A British woman I worked with in the US over a decade ago said to me , ” If you don\’t like the service, point it out, and if nothing improves, get up from the table and walk away.” She explained this to me as well. I walked into a nicer restaurant and a brusque, frowning waitress came in 30 minutes later to bring me my drink; 45 minutes later, my colleague couldn\’t take it anymore, got up and we left the restaurant.

I couldn\’t imagine myself reacting that way at home. However, after many other life experiences, I have developed a fondness for her. If we are dissatisfied with the service provided, we must not be afraid to react and politely express our dissatisfaction.

How should we express our dissatisfaction?
Don\’t wait for anything, but address it immediately. If a waitress comes to you grim-faced, first humor her and ask her who offended her so much. You may be surprised to find that she changes from aloof and grumpy to kind, chatty, and helpful. If there still seems to be no change, consider changing jobs quickly. There is nothing worse than an angry, grumpy waiter.

Ask for what you are entitled to. Start with the drink menu. If you\’re sick of ordering bottled water that costs dozens of kronas, ask for carafe water. You can also tell a restaurant with good service by the carafe of water and a slice of lemon already on the table at lunchtime.
In a crowded restaurant, it is normal to wait a little while for your food to be served. However, the waiter should let you know in advance how long it will likely take for your food to be brought to your table. However, you should not wait for your menu or drinks to be brought to you. Even in a crowded restaurant, sitting at a table for more than 20 minutes without ordering a drink is a sign of incompetence on the part of the waiter. The other day I was standing in a restaurant with a friend and had to wait 12 minutes for the waiter to show us to our reserved table. This long time alone should have been enough for us to realize that we should have turned around. Unfortunately, we did not, and the entire lunch was a disaster, with a course delivered by an obnoxious waiter with no side dishes and a whole dish missing.

Dishes were undercooked, tough, and oversalted. This is also unfortunately common in restaurants, where most people pick from a plate and eat something at least somewhat edible and shut up. This is how we train incompetent cooks and lull the management staff into a peaceful slumber. Let us not be afraid to speak up! Let\’s return bad food and demand replacements. After all, all restaurateurs are in the service industry and we are paying them a service fee. Let\’s be bold and only pay for quality, professional service.