Complaint Policy for Your Restaurant
Two questions: how many people are on the floor, and what does a guest spend here? The tool spreads the twenty things that actually go wrong across whoever may fix them, works out the ceilings as a share of that spend, and you print one sheet.
How it works
- 1
Say how many people are on the floor
From one to eight. With one person, that person is every level; from three there is a section lead, from five a duty manager, from seven somebody you can actually go and fetch. Every level you add takes decisions off the waiter standing at the table.
- 2
Say what a guest spends here
Every ceiling is a share of that figure, never a flat number. Replacing a dish is about one course; the table on us is about one cover. That is why this sheet is right for a €19 lunch and a €95 tasting menu alike.
- 3
Fill in what you say and do
One line per situation: what the waiter says and what happens. That is the part nobody ever writes down, which is exactly why it gets done differently every time.
- 4
Print it and hang it up
One A4 by the pass. The lines nobody on the floor may settle alone are listed separately underneath — that is the list that gets shorter the more people you have on.
The four moves of a good recovery
What a guest remembers is not what you gave away, but how quickly somebody stood there who was allowed to fix it. These four always come in this order, and only the third one costs money.
Acknowledge
Within thirty seconds, at the table, with no explanation about the kitchen. "That's not right — I'm sorry, I'll sort it." Never "sorry you feel that way": it reads as a denial and always makes it worse.
Fix
The problem itself first: the dish re-fired, the bottle replaced, the table moved. For most situations on this sheet it stops here and costs nothing.
Make good
Only once it can no longer be put right. Something concrete, given now, inside this sheet's ceiling — an offer for "next time" does not count, because it asks the guest to come back for something that went wrong tonight.
Follow through
Whoever promised it comes back before the guest leaves. And the heavier cases reach the owner the same evening, even when they were settled at the table.
Who may decide what
Four levels, and which of them exist tonight depends on how many people are on. Under five there is no separate duty manager; under seven the owner is somebody you have to go and find, or phone.
- At the table
- Whoever is serving the table. Always exists, even with one person on the floor. May do anything that fits inside one course: a re-fire, a replaced bottle, a corrected bill.
- Section lead
- The experienced hand on the floor, from three people. Takes over what affects a table rather than a plate: a booking that isn't free, a service running behind, an occasion that was missed.
- Duty manager
- From five people. Decides on things touching the whole bill, or a guest who feels badly treated — clothes, rudeness, a booking that is nowhere in the book.
- Owner
- From seven people, somebody actually on the floor. Everything that exposes the business itself: allergy, something in the food, illness, a group turned away. If they are not there, the floor settles it and phones the same evening.
Frequently asked questions
Is this complaint policy free?
Yes, completely free, no account and no installation. You fill it in and print straight from your browser.
Why isn't the ceiling a flat amount?
Because a flat amount is wrong for half your dining room. Every published comp policy you find online says "up to €20", which is far too much on a €19 lunch and far too little on a €95 menu. Here every ceiling is a share of what a guest spends with you, so it scales with your own card.
Why would I let a waiter give anything away?
Because the delay is the expensive part. A guest who waits three minutes for somebody with authority to arrive has already concluded the place is badly run — and that is what ends up in a review. Service-recovery research keeps finding that speed and feeling taken seriously weigh more than the amount.
Is it true that a well-handled complaint beats no complaint?
Sometimes, and not reliably. That effect — the service recovery paradox — has genuinely been measured, but it is contested and it certainly does not survive a second failure. So treat it as a reason to recover well, never as a reason to let something go wrong.
What if there are only two people on the floor?
Then those two settle everything themselves — the heavy things included — and those appear separately on the sheet with a note to phone the same evening. Raise the number and that list gets shorter: that is exactly what an extra pair of hands on the floor is worth.
Does this replace my terms and conditions?
No. This is a house document: what WE do. What a guest can legally demand differs per country and belongs in your own terms, together with your cancellation and deposit rules.
Is my policy saved?
Yes, on this device, in your own browser. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account.
This is a house document, not consumer law. What a guest can legally demand over a defective meal, and how refunds and liability work, differs per country — put that in your own terms and conditions, not on this sheet.