I am someone who does not appreciate any level of disrespect, towards me or not. Well, I am currently sitting in Applebee’s in Wichita Falls, Texas working on this website and the following happens:
- A guy comes in to retrieve his card from last night
- The General Manager and Manager tell the guy (in front of the other customers) that his card was declined and that he would need to settle it before he could get his card back.
I did not have a dog in the fight, but I felt that it was disrespectful that the General Manager would emasculate a customer. Over what you ask? $40. The guy stated that he thought it was squared away last night by other people that he was dining with. Of course the GM did not budge, and asked him for another payment method.
Growing tired of hearing this, I walked over and offered to pay the tab…no matter the cost. The guy obviously did not have the money, but the GM did not care, he NEEDED to clear the $40 tab from last night. I paid the tab, shook the guy’s hand, and he left. I told the GM that he handled the situation poorly. To which he responded, “I probably did, but I was trying to get the bill cleared”. Really??? You make a scene for $40???
I am not writing this to say that I am a great guy, but to say that there are many different ways to handle a situation. The GM should have taken a better approach in this situation, he is the GM for a reason. This is my second instance of bad customer service in Wichita Falls. I hope that they get it right, eventually.
