Complaint Review: Il Fornaio - Palo Alto California

Before I get into detail here, you should know that in my experience with Il Fornaio and with my own restaurant now, too, both average(d) less than 5 chargebacks per year. Considering the amount of charge slips put through each year (thousands) by each restaurant, this is a miniscule amount. And in my experience, these few errors have been attributed to: 1) the customer miscalculated added the sale and gratuity and our auditor missed it 2) the customer forgot that they had dinner that particular night and on seeing the guest check, remember, then drop the chargeback 3) after requesting separate checks, the waiter inadvertently ran one charge twice and the other guest wasn't charged at all. "How would an auditor find a mistake when the employee guessed what the tip was meant to be. All the documentation would look fine except for the fact that the customer didn't sign the slip. Does this mean that the employee also forged the signature?" I have never had experience with a waiter forging a signature and/or adding a tip. My original statement was of a possible scenario only. Regardless, if it did occur, the charge slip would automatically say "duplicate" and would immediately be called into question. I should have made it clearer before; it is against policy to add a tip after the fact. "If a customer files a charge dispute and you receive a chargeback aren't you required to produce the original signed document." Only if the restaurant disagrees with the chargeback then the bank instructs you to provide documentation within ten days. If in looking into it you see that the customer is correct, then the bank instructs you to do nothing and the customer will be paid the disputed amount. "If you or an employee filed it and I dispute it wouldn't this constitute fraud?" Errors are not considered fraud unless one can prove intent. If you mean a waiter added his own tip and forged a signature, then, probably? I have (very fortunately) never had to deal with one like that. "Excusing employees for mistakes is no response." First off, no excuses were made. The original complaint assumed that the waiter had fraudulent intent. I provided alternate scenarios that could explain otherwise. California law prohibits the termination of an employee for a clerical mistake such as this. If it happens more than a few times, management can act. "It is ultimately the management of the establishment to ensure that the data sent to the credit card and other electronic means of transactions is correct." Absolutely. And every effort is made to do so. "I would like to know what restaurant the person who responded works for..." I don't just work there. I own it. "...because I would never use a credit card there.." Well! That's hardly called for! (Or did you mean you'll be paying in cash?!!)

Being distracted is no excuse. If you have an employee that consistently makes mistakes on the computer, and you want to keep them because they are good at the rest of the job, then someone else should do their computer entries for them. How would an auditor find a mistake when the employee guessed what the tip was meant to be. All the documentation would look fine except for the fact that the customer didn't sign the slip. Does this mean that the employee also forged the signature? If a customer files a charge dispute and you receive a chargeback aren't you required to produce the original signed document. If you or an employee filed it and I dispute it wouldn't this constitute fraud? Excusing employees for mistakes is no response. It is ultimately the management of the establishment to ensure that the data sent to the credit card and other electronic means of transactions is correct. I would like to know what restauraunt the person who responded works for because I would never use a credit card there..

I was horrified reading this post. Having worked for years for IL Fornaio and their former company, Spectrum Foods as a GM/Managing Partner, I continue to have their mindset for customer service. That entails doing whatever it takes to make certain the customer is not just satisfied, but thrilled with their experience in one of their restaurants. Though it may appear to the guest that the server added to the tip, one needs to understand the steps the server must go through in processing a charge to see the other, more likely, scenarios: The number one reason being, at the end of the meal, the guest adds the tip and signs the charge voucher, then leaves the restaurant with both copies. This puts the server into a predicament. He doesn't know how much of a tip you'd intended to leave to him unless he was looking over your shoulder when you wrote it. Considering that the government will tax him on his hourly pay plus a percentage (8%) of his annual sales, and though inappropriate, it is conceivable that he may have tried to guess on the amount. Or consider this: The server logs on, then enters the guests' order into the computer. At the end of the meal, the computer totals and prints out the "guest check". If the guest pays with a credit card, the server returns to the computer, logs on and brings up the guest check, then runs the card through the computer for processing to obtain an approval code for the food/beverage-only total. After the guest adds a tip and signs the charge slip, the server has to go back to the computer, log on, bring up the guest check/charge and adjust the total to include the added tip amount. This process is rather time consuming and most servers wait until the end of their shift to do this so they won't make mistakes. Even then, doing final adjustments on, say, 20 tickets should be easy enough, but if you're distracted for even a moment, one can easily forget which step they were in and accidentally adjust a check twice, enter an incorrect amount or erroneously enter another guest's tip amount. Only a moron would risk ripping off a customer in this way (and Il Fornaio does fairly thorough background checks on their new hires for reasons just like this...). A third scenario...guests requesting separate checks. Busy or not, nothing throws a server into confusion more than this seemingly "simple" request. I own my own restaurant now and as careful as I try to be, when distracted, I've made adjustment errors as have some of my servers, some more than others. Generally, the internal auditor will catch any mistakes; however, this would happen on a later date when it is impossible to readjust the same specific charge. This would necessitate opening up a new charge in order to issue a credit. Sometimes, and for whatever reason, the bank card issuer won't approve any activity on a particular account so the auditor waits for a "chargeback" (customer initiates the credit through their bank). I assure you that although it is possible that Il Fornaio has a "bad seed" working for them (If I remember correctly, they have a fairly large staff, perhaps 100+?), it is more than likely that this particular server became distracted for whatever reason. (Also, sometimes managers will tolerate a server's lack of computer savvy if he/she excels in other areas of service. But they would never, ever, tolerate a server who alters tips.) I hope you'll contact the GM of Il Fornaio in Palo Alto and tell him what happened. I know he would want to have the opportunity to correct this and make it up to you. p.s. As for the comment "One of the best restaurants in Palo Alto became the shame of the corporation... go by Chevy's or The Olive Garden and you'll find a much busier place...don't ask why." Unfortunately, I believe that our current economy has forced many diners into settling for less, both price-wise and palate-wise.