Complaint in order? Time to speak up

Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

One of the most popular TV ads at the moment has Zhang Ziyi playing a martial arts expert from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, getting all bent out of shape when she finds that her soup is too salty at a restaurant.

She scales the walls, knocks over everything in her path and is presented with the bill at the end, the tie-in to the credit card that Zhang is plugging.

While complaining about poor service may make catchy advertising copy, many of us are not as brave as Zhang in speaking up at a hotel or restaurant when our order does meet our expectations.

Most Indonesians, given a bowl of overly spicy soup, would probably choose to grin and bear it.

Part of the problem is that it goes against cultural values of maintaining face at all costs, even when you are being done a disservice. Another is that many of us feel intimidated by the situation -- the waiters, the managers, our fellow diners -- and wonder if making a fuss will do any good.

The problem is that too many companies still assume that if their customers are not complaining, everything is OK, even if those same customers never return. But, when things go wrong and a customer complains, an opportunity has presented itself.

The goal is to win over those disgruntled customers and make them happy, so that they do not take their business elsewhere or get the word out to their friends about the establishment's failings.

"Jerry", an expatriate, believes that when people are paying for a service, they deserve the best.

"My reasoning is that at work I do my best to get things right, and so a hotel and restaurant, as part of the service industry, should be doing the same, that's what you're paying for," the American said.

The last complaint he made was at a five-star hotel in South Jakarta.

"We were checking in really late at night, we were tired and the receptionist had a whole lot of attitude, refusing to give me the local rate because I didn't have the original of my visa, even though it was in the computer, then stage whispering to his colleague that I should have brought my documents," Jerry said.

"When I asked to see the manager, the receptionist stated, 'I'm in charge', which meant that was the end of that and so we moved to another hotel. I complained later, only in the hope that it would stop the receptionist from treating other people the same way. The hotel's way of saying sorry was to send me a cake, which I found pretty funny."

An etiquette columnist at leading women's magazine Femina, Moza Pramita, said it was time for local consumers to speak up and get what they deserved for the prices they paid.

"It's also very ethical to convey the complaints because, as far as I know, some big restaurants and good cafes even encourage their customers to say what they think about the food and service," she said.

Moza also encouraged consumers with complaints to go straight to the manager because their complaints could be handled more effectively and properly -- or should be.

"Keep it in mind that you are paying and have a right to what they offer you."

The fact is, however, that with few customers having the courage to state what they want and the poor awareness of customers about their rights, restaurants, hotels, travel agents, even laundry companies, as part of the service industry, have failed to get the message that customer complaints can be useful feedback for them to improve their services.

Big hotels use a more systematic mechanism to receive suggestions from their guests by providing questionnaires to be filled out on whether the service is praiseworthy or not.

Leading cafes in the capital also say they do listen and take note of their customers' gripes.

"If one customer complains and he is ignored, he will influence 10 potential guests, that's why the old motto that the customer is king really applies here," said Donny Tri, Fashion Cafe's floor supervisor.

Donny said that at his establishment guests were asked at the very beginning of their meal if there was anything missing.

"So that we know immediately whether they are happy with the meals or drinks that they have ordered," he said, adding that if the meals did not meet the guests' expectations then the food and drink would be immediately withdrawn from the table and replaced.

Agus Rakhmat, the supervisor at Kafe Roti in Plaza Senayan, said complaints at his establishment were usually first heard by front-line employees, like waitresses or waiters, who would then report the matter to their supervisors.

"The first thing we do is ask for the customer's forgiveness. I believe it shows that we really didn't mean to cause them any inconvenience," he said on one busy afternoon.

How do his chefs react to complaints, remembering that many customers are reluctant to complain because they believe that an undercooked piece of steak or overdone vegetables will be stepped or spat upon back in the kitchen?

"Usually the chef is curious and may ask which customers (complained) ... and sometimes they take a peep to see who they are. But, that's all," Agus said.