Props go out today to Uncle Julio's on North Avenue for the way the managers handled a situation that could have gone really bad.
Here's the account from my Facebook friend, Michelle, who details what happened to her party on a recent outing:
"Well....I had to do it. I wrote the corporate office of Uncle Julio's to complain about a waiter named Sam at the location on North Ave. here in Chicago. We have had him two times as a waiter and BOTH times, he completely ignored our table as if we were invisible. Had to keep flagging him down for everything, more chips, more salsa, drink refills. I sat for 10 minutes with a totally empty glass and finally got up, and took my glass directly to Sam and told him to give me some more ice tea! We did complain to the manager and got a new waiter, Ashley, who was GREAT. But for Sam to totally diss us twice was no accident. We asked Ashley if she would have to split her tip with Sam and she assured us that she didn't have to, so we left her a 50% tip on a $46 bill. Sorry, Sam, you missed out when you assumed that all black people don't tip and left us high and dry......... pathetic."
Yikes.
Here's the prompt response Michelle received from Uncle Julio's corporate office, which is located in Irving, Texas:
Dear Michelle,
Thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention. We certainly appreciate your comments and concerns, and value you as a loyal customer. I deeply apologize for the negative experience you had with Sam. I do regret the concern and inconvenience his behavior may have caused you. This type of behavior and service isn't how we train our staff and something we take very seriously. I can assure you that your recent visit was addressed internally with both the General Manager and Director of Operations. I'm glad to hear they were able to save the experience by allowing Ashley to take care of your party. It's important to us that your experiences at Uncle Julio's are positive ones, and we hope that you will return to the restaurant in the near future.
Lauren Karlin
Guest Relations/Marketing
Uncle Julio's Corporation
1101 N Union Bower, Ste 160
Irving, TX 75061
972-554-3626 (Direct)
972-554-6888
Lauren.Karlin@UncleJulios.com
I'm going to play devil's advocate for a second but there was really nothing in the original complaint that lead me to believe that this was a race-related issue. Was there more to this story or was it just someone wanting to lash out? Why was it immediately assumed that this was because the guests were black?
ReplyDeleteI don't condone bad service but perhaps Sam was just being a d*ck because that's who he is... Regardless, I think requesting another waitstaff with local management and then also letting corporate know was a great step. Sticking to known facts in stating a case will go much further in coming to a healthy resolution.