Well, I'll assume a bit of hyperbole and a small lack of tact.
I wonder how I'd come across if CNN gave me a web page to vent on, lol.

That said, the man does have a few points, no?

I think he has some good points, some customers can be really annoying.

I don't think he should be in the restaurant business if those things really tick him off. That's just people and life.
He's in the customer service business and needs to be fairly accommodating.

As I said above, he does have a couple of good points. But having been in the hospitality business for 20 years, you might feel that way but you should never voice it. I wondered at first if it was a joke. An earlier article in August was written by a Texas chef who criticized vegetarians. (?????) Do they even eat at his restaurant? There was such a backlash in the hundreds of comments that ensued the article, that his business took a hit.

Another interesting thing coming across in the comments about the Texas chef, was this point. In this economy, why would you take a chance at angering any customers.

Boy, the comments were pretty interesting too. But I had to quit reading, there were just way too many of them.

I can see his point of view on some of his peeves and yes, he does come across as pretty snotty as well. I'm not his target audience as I don't often eat in $$$$ restaurants. But honestly, it's probably not that great of an idea for him ot sign his name to all of that.

This guy must have a lot more money than he has good sense.

At least I hope he has.

With that attitude, I can't imnagine he's going to be in the restaurant business much longer.

True, he has some good points.
The public can be pretty difficult (even obnoxious) at times.

If you can't handle it, get into a different line of work.

When in a business that provides service to the public,
you 'suck it up' and provide service.

Rusty

Obnoxious chefs can mean good business.

Re: The Soup Nazi.

dcarch :-)

I have never done any of the things he talks about here. That is with the exception of calling during the hours he mentioned. I do not do that until I have exhausted the other hours and finding no one answered the phone. He should direct his comments to those few who do those misdeads. After reading this I would never enter a restaurant where I knew he was a/the chef. As lowspark said, I rarely eat at $$$$ restaurants so I will never have to worry about this.

The customer is not always right but the customer is always the customer.

And its OK for them to be wrong.

They are the ones who pay the freight.

That is what I always told my staff back when I was running a business.

Exactly metaxa!

He's a bit of a turd.

Over 1000 people commented on the chef's commentary. An untold number more (including me just now) read it. Some of those people will go to his restaurant just because it was written that way. Chances are, the restaurant will not have cancellations because of the article. If the chef wrote an article entitled "Five Ways Customers are Really Pleasant" it wouldn't have received a bit of notice. CNN's version of entertainment.

Never ever antaganize restaurant staff before your food is served.

dcarch

Barnmom:
I think you are close. He may need some Fibre in his diet.
I've put up with a lot in my Pizzeria and had to bite the bullet many times.

Customers should have a little common sense, also.
but like in Baseball, 3 strikes , you're out.

A few times that happened , literally.
LOU

*****************
Maybe they should do another ?

5 ways to tick off a restaurant customer.

I'm starting to think these Eatocracy articles on CNN are the equivalent of Extreme Chef on steroids. So they get their 15 minutes of fame. I can't believe you can operate like that in the long run. In the kitchen maybe. In the front of the house I can't imagine it will last for long. At least not in Minnesota. I don't care how good your food is. The ambience is part of the package.

Years ago I was treated incredibly rudely by a waiter at a high end restaurant in Minneapolis. I was a flight attendant at the time and had worked a helli*sh 3 day trip of bad weather and many delays. The boyfriend thought the French restaurant and a bottle of wine would be the ticket. About the 3rd time the waiter spoke to me in a condescending manner I replied; "I'm sorry, are you trying to be rude to me or is it just that you don't know any better?" I was speaking in a very soft tone so no one else could hear - and I added "I don't want to embarrass you." Needless to say the service immediately improved.

I have not had to use the expression many times, but I can promise you it will stop them in their tracks everytime! :-)

Oh Teresa, you are a girl after my own heart.

I was at work and in a large room where they kept new insurance booklets from various companies one day. The woman who was giving them out was being extremely rude and obnoxious to everyone she gave one to for no reason at all. When she got to me I said very sweetly and in a normal voice range, "why are you being so nasty to everyone today?" She suddenly became the nicest person you would ever want to meet. I think people get in the habit of nasty sometimes and need calling down.

Beverly:

" I think people get in the habit of nasty sometimes and need calling down ".

I'll drink to that.
LOU

DCarch and Metaxa hit the nails on their heads. We rarely eat at high end restaurants. They are a service industry but some of the personnel sometimes tend to look down on the customers. I suppose they have their own codes and rules for us. I've ran a couple of businesses, one we dealt with lawbreakers who had a chip on their shoulder and the other we dealt with degreed customers who expected us to deliver quality and most importantly, make them look good. We rarely had complaints and when we did we bent over backwards to meet their expectations. The lawbreakers were always angry when they came in but we usually got them out smiling and accepting facts neither side could really change.

However, I would never make a cook or waitress angry or insulted, never before I got my food as was said, or if I intended to return some other day. This chef should grow up or change professions. It sounds like he's really unhappy.

The thing is, we all have pet peeves in our jobs, don't we? I mean, there are always some things that bug us or that we wish were different. I think this would especially be true of people who work with the public.

The problem here (as I see it) is not that these things bother him, it's that he thinks it's ok to broadcast his list to the world. Honestly, I don't care if a waiter goes back into the kitchen and complains to his buddies about me or laughs at me or whatever. Just be professional and give me good service when you are actually serving me.

I can't control (nor do I wish to) what someone thinks about me, but in this kind of situation, I sure don't want to hear about it to my face!

I can't think of any reason why a chef wouldn't be annoyed by all of those things he mentioned. Most if the 5 situations mentioned impinge upon his ability to serve the customer. The one thing I don't agree with him is recognizing birthdays and anniversarys. while I hate the clap clap mariachi band thing, I find it very nice when a glass of champagne or a dessert is presented at the table. It's not only a phenomanon of the family style chains but long a custom of upscale restaurants to offer an extra when there is an "event" being celebrated.

Apparently Eyester's doing something right...he is hardly a waiter like Teresa fired, but the owner and executive chef of an upscale and very successful restaurant in Atlanta....and has gotten very good press...pasting an example below.
âÂÂThe restaurant has become a haven for the surrounding neighborhood, and EyesterâÂÂs clever personality, buoyant and gregarious, is a bolster to the entire community. He is like a happy Falstaff without the deceit. And like Falstaff, he is clever, a businessman as much as chef. Some of the restaurantâÂÂs promotions �" particularly the Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia musically inspired dinners �" are pure genius, and have become a thing of legend. In fact, I donâÂÂt know of any restaurant, save Abattoir, that so truly emanates its owner.â -Meridith Ford

I think he's dumb like a fox....!
Linda C

Okay Eyester, I hope you enjoy your "problems" while you have them because the biz is extremely volatile and this may be your last hurrah as a restaurant owner. My rebuttals to your whining:

1) "IâÂÂm sorry, but we havenâÂÂt been waiting around all day for you and your ten friends to pop in "

Send that party of ten to a restaurant that appreciates the business. A party of ten is more apt to drink lots of profitable booze and order more extras like appetizers and desserts. Deal with it.

2) "I love how a restaurant is expected to acknowledge your birthday like itâÂÂs a national holiday or something. "

Get off your high horse. Many people don't frequent expensive places unless it is an occasion. Popular high-end places in my area ask you over the phone if it is an occasion, and will do things like decorate your table and personalize your menu. Celebrate your customers and you will reap repeat business.

3) "PeopleâÂÂs utter disregard for hours of operation. "

What Ann Landers always says - you can't be taken advantage of unless you allow it. Get some people skills and learn how to nicely turn people away or excuse yourself.

4) "Why am I obligated to hold your table when youâÂÂre late?"

You are not. But try your best. People will be late for all kinds of reasons - plan for it.

5) "HereâÂÂs a rule: coming to eat at my restaurant once a month, while I genuinely appreciate the patronage and support, does not automatically qualify us as friends"

At a restaurant my friends and I used to frequent about once a month, the owner once told me that if all her customers were once-a-month diners, she would be busy and happy. She had to close her doors.

Eyester, you make yourself out to be an ungrateful beeyotch with a bad attitude. Restaurants are part of the hospitality industry. Look up "hospitality" sometime.

I was in Denver sometime ago. A vendor took me to Buckhorn Exchange for dinner.

Buckhorn Exchange is a very unique restaurant. It was packed. I ordered rattlesnake and fried alligator tail for appetizer and Rocky Mountain Oysters for the main course.

My companion Bob ordered a fairly expensive wine from the wine list. When the wine came, he took a taste and told the waiter to return it because it was off.

The waiter said,â No problem, I will bring another bottle right away.âÂÂ

The second bottle came, Bob took a taste, and said to me, âÂÂDC, try this, what do you think?âÂÂ

I am not that much of a wine expert. It tasted not too bad to me. I just said,â Very interesting taste.âÂÂ

He asked the waiter to return it again. The waiter gave Bob a very obvious dirty look and mumbled something.

When the third bottle was rejected by Bob, a rather âÂÂlively exchangeâ between the two ensured. That got the attention of the sommelier. He came over and took a taste of the third bottle, and the second bottle, and said, âÂÂSir, this is shocking, something must have happened to this batch. This is not acceptable. We truly appologize for this. Please make another selection, and the entire dinner is on the house.âÂÂ

We did not see the same waiter in the dining room afterwards. Poor guy was fired immediately.

dcarch

Gina summed it up for me. Love them or hate them they are your customers. Without them you are history. Yes, lots of griping goes on in the back of the house. I waited tables and bar backed for several years back in the day. Some of my most challenging customers were the best tippers if I found their nitch and treated them right. Keep them happy and keep them coming back was my motto. I had lots of call customers that waited for my tables even though others were available. Hard work but I really did love it for the most part. I Wonder if his thoughts and this article will change his current sales volume.

David