Have you ever returned to a restaurant chain after such a poor experience that you promised yourself you would never give them your custom again? That was exactly how we felt about Frankie & Benny’s after a disappointing visit to their Leicester branch several years ago. Since then, we had completely avoided the chain. To this day, I still would not return to that particular location and my impression of the company’s customer service and PR departments remains poor.
However, a recent visit to another branch has at least partially restored my confidence in the brand.
During a trip to The O2 in Greenwich, we decided to visit Frankie & Benny’s and, thankfully, this experience could not have been more different. From the moment we arrived, the team made us feel genuinely welcome. The service was excellent throughout and the speed of the food arriving at our table was genuinely impressive. This branch represented the company extremely well.
I especially want to praise the server who looked after our table. They were warm, friendly and upbeat while remaining professional throughout our visit. The restaurant itself had a pleasant and comfortable atmosphere, with décor that created a relaxed dining environment. The food was good quality, and we also managed to make use of a Tastecard offer, giving us two meals for the price of one.
What makes this situation frustrating is that we used to be regular Frankie & Benny’s customers, visiting two or three times a month at one stage. We spent a lot of money as regular customers of this business. The reason we stopped going was not simply because of one bad experience, but because of how poorly our complaint was handled afterwards. I attempted to contact both the Leicester branch and their head office on more than one occasion, yet never received any acknowledgement or meaningful response. It gave the impression that customer feedback, and customer loyalty, simply did not matter. As a result, we lost interest in giving them our business.
This visit to the O2 branch happened largely because we knew it would make our daughter happy, rather than because we had any real desire to return to the chain. While we still have no plans to become regular visitors again anytime soon, this location at least demonstrated that there are still some excellent branches within the company.
It also serves as a reminder of how much business can be lost when customer complaints are not handled appropriately. To this day we will not visit Leicester branch but may occasionally visit other locations rarely in no other choice.
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