Neil Perry Response
Hi Andrew,
The overwhelming majority of people who came to the restaurant last week, all 999 of them loved it and said Sydney defiantly (sic) needs a restaurant like Rockpool (fish).
Sorry you don’t agree, but as you don’t seem to understand what we are doing I guess I won’t be getting you or needing you as a customer.
Cheers
Neil
Neil Perry
Director
Rockpool Group
NB: no reply to the email complaint I sent on Monday, and resent on Wednesday.
The overwhelming majority of people who came to the restaurant last week, all 999 of them loved it and said Sydney defiantly (sic) needs a restaurant like Rockpool (fish).
Sorry you don’t agree, but as you don’t seem to understand what we are doing I guess I won’t be getting you or needing you as a customer.
Cheers
Neil
Neil Perry
Director
Rockpool Group
NB: no reply to the email complaint I sent on Monday, and resent on Wednesday.
posted by Julia at 9:52 AM
20 Comments:
OH
MY
GOD
I'd be writing straight to Good Living/Sydney Confidential with that beauty.
I already have. Eatability is next.
And with enough mentions of ROCKPOOL on this blog any poor suckers googling to read about ROCKPOOL will come up with this little nugget.
yes, ROCKPOOL is definitely not going to be on my must-eat list.
Neil Perry really needs to pull his head in...even if those were his sentiments there is a lot more diplomatic way of expressing them.
Whatsmore, the potential damage done by a letter like that is a lot less than the cost of a complimentary bottle of wine or a couple of entrees next time you go.(Of course there won't be a next time now)
Further - how does he know if the majority of people were happy? Very few people take the time to write a letter when they are dissatisfied...they vote with their feet by not returning and with their mouths...by telling everyone they know how bad it was.
Neil Perry could have taken this as an opportunity to investigate any weaknesses in the restaurant, but instead he uses it to act like the twat many of us had heard that he is.
That is primarily what I put in my letter to Good Living.
A professional that understands customer service should have apologised, perhaps suggested that they try their hardest or that he hopes one day we'd try them again. And left it at that. His response left us all gobsmacked, not just how unbelievably rude it was, but how silly it was to suggest EVERYONE enjoyed it. Since no one was there when we paid or opened the door for us, at what point was this survey done?
What you say about few people taking the time to write a letter is very true. Eating out as often as I do at most there may have been a little grumble to a friend about a certain dish, or about the delay between courses. And that's it. Never have I had an overall experience that was so bad that I needed to complain in writing, and follow it up with a letter to Good Living.
So letting as many people as I know about this experience - I will.
Interestingly, he also completely ignored Andrew's question about why the prices are so different from the website to the restaurant.
What a tosser.
Thanks to all of this, I won't have to waste $250 on shit service and even worse food.
Thanks JB!
"Sorry you don’t agree, but as you don’t seem to understand what we are doing"
Um, what is it you are trying to do there Neil??!!??
Also, get a haircut - ponytails on guys is so, umm, umm, actually were they ever "in"?
I will never eat at Rockpool again. I've only been once, and besides the fact that I didn't care for the food on my first visit, this really seals it. It's over priced, over hyped, and his response was appalling. There are so many fantastic restaurants in Sydney with better food, more thoughtfully constructed menus and much better customer service. Just because you have a couple of cookbooks and television shows, doesn't mean your food is in anyway perfect. What a tool!
Give me Restaurant Balzac, Pilu at Freshwater, Becasse or Pier any day.
Thanks Amanda I wholeheartedly agree.
I used to work for Neil Perry. It's very funny to read this! Ha ha..X
I wish I was laughing Paul!
Also,a company which takes feedback and customer service seriously knows that it takes great effort to sit down and write a letter or email of complaint,and they should be concerned there are other customers out there who don't say anything to them but complain to their friends.What amateurs.
On some level he must know you're right, otherwise he would have apologized. Good for you. ROCKPOOL, bah.
I agree MissK and Megan. Customer service should be one of the easiest things to get right. Whether you feel you made mistakes or not, most customers are appeased with an acknowledgment and an apology. Even if it kills your bigger-than-the-Harbour-Bridge ego, it's as simple as that.
YOU shouldn't have to put up with this!
Blogs are so awesome for spreading the good word :) I had an issue with a certain dress designer, who delivered the product two months after I had ordered it and then had very poor business etiquette. So I wrote a blog about it, and she responded with a catty email. I should have posted her email on my blog. It's not like we'll ever be friends!
With blogs you can spread good and bad words. I write and spread the word about great restaurants, but I usually won't say anything about a restaurant where there were only minor issues. Everyone has their ups and downs.
You certainly have the right to write about your experience, and her response was very amateur.
My goodness - put that response in the dictionary under "hubris."
I think Neil Perry is going to regret this ... BIG TIME!
this certainly was a passion evoking post, initials!
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