Postive and Negative

Helping to run Mick's fish and chip shop has really opened my eyes to human nature. Unfortunately, what I have discovered is that people are much more motivated to say something when they are mad than when they are happy.

We have many, many happy customers in the shop every week. I can tell from their smiles and the "yummy" noises they make when eating, from their cheery "see you next times," from their repeat business, and from their massive tips. However, there are the unhappy ones. Unfortunately, we haven't always been able to keep up with the increasing numbers of customers and the wait times have gotten out of control at times. Understandably, people are upset after having waited an hour for their food, and at that point are so grumpy that they expect food from heaven at a fish and chip shop. We're trying to get better at keeping up with the crowds and more accurately communicating wait times, so at least people know what to expect (or opt out).

We hardly ever hear from the happy customers, maybe a couple of phone calls and emails. However, we hear quite a bit from the unhappy ones in the form of phone calls, emails, and online anonymous reviews. For example, right now I am in an email correspondence with a woman who wants a full refund on her family's meal ($31) because the fish doesn't come with chips; you have to order it separately. She feels that we were trying to somehow deceive her. She is also demanding that we lower our prices. Oh, and our portions are too small. AND ON AND ON. All the while, she is comparing our food and restaurant to a large corporate chain. Seriously, if you want frozen, pre-prepared fish and chips and a restaurant with a lot of crap on the walls, go to the chain. I won't mind.

I realized that I have this tendency, too. I have eaten at many restaurants and have been quite happy but have never called or written to let them know I am happy. The few times I have communicated is when I am mad about something (of course, I complain about something more substantial than fish coming with chips, for example, a roided-out waiter screaming at me). I plan to try to change my behavior from now on. It's important to communicate the positive as well as the negative. Let's make the world a better place, shall we?