Monday, March 16, 2009
Dear Okoboji Grill
Sent: February 5, 2009Okoboji Enterprises
5229 NW 114th St.
Grimes, IA 50111
Dear Okoboji Grill,
Last night my girlfriend and I ate at your Ames location. We arrived at 6:25. I asked if there were any appetizer specials and was told there were until 6:30. I placed an order for half off cheese sticks. The waitress came back and said the computer clock said it was after 6:30.
I don't really know why I should care what time the computer clock says it is. It wasn't yet 6:30. I told the waitress that having a special that wasn't going to be honored would make me reluctant to return in the future (which is true), and that it was just now 6:30 (I showed her my phone).
She said she passed my concerns along to the manager, but if so, he wasn't concerned enough to explain to us why we couldn't get what we ordered. This wasn't a matter of my clock being incorrect, as we had two cell phones on different carriers and a wrist watch that told us we still had time to place the order.
So, I would ask you to make sure your clocks are right, adjust the time of your specials, or give the manager or wait staff the ability to override a register price.
I admit this is a pretty stupid thing to be upset about, but figured I'd bring it to your attention, since it will impact your sales. You lost a sale on one half priced order of cheese sticks and how much ever you'll lose from our reduced frequency of visiting. I'm positive this wouldn't have happened at Perkins (and they are just across the street).
Sincerely,
Christopher L. Jorgensen
Where Good Friends Meet! Leroy Gessman, President/CEO
Okoboji Enterprises
5229 NW 114th St.
Grimes, IA 50111
Phone (515) 986-4944
Fax (515) 986-4955
February 7, 2009
Dear Christopher,
Thank you for writing to us and for letting us know about your experience at our Ames restaurant on February 4th. We are very sorry that we did not meet your expectations and did not live up to our own high standards.
It’s no excuse, but the young man who was the manager on the night of your visit is a fairly new manager who is still learning certain aspects of customer service. One thing we learned from your experience is that the time on our computer system is about four minutes fast. We certainly should have honored the happy hour price and I apologize for us not doing so.
While I cannot change the past, I would like to invite you back as my personal guest so that we can show you that we really can do a much better job than what you experienced. I have enclosed a $20 gift card which can be used at any one of our Ames or Des Moines area locations.
Thanks again for bringing this to our attention.
Regards,
[signed]
Rich Filloon
Vice President of Operations
Okoboji Grill
My reaction:
This is a true story. Their reply is one of the best examples of customer service I’ve received. We were pretty unhappy after our dinner at Okoboji Grill. Since the girlfriend/editor/typist likes that place a lot more than me I was pretty willing to never go back, but I am a lot more likely to write a complaint letter since I started jackassletters.com. I decided rather than being mad I’d give Okoboji Grill a chance to make it right. And they did!
I would have been happy with a coupon for a free appetizer (or even a response saying they had corrected the problem). I got a gift card, an admission that the special should have been honored, and they corrected the the time on their computers. I honestly believe I can’t have been the only person ever affected by the clock being off. To write a company and have them be responsive to a complaint made my day!
We went back, had a great meal, great service, and any negative feelings I was harboring are completely gone.
Website:
Posted by cjorgensen on 03/16 at 06:00 AM
Company • Food •
