1 /5
Reseña
★
My experience of this restaurant was poor. We were seated and maybe 10 minutes later given menus, at which point we ordered drinks. These arrived over 10 minutes later, a frustrating start when a hard morning’s skiing had boosted thirst levels. We ordered food at...this point. An hour later, we asked where our food was and our waiter gave a “what can I do” shrug and disappeared. In another 10 minutes food arrived. We had ordered 2 pizzas, a cheese en croute, a pasta and a salad. I like cheese so was happy with my pizza. My friend thought the pizza far too cheesy and left half. The pasta was insipid and with very little sauce. The salad had almost no dressing. The cheese en croute was however a masterpiece of mediocrity, having a melted cheese top but with a watery and soggy bread base and worse, barely warmed through. This is basic Savoyarde cuisine, perfected in the mists of time and really hard to create with such paucity of skill. My en croute friend complained that his food was unacceptable and having invested an hour already and now very hungry, was not prepared to wait any longer so left for a bistro close by – there are many in this ski lift meeting point. On finishing, we asked for the bill which took around 15 minutes to come. The waiter had credited the cheese en croute and apologised, something which it appeared he was used to doing since he did so with little conviction. The table next to ours overheard us talking about our annoyance with the food quality and time taken to deliver it. They engaged us to share their similar, lengthy waiting experience and annoyance at the quality of food, in particular the 20 Euro dressing-less salad. They concluded that the management were simply not up to the job of restaurateurs, that they were likely economically challenged by way of not owning the building (unlike others nearby) and that the consequent high leasing cost meant that economies had to be made. If true, this would explain some of the issues. Management’s business plan had not satisfactorily considered how to deliver a quality experience within the financial constraints of their business’s costs – or to put it another way, they are willing to compromise the customer experience by not having the staff and capacity to deliver a quality service. I have seen some great reviews for the food – not entirely our experience – and some bad reviews, often for the service. The management has commented on the bad reviews along the lines; Paraphrasing…”we have a tough job because we don’t know from one day to the next how many people will turn up”. Yes, running a business is tough but here’s a key tip – let customers know how long they will have to wait when they arrive. That way, you can manage expectations by making your abilities clear and the customer can decide whether they are prepared to invest that time. Pizza restaurants around the world deliver pizzas quickly – it’s one of the quicker foods you will order. That is what is expected. “Do not come and then you complain that service is long. When it's full, it's full” See above. Let customers decide whether your terms of service are acceptable, don’t just seat them and make them wait an hour for food. If you don’t have the budget for greater capacity, be open about wait times. “You have nothing else to do than comment for your sake ????” Oh dear. You have been given an opportunity to look inwards, to understand where you went wrong, to identify areas where you could improve. You should be big enough to take criticism on board and welcome that feedback in an attempt to improve, to ensure future guests have a better experience. No one wants to spend time writing bad reviews, people want to enjoy their experience with you. When they do complain it is an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to them and potential future guests. “for the price, we are cheaper than in Avoriaz and Tignes or Val Thorens, Les Menuires or or the Grand Bornand and La Clusaz, or Val d'ISERES or Chamonix, or even Paris.” The customer may find you expensive but laboriously criticising them for doing so appears childish. Anyway, what the customer is really saying is; “the cost of your food/drink cannot be justified because the overall experience was poor”. I think the following response to one complainer perfectly sums up the management’s ethos… “If you do not have time to eat … do not come to the restaurant, choose a self (service) or picnic room”. If you are hungry, I suggest you take their advice and go elsewhere.