A lot of businesses underestimate the power of a disgruntled customer.

They met their match after the customer in this story had a particularly bad experience and wasn’t willing to let it go.

Check out how he got back at this restaurant and hit them where it hurt.

Disrespect Me? Pay the Price.

This is my friend Keith’s story, but as he passed away recently,

I’m telling it in his honor.

We were consultants in London in the UK in the mid 1990s.

Keith had booked lunch with a potential new client he was trying to win over at quite an upmarket restaurant in Soho.

It was usually booked out on Fridays so you had to book ahead a week or two in advance.

It was very popular for business lunches.​

But it left less than a stellar impression…

So Keith and his client meet up at the restaurant.

First, they are made to wait nearly 20 minutes for their table despite them being right on time.

Their waiter was incredibly arrogant and patronized them both over their wine selections and pairings.

The food was poor, with one of the main meals coming out almost cold and having to be sent back, which infuriated the waiter.

The client left early claiming to be needed back at the office.

Keith knew it had not gone well.

He called for the restaurant manager and complained, but the manager insisted the bill be fully paid.

So Keith sprang into action.

When Keith got back to the office he asked us to start booking tables at the restaurant for the Friday two weeks in advance over the coming week, which we did.

Back in the day, you only gave your last name to book a table.

They didn’t take telephone numbers or anything.

Fast forward to Friday two weeks later and Keith triumphantly walked past the near empty restaurant.

He was jubilant.

We estimated that his little stunt cost that restaurant between 3,500 and 5,000 pounds.

Here is what folks are saying.

It was nice to see sweet condolences like this one.

I’m pretty sure they would catch on and innocent staff would lose their jobs.

He sounds like a loyal guy.

Yes. Or am I missing something?

I do, too! I hope he got other great clients.

Why do so many upscale restaurants have such bad food and service?

It seems like something is off there.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.