Legendary Bad Service

It's not very common to see the owner of a restaurant yelling in a customer's face and shouting "Hasta Luego" after them as they leave.

It's even rarer still to have the "offending" customer be a teacher, patronizing a restaurant on a Monday at noon. After all, most teachers are unable to leave the school building most days.

Let me set the scene: A group of Des Moines Public School teachers were in an all-day in-service meeting in downtown Des Moines, and decided to have lunch at a popular eatery. One member of their party, unfortunately, had a hair in their salad. When she pointed in out to a server, she rolled her eyes, said it "wasn't her fault, and that she didn't put it there."

Shocked by the server's response, the teachers asked to speak to a manager, who didn't appear from the kitchen until they had paid their bill and ready to leave. That's when things got a little out of control.

Here is a direct quote from the email that was forwarded to me soon after the incident:

"Several minutes later, an angry man came out and introduced himself as the owner. He repeatedly stated that he was understaffed that day and that was why our service was so poor. Each time we attempted to refocus on our server’s response to the hair, he would reply that the entire staff was stressed out because “all of these teachers keep showing up unannounced to eat."

"We told him that our concern was not with the speed of service, but with the response of his server when we told her there was a hair in the salad. From approximately 5 inches from my face, he yelled, “Let me ask you something! Did she charge you for it?” I told him that we were not charged for it, but the server’s response was inappropriate. He angrily said he did not see what the problem was. He said if “anyone” lets him know of the Des Moines Public Schools in service next year he will be ready for us. We told him that would not be necessary for us, because we would not be coming back."

When the teacher arrived home, she wrote an email and forwarded it to as many people as she could, some were fellow teachers. Then someone started a Facebook group called "Keep Legends American Grill Teacher (and customer) Free."

From a customer service standpoint, this was a total meltdown on the part of Mark Rogers, the owner of the establishment. Not only did he come completely unglued and act unprofessional, he set a stupendously bad example for his young staff. He should have used the whole situation as a "teaching moment." Pun intended.

Then, he apologized to the teachers on TV. He should have made a personal phone call or at the very least sent an email. Also, he should have joined the Facebook page and offered a sincere apology on behalf of his entire staff, and noted what he is doing to mitigate the problems so no one is ever treated like that again. The obvious strategy is employee training on what to do and say when a customer finds a hair in their salad. Since he is the boss and can't technically be fired, I would suggest anger management counseling and a long vacation for Mr. Rodgers.

Finally, as a gesture of goodwill, Legends should cater a hair-free lunch to the teachers' school. After all, teachers don't get out much for lunch.

The way I see it, there are at least 5 lessons to be learned here:

1. Make sure your staff is well-trained.
2. Right wrongs quickly and with a sincere apology.
3. Don't mess with teachers.
4. Get your business on Facebook.
5. Don't be a dickhead.

I was interviewed about this today on KCCI for a 5 o'clock story. I'll see if I can post a link later.

Update: here's the link to Steve Karlin's story. I was also misquoted in the text. The "10-15% of people will love you and 10-15% will hate you" language belongs to my esteemed colleague Eileen Wixted. And as usual, she's correct.

Comments

[Jenni]

I've now heard two sides of this story and I am not sure I believe either of them. Thankfully, I'm not a customer of Legends. That way, I don't have to make a decision to stay a customer or not.

[Claire]

Jenni, Mark Rogers has admitted that the story is true. I just recently went to Legends before a show at the Civic Center and the service was marginal and not very friendly. I'd say Rogers and his staff have a very long way to go. Des Moines is a small town. There are not enough people to keep it afloat without repeat customers. Thanks for your comment.

[Brett]

I will never eat at a place with such poor management. I am a supervisor of a small company here in Des Moines and the number one thing I tell my employee's is that the customer is always right. Even though the customer may be totally out of line and wrong, you have to make it right as a manager/owner. I dont care how busy you are, make it right and with a smile. This kind of thing can ruin a business. In this case, I hope it does. Mark Rogers and Legends deserve to go out of business. Good bye Mark!

[Crystal O'Connor]

5 Things most people don't know about Mark Rogers

1. Plans and executes a Golf outing for Abused and Neglected kids annually.
2. Consistently pays more taxes than what most people could possibly comprehend.
3. Works 12-16 hour days to provide jobs for a staff of over a 100...and takes care of them as if they were his own family.
4. Cares about his community, people and children more than most.
5. Would never waste time writing a blog to destroy someones name for the sake of being bored, having low self-esteem or having anger management problems such as the writer of this amazingly EVIL blog.

Oh- and Claire, his business is booming...in fact I have made it a point to eat there more often. Service is plendid! ;)

[Claire]

Crystal, you need help. I hope you get it, and soon. I feel sorry for you.

[Crystal O'Connor]

Thanks Claire

[Claire Celsi]

Update: Mark Rogers also was the new owner of Jimmy's American Cafe when it went out of business recently. I went there a few times over the last few months, not even knowing that he owned it. What I did notice was the service was crappy, and the food even crappier. Not surprised that it closed. I'll say it again, Des Moines is too small of a town.