a response as it is "after the fact." And especially with no names of the hostess/waitress. I have been a waitress almost 7 years and the time to complain is shortly after you've received your food. If the waitress never comes back to ask how things are, go to the hostess and ask to speak to the manager. Even waiting until you're ready to pay the bill is too late. We have occasionally (very rarely though) had someone complain about something when they come up to the register to pay their bill, yet they ate their food and said "everything was fine" when the waitress went to check on them. I, myself, had a customer like that just a week or two ago. I checked on them twice and they (man and woman) said "everything was fine" both times, yet when they came up to pay the bill he said the roast beef had no flavor. I looked over to their table and could see he had eaten all but about two bites of his hot beef sandwich. I don't know if he expected to get a free meal or what, but I told him he should have told me something was wrong the first time I asked!! I wasn't about to give him a discount/free meal sinced he ate most of it and waited to complain at the register on his way out.

I'm sorry you were disappointed with your meal/service but you really should have complained right then and there about it to the manager, IMHO.

 

[momsal]

Ruby tuesdays is supposed to be a good restaurant I would send the letter to corporate office and to the manager of the restaurant you went to. It is thier reputation!!

 

[Megan's Mom]

I am so glad that you had the nerve to write the letter. Several years ago we talked about writing a letter to Olive Garden and never did and regret it to this day. Also send one to corporate headquarters and let them know that you have also told all your friends. let us know what happens.