8 August 2008

Firestone replies

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[ED – Firestone have submitted this reply to Danman’s earlier critique]

Hi Daniel. I am one of the owners of Firestone. This is the first I’ve heard of your experience. I do recall your emails now, they came through with a spam warning so I didn’t open them.

You must appreciate we get a lot of junk email and we’ve been getting bombarded with emails from male names and they are selling Viagra and the like. So, unfortunately I have mistaken your email for one of those and have deleted it without opening it.

Please accept my apologies for this. I’m disappointed that when you didn’t receive a reply to your email that you didn’t try to call us, I thought this would have been the most direct way of communication? Call me old school but I find that a quick phone call usually works.

From my perspective, it would have been much easier if you had called us as soon as you got your takeaway home. I find it’s easier to discuss something that has just happened rather than try to recall details at a later date. I assure you that if I had successfully received (opened) your email I would have contacted you straight away.

Daniel, please give me a call on my mobile on 0410 643 800 as soon as convenient; look forward to speaking with you.

Jenny

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Hi Danman

Just wondering – did you go back and if so, was your experience any better?

Man, Im an idiot – I thought this was in the initial thread, but I am sorely mistaken. Sorry for the confusion people.

Personally I find the reply galling. I hate talking on the phone and if I send an email, that’s the method I want to communicate in. If I have to engage on the phone then I will but I wouldn’t expect a reply admonishing me for my preference.

Firestone pizzas are the only ones I can get my children to eat, and they adore the little gelati cones for dessert. Never had a bad meal there, and I’ve ben about 15 times.

I still think the initial reply to your complaint was lame.

She went on for two paragraphs about how wrong you were to not use the phone to complain. I personally think that if a person takes the time to sit down and write a complaint in a calm and rational manner, it deserves more attention than a “it wasnt me it was a computer error” excuse.

And in your update, she plainly says in black and white that there is NO quality assurance for Take Away items!!! Are you kidding me!?!?

Here’s some tips for Firestone:

1) Get management to attend some conflict resolution or better communication courses- you really need it.

2) Call me old fashioned, but organise simple QA on Takeaway orders if you plan to charge premium prices. Seriously, I’m sick and tired of eateries who happen to be based in Dickson charging the “Dickson surcharge” and offering crap in a cardboard box.

3) Read the subject heading of your emails more closely! I seriously doubt Danman had the words Viagra or Penis Enlargement in the subject heading. I imagine it would have read “complaint”, or “Attention Firestone Manager”.

Finally, if you are looking to attract new customers to your business, your above response (and lack of explanation to the original complaint) and dismissive attitude does nothing to encourage new clientel. Word of mouth is a powerful advertising tool, and unfortunately I now associate “Firestone” with “Caution”… not “Confidence” that even if something does go wrong, it’ll be handled correctly.

Just for a bit of closure on this thread I rang Jenny up the other day and she had the following to say

– She was adamant that my 2 emails ended up in her spam box – after several phone calls to me trying to recreate the situation, with the same text and subject line, from same email account etc (Admittedly I have moved from PC to MAC since I sent the emails) we could not recreate this – though the fact that she was willing – and wanted to send me screen caps of the resultant emails convinced me that this was the case.

– In reply to my argument regarding the same spam email from the same address twice, she sent me a screen cap demonstrating that she has in fact received 2 emails from the same spam address purporting to extend the length of certain parts of her body??!! (Interestingly her screen cap showed that she uses her ISP webmail server to manage her emails)

– I stated to her that if she was running under MS environs that she can set up MS Outlook or even Outlook Express – and said its a 5 minute job and ill make viewing her emails much easier (Including preview screen to judge if an email is genuine or not)

– In the end she admitted that she had learnt a very valuable lesson on how to manage emails and I believed her when she said that mine just got caught up between a few other spam emails that she done a bulk dump of.

I got the impression that Jenny was more interested in addressing the electronic problems that we had been facing, not the poor quality of the food…however…..

– Then we discussed why the quality of the food was so poor on that night in question. She stated that when T/A food goes out the Front Of House staff have no QC as its all boxed and out of their sight. Makes you wonder what the chefs are doing eh ?
She also stated that the “greens” where in such poor state because things like that are meant to be eaten on site and as such do not travel that well. Fair enough, I accepted that – however, if thats the case then why is it available for take away ?

– In any case she said that she had sat down and had a staff meeting with everyone and used the RA example of how bad press can snowball and make a bad impression in this hospitality backwater we call canberra – in my opinion, there is not enough people in canberra to support dodgy restaurants. Jenny stated that this was a once off, and that if I was to come in again it would be poles apart from our previous experience.

Throughout the course of our several conversations, Jenny stated that she has been taught a very valuable lesson that she will not forget in a rush

And by all accounts, not everyone who has had dealings with Firestone have had bad ones.

Several of my work colleagues and fellow RA posters have had great meals there.

In any case, she extended her sincerest apologies to my wife and I and assured us that should we chose to provide them with our custom again, it will be money well spent.

I for one, even if its money wasted, think I will dine there, some time in the future, and RA can look forward to a further review from me either way the penny drops.

Firestone staff and owners, I really hope this has taught you a valuable lesson – and hope for your own sake more than anyone else’s that you can consistently pick up your game.

PS Install an email program – its easy to use and will help streamline your email processes – with easier to use spam filters.

I sure as hell won’t be bothering to check Firestone out after:

* Seeing the pictures of the crap ‘food’

* Reading the utterly pissweak response to a reasonable, and very detailed written complaint.

Hoping Danman’s going to come and give us an update…

It’s interesting – I quite like the time I went to Firestone, however, it was in December last year, when they’d just opened. It is possible that there’s been a slackening of standards since the opening (good chefs move on, bad ones stay) – but am wondering whether it’s worth going again if they have started to stuff up on the basics.

I went to firestone for the first time a couple of weeks back and it was the worst pizza I’ve ever had – $15 for a thin dough base and the stingiest toppings I’ve ever seen. Couldn’t believe it when the pizza came out – such a rip off.

Then at the end of the night the staff helped themselves to our change as a tip!

The usual inadequate response to an unhappy customer. And businesses wonder why people go off and talk to friends or the entire internet when they have an experience like this, rather than trying to tell the business and getting a defensive, unpleasant response.

We saw the photos, remember. It was BAD.

A week or so back, I emailed the Cerebos foods mob to check if they used the same machinery to make their range of Fountain sauces as they used for their peanut satay sauce. I got a reply immediately, and then was put onto the food mob, and got some exact, helpful information (tomato sauce is on separate stuff, but the sweet chilli and mint sauce are made on teh same machinery as the satay). Now THAT’S what you expect from a business that provides you with a method to ask for info or give feedback. It’s rare though.

Who wants to bet that Danman will cop an earful if he calls that number?

Mælinar - *spoiler alert* I've seen S04E139:29 pm 08 Aug 08

I’d be giving her the benefit of the doubt. Reconcile these comments:

This is the first I’ve heard of your experience. I do recall your emails now, they came through with a spam warning so I didn’t open them.

A positive recollection of receiving an email, but not opening them.

Very threadbare beginning.

communications, phone, communications, phone, Daniel, please give me a call on my mobile on 0410 643 800

When we bring this back to Danmans original post, we will find that he offered his own phone number and contact details. At any time Ms Stupid could have contacted Danman directly, but instead chose to engage an alternative means.

Frankly, I’ve never been to firestone, but as a result of their actions, I’ll never go now.

We’ve seen others handle these things far worse.

Sadly I can’t talk about it here but come along wednesday night and ask me.

Deep fried mars bars @ G-spot – carpark of Gunghalin Lakes golf club… well reccomended

…….or better yet meet Duke for a coupla ales and some deep-fried lard!

@peterh – the Torrens takeway used to do a battered Mars bar many years ago but not any more and i’ve never been able to find another place that would cook me one since.
(Torrens also used to do a battered Snickers!)

If you do know somewhere that sells deep-fried battered Mars bars you need to start an entire thread on the subject!

Woody Mann-Caruso7:33 pm 08 Aug 08

P.ssweak, Firestone. Just like your pizzas.

I think they still handled it badly. First blame e-mail then blame Danman for not calling them. No doubt they will then blame the oven, the supplier, the kitchen hand etc etc.

How about a simple “We are so sorry you had a negative experience at our restaurant. Please contact us on the number below etc etc” ?

And if you own a business and want to run it properly, I would think you ARE under an obligation to check your e-mail properly. If an e-mail doesn’t contain profanities and you don’t totally bugger up the address it should arrive.

As for the post office …”pfft” !! That’s a whole new thread.

If you get a reply to an email, it should be considered a bonus. If you do you have saved a stamp or a phone call.

People are under no obligation to check their email. You also have no idea whether your email got lost in the ether, blocked by a firewall, intercepted by echelon (like most of mine) or whatever. So people should not angry if emails remain unanswered (whether personal or business). That is what the post office and telephone are for.

I not get upset if people do not answer my smoke signals or pyschic transmissions.

i’m with overheard – i’ll gladly hold ’em down while you insert whole pineapple where it is a better fit… 😉

as for dessert pizza, had a scintillating banana pizza in adelaide at the height of the banana shortage a couple years back; cinnamon, banana, served with lots of cream and a few juicy strawberries, on a fantastic slightly chewy base at a place that does great wood-fired pizzas. turned me on to the concept, lemme say…

but pineapple, never!

you people are all sick.

dessert pizza?

I want my deep fried mars bars.

Quick, someone negotiate a deal that benefits riotact readers! I’ve had a hankering for a dessert pizza since I got back from Japan (bless Shakeys and their all-you-can-eat menu). There’s something so wrong about dessert pizzas that makes them so right…

jakez said :

Overheard said :

And I have a contract out on the guy that went near a pizza with a pineapple chunk.

BLASPHEMER!

Jehovah! Jehovah! Jehovah!

(Almost rhymes with ‘anchovy’…)

Jonathon Reynolds4:47 pm 08 Aug 08

@ Overheard

Overheard said :

Sounds a bit drier, and therefore possibly more savoury.

I was lead to believe (having spent 4 years of secondary schooling at an English school in Rome) that its origins were that of stale bread. The poorer inhabitants of the Naples region used to top the bread with a paste made from over ripe tomatoes and add other foods stuffs they could find to make it more palatable before baking in an oven.

The Wikipedia seems to have a different slant on the whole story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_pizza

Overheard said :

And I have a contract out on the guy that went near a pizza with a pineapple chunk.

BLASPHEMER!

If Danman prefers to communicate a complaint by e-mail, and especially if he has a reason, he has a right to expect an e-mail response. (I have the same preference). It’s damnable arrogance for the restaurant to demand a telephone call.

tylersmayhem4:03 pm 08 Aug 08

I will probably give Firestone a go at some stage – but they (and most other establishments) only get one chance. There are too many places to eat/drink in this city to go back twice for a crap experience.

*first* went near a pizza with a pineapple chunk.

Purely a personal choice, JR. I was born without a sweet tooth and don’t do dessert. And I have a contract out on the guy that went near a pizza with a pineapple chunk.

Whoever it was who mentioned ‘desert’ pizza in the other thread might have been on to something. Sounds a bit drier, and therefore possibly more savoury.

Jonathon Reynolds3:49 pm 08 Aug 08

@Overheard

Overheard said :

Personally, I believe the person that decided to marry the concepts ‘dessert’ and ‘pizza’ will be the first one up against the wall when the revolution comes…

Done when properly its quite nice. Woodstock in Civic had a dessert pizza as one of their signature dishes for years.

I agree with Tyler. Unless you can guarantee some semblance of customer service via email then don’t suggest it as a means of contact. If it were my business I can honestly say I’d never let a single email go unanswered. Its completely unprofessional. The spam excuse ceased to be a valid one about 3 years ago. In my opinion Danman used the best possible means to lodge his “feedback” and it was ignored, not missed. They’ve brought this upon themselves but I’m sure they’ll learn from it.

Gungahlin Al3:43 pm 08 Aug 08

That’s my Friday chuckle Overheard!

PS: Been a long time since Gmail inadvertantly spammed an authentic email for me. A few weeks of ‘training’ and now no longer necessary to even check the 2000 a week that get binned by it.

It’s a fair point, JR (about the contact form).

Personally, I believe the person that decided to marry the concepts ‘dessert’ and ‘pizza’ will be the first one up against the wall when the revolution comes…

I’m with Overheard – give ’em the benfit of the doubt.

Jonathon Reynolds3:32 pm 08 Aug 08

@Firestone:

Some more free advice: If you are having so much trouble with spam email then get your web developer to put a proper contact form on your website. eg: http://www.dominos.com.au/great_company/feedback.asp
That way you know that messages sent to you by your own web site really need to be carefully scrutinised.

However, given what it took for Danman to get even a lacklustre response from your establishment: “Firestone pizzeria | bar” in Dickson is on my list of places to definitely avoid.

tylersmayhem3:31 pm 08 Aug 08

Don’t list email as a form of contact then?!

I’d be giving her the benefit of the doubt. I’ve fished some very kosher stuff out of spam mail or junk mail that I could have emptied had I not taken a much closer look. Conversely, I’ve got a business email address on a public performers’ register and ever since they changed the way that data can be searched, I’m swimming in enough Nigerian get-rich-quick schemes to make me a trillionaire by next Tuesday.

tylersmayhem2:55 pm 08 Aug 08

I agree with hk0reduck. Danman was not out for something free. He approached the company by officially complaining in writing – his choice being email. I wonder what the response would have been if it was posted. “Australia Post never delivered it” or “we thought it was junk mail and threw it out”.

If a company chooses to have email as a form of contact, monitor it accordingly. Thats more free feedback to the restaurant!

I get angry when a company calls themselves something like “JustJeans” and then they sell t-shirts as well, wtf is with that.

If you want your food replaced a phone-call is definately the way to go, however, if you are writing a complaint/offering criticism I think the ‘old-fashioned’ way is to write a letter. It can help to keeps the emotions out, allows people time to calm down and gives the complainee the time to get their whole point across in the best way possible.

Good on Firestone for responding. I hope that they will act on some of Danman’s reccomendations because to be completely honest the vegetables tossed in butter looks absolutely disgusting.

The dessert pizza (all 2 good slices of it) on the other hand looks like it could be quite tasty.

I get angry with any company that has an email contact facility & doesn’t monitor it properly & in a timely manner. If you don’t want emails, then don’t advertise email contact details.

Please accept my apologies for this. I’m disappointed that when you didn’t receive a reply to your email that you didn’t try to call us, I thought this would have been the most direct way of communication? Call me old school but I find that a quick phone call usually works.

From my perspective, it would have been much easier if you had called us as soon as you got your takeaway home. I find it’s easier to discuss something that has just happened rather than try to recall details at a later date. I assure you that if I had successfully received (opened) your email I would have contacted you straight away.

GAHHHH! Don’t do that!

It’s fair enough to say something about phone calls being easier but in this situation when you are responding to a complaint, just respond to the complaint. Don’t bang on for two paragraphs complaining about the persons choice of communication.

Option A: I do apologise for the mix up with the emails. I think in this instance a phone call will allow me to quickly address your valid concerns. I have provided my mobile number for your convenience.

Option B: Well dickhead, if you had have called instead of emailing you wouldn’t have had to wait.

AussieGal83 said :

Spam. Pfft. A likely story. Dan, you were ignored plain and simple.

Yup.

Spam. Pfft. A likely story. Dan, you were ignored plain and simple.

People, it wasn’t emailled in to me, it was submitted for publication as is. (added para breaks aside).

I’m respecting a decision.

Thank you for your reply Jenny, it seems the power of RiotACT prevails.

Having worked in hospitality for several years I know how the majority of issues raised via the telephone work.

I complain to employee # X.
Telephone Call is amicably terminated.
Employee # X then either forgets my complaint, has a whinge to his colleagues, or ignores my concerns.

I am not saying that this was the case, but merely expressing that my experiences when I worked as a chef model my method of response.

For this reason I decided that email was the preferred method of communication.

Additionally, I find your management of electronic correspondence odd.

How many emails will you get from unknown sources, keeping in mind that you have the address on your business cards.

Why then did it end up in the spam box?

Dont you have a responsibility as a proprieter to filter genuine spam from actual letters lest this happen again ?

Getting 2 emails from teh same supposed spam address, I would have thought the penny would have dropped that it was a genuine email.

All in all, I am glad that you have taken time out of your day to address me here, and I look forward to discussing this further with you outside the bounds of riotACT.

Like I said, not after anything for free – just wanted an explanation of why our experience in your restaurant was as it was on that certain night, as it seems just as many people have had good experiences there as bad.

Editorial styles differ it seems.
Mr Jazzhands had a tendency to blot out mobile phone numbers in comments for user’s ongoing peace of mind.

Addressed to Daniel, not to everyone who reads Riotact!!!!

Katie said :

A bit rough to include this womans mobile number in the post though!!!

She wanted to talk over the phone and she put it in the message!

!!!

Its a civil opening to a response.
(and congratulations to Firestone on engaging an unimpressed vocal customer)

But I will wait for a civil outcome, before coming to a conclusion.

A bit rough to include this womans mobile number in the post though!!!

play nice people, it’s a civil response.

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