Restaurant Guests Take Major Complaints Directly To Management
Many View Letters as Equal to Face-to-Face Complaints
Ithaca, NY | Communication theory says that people are most likely to complain in person when a restaurant has made a major service error. However, a new study from the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research found that many guests might write a letter to the manager in the case of a major service failure, rather than complain on the spot.
The report, “An Examination of Guest Complaints and Complaint Communication Channels: The Medium Does Matter!,” by Cornell University Professor Alex Susskind, Ph.D., surveyed how 504 respondents handled the most recent service failure that they had experienced at a casual dining restaurant. As expected, the respondents said that face-to-face communication ranked above written communication for service failures overall. But those guests wanted a manager to address major service failures, while they addressed minor complaints to servers. The report is available at no charge from the Center's website,
“The guests mentally divided service failures into two groups,” said Susskind. “When they had a problem that could quickly be resolved on the spot, they informed the server, usually face-to-face. However, when the problem needed a larger solution, the guests quickly refocused on management for redress. The unusual finding here is that many of my respondents seemed to rate a letter to the management as a stronger method of communication than face-to-face with a server.”
In contrast, communication theory suggests that face-to-face communication is “richer” than written approaches, with the implication that the most serious complaints will be made in person, whether to managers or to line employees. Therefore, Susskind suggests that restaurant managers—and, indeed, managers of all service businesses, treat complaint letters in the same way as though the complaint had been made in person.
“Guests who contact management are looking for an information exchange, so managers should make sure that they contact those guests,” he concluded. Ironically, even though managers should call guests who have complained, none of the respondents themselves would make a telephone call to communicate their issues.
All Cornell Hospitality Reports and Tools are available from the Center's web site, www.chr.cornell.edu. Thanks to the support of the partners listed below, all Reports and Tools are made available free of charge.
Meet and interact with Dr. Susskind, an active member of the executive education faculty at the School of Hotel Administration, when he presents in the Professional Development Program (http://hotelschool.cornell.edu/execed/pdp).
A unit of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, The Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) sponsors research designed to improve practices in the hospitality industry. Under the lead of the Center’s 54 corporate affiliates, experienced scholars work closely with business executives to discover new insights into strategic, managerial and operating practices. The Center also publishes the award-winning hospitality journal, the Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly. To learn more about CHR and its projects, visit
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