A second e-mail from the Gourmet Food Store

The Southland Times has a story on the e-mail from Margaret McHugh of the Gourmet Food Company to a staffer at Ray White.

Well a second e-mail has just hit the inboxes – involving a different customer, back in mid September.

This one starts with an e-mail of complaint from a staffer at Trust Investments Management Limited.

Hello Margaret

Thank you for catering the breakfast for us on Thursday 6 September 2007.

We ordered this breakfast from you based on the very good quality and presentation of the first breakfast and lunch you supplied.

Unfortunately, we were disappointed with both the quality and presentation of the breakfast supplied, and we wish to comment as follows:

· Baps filled – We received filled Muffins instead. These were too big and unattractive with minimal filling.

· Filled Pockets – Supplied as requested but were not fresh and the fillings were messy; some pockets had strips of bacon which consisted of fat and rind.

· The Savory and Sweet Mini Muffins were a little tough.

· The Muesli slices were very nice.

· The Fresh Fruit platter which was ordered later, was also disappointing, for example the ends of the orange were included which consisted mainly of the white plinth.

We would appreciate if, in future our request cannot be met, you contact us to discuss alternatives/options.

Thank you

Then the first reply, which as per the other e-mail attacks rather than acts on the complaint:

I am sorry you were not happy with your clients breakfast, I am rather confused to say the least that you waited 4 1/2 days to inform me you were disappointed in the consumed breakfast food, it is rather unbelievable. If I was so unhappy I would have been on the telephone immediately and had the food replace forthwith. Of which I would have been more than pleased to do after having seen it again for myself.

Re fruit platter what is white Plinth. The only Plinth I know of is a square slab at the base of a column or pedestal. If you wish to discuss this further I am on the numbers below please don’t send an email it is so time consuming and impersonal . Regards Margaret

Then a reply back:

Hello Margaret

Thanks for your reply. The breakfast on Thursday 6 September commenced 7.30, the food was delivered at 7.20. Many of our guests had already arrived.

Could you have provided a replacement breakfast in 10 minutes?

The 4 ½ days to inform you of our disappointment included a 2-day weekend.

All in all we are surprised with the unprofessional response to our complaint.

Thank you

Now we get the flamer.  Note the pattern with both employees – threatening to get them in trouble with their bosses. Also I love the suggestion the food should have been preserved in case it had been tampered with!

I guess because I am the boss I can speak truthfully and not be afraid for my job, Does your boss know you are wasting their time emailing petty nonsense. In my 30 yrs as a successfully trained professional caterer I have never had to respond to such nonsense.

Please don’t use Gourmet Food Store again we are not used to part timers who have to much time on their hands,have no understanding, good manners and common sense in dealing with a complaint there and then. You never gave us an opportunity to amend what you said was wrong, we or course were never given the food to make an assessment of our own just some nicely typed out letter fully or criticism with no proof, not good enough !!!!!! The food could have been tampered with for all we know.

May I suggest in closing you spend a little more time in finding the word your were looking for in English relating to the orange so I can ask my supplier to remove it before he sends them to me in future.

I’ve also heard from a friend that she has had a similar e-mail in the past also. Looks like a pattern here!