There is some big mistakes in Chilean Restaurants happening every day
Chile is being a country with an increasing touristic interest and which I believe has huge potential in this aspect. But we need to improve and learn a lot about hospitality.
Going to a restaurant, for me, has a lot about seeking pleasure. Pleasure to eat something tasty , well prepared and be served by another, instead of doing everything yourself. It is not always easy to find quality and overall good experiences in the culinary and tourism scene in Chile.
There is something that, unfortunately, Chile is known for abroad. Something recognized by many but few accepted and it’s how badly Chile is doing in hospitality in comparison with other countries.
I believe it relates to cultural aspects: Chileans are not used to be kind in some environments. Although when it comes to making new friends, Chile is known for its friendly and affectionate people, but in the workplace is not usual to relate to clients in a friendly way. People often look at me very weird, because I go and greet those who work in a place and talk to them. Maybe it is the way some people heard that having a “professional” image equals to “distance”?
My aim is to put an alert, because I believe Chile needs to make some changes to be the destination it deserves to be and to develop a touristic scene with quality and able to compete with the other countries in Latin America. Thus, many times when I am surprised by the good service in a restaurant is when it is run or served by a foreigner.
(And not all is negative, here’s some funny facts about Chilean restaurants and food)
Here I’ll tell you which, I believe, are the fatal mistakes made (in general) in this area, especially in big cities.
Bad Service
Something that has constantly caught my attention is in relation to the quality of service in Chile.
It is common to find waiters serving you unkindly and with a dullness that it is very difficult to hide. If for some reason you get to claim something you do not like the answer usually is not very friendly (Chileans do not usually stand up for this kind of things).
Many times what I have found is a general feeling of not doing things with love. Not so in the markets and small local restaurants, where you feel the warmth of those who care for your time there, talk with you and welcome you politely and with a big smile!
Long waits to get the bill and pay for it
It is not uncommon to have to ask more than once to get the bill to pay in some places you even have to get up and go to pay directly to the cash desk. Many places are working with a small number of waiters so it is difficult for them to cover all persons properly.
Menus only in Spanish
You will more likely to find the menu in spanish and very little detailed (even in the most expensive places), plus when you want to know more about the contents of the menu items usually means asking more than one person what is in the dish you want to know in more about.
Vegetarian?
Be prepared to find a small variety of food as Chile is a country not characterized by eating mostly vegetarian food. While in last years has popularized a lot and there are many more choices than years ago (tell me about it! I was vegetarian there for around 10 years!), it is still difficult to find a big variety when eating at a restaurant.
Often the vegetarian option will be salads, and will include: LOTS of lettuce and tuna, chicken or ham! so ask first what they will include in your vegetarian dish or salad before you get unpleasant surprises. Aah! and forget to order a soup that is not made with chicken or fish, that is really hard!
Toilets
There is a price – cleaning relationship many times in the toilets that is impossible not to notice. It is almost incredible and a luxury to find a clean toilet, or at least in good condition. So if you can avoid this visit do it! Specially in the less expensive places.
Solving the worst mistakes in Chilean Restaurants
How can all this be improved ?
– Giving a welcome and greeting your customers
– Prepare ahead thinking about what kind of people will attend to your Restaurant. Adding photos if you do not want to detail every ingredient or translate into another language, to at least give an idea of what people will eat .
– Accept criticism and suggestions from customers but without this being an influence that drastically change the offer. With great disappointment I’ve seen places of international food completely losing the essence of the food source on the aim to make everybody happy.
I think much of this little changes would be solved if owners and waiters think more on treating the customer how they would like to be treated when they go to visit a restaurant, right?
I remember being in Puerto Montt back in 2008 (the 1st city I visited in Chile and my base for exploring the Lakes District) and seeing some great menus, but it seemed like half of what I would order would be “unavailable that day.”
Completely agree on the lack of vegetarian food! But other South American countries are bad for that too (I’m looking at you Brazil and to a lesser extent steak loving Argentina)
I have to say though our experience on the whole in Chile was pretty good – especially in San Pedro de Atacama, which admittedly is has lots and lots of foreign tourists. In San Pedro, there were lots of veggie options and the staff were generally really good and friendly (but then we had just come from Bolivia, where there really is less of an understanding of good service!). All the tour guides in San Pedro were fantastic too – super friendly and good at speaking slowly so I could understand their Spanish! Chilean Spanish in the rest of Chile seemed almost like a different language!
Many thanks for your words Sarah! I totally agree with you. Despite every experience es different I have had a very good experience in Bolivida (I think is maybe the lack of English speakers that makes it difficult for some travelers) and in Chile, mainly outside Santiago people are VERY nice and mostly will go out of their way to help you or understand you.
Vegetarian food is certainly a hard topic in the whole continent, when I was vegetarian I had say to waiters that if I try even the juice of any meet I’ll be sick, and that was the only way people got me on that, lol. Now is more common and easier to explain and to get what you want and even tasty and great vegetarian food in almost any restaurant.
I didn’t realise this was such an issue in Chile. I’ll be sure to remember when I finally get around to visiting! 🙂
Very interesting article. I’ve never been to the area so I was surprised to hear that the service in restaurants is so bad. Thanks for the great information and food for thought…
Thanks for reading me Jennifer! I must say this is not in every restaurant. It’s just something I found to be very common, and specially in some of the not-so-cheap places. In the small or self owned restaurants always had great experiences so far! 😉
Many of the issues you raised are not limited to Chile but in a lot of countries and establishments around the world. You will find that the restaurant or any business for that matter that pays emphasis on good customer services and making the customer fell comfortable will enjoys the benefits of success and prosperity. Come on Chile!
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I’ve heard about this before surprisingly enough. The Globetrotter GIrls wrote about about this a year or two ago and got HUGE backlash from Chileans. They even got featured in local newspapers saying they were badmouthing Chilean food. So, you’re not the only one who feels this way!
I know that Bethaney! I’ve got some creepy messages and comments from this article, Chileans are very nationalistic and some are proffesional haters too, lol. I noticed this all my life, as I am Chilean and grew up there, but the love for the country makes some people don’t see some little issues that could be improved and make the whole experience so much better! Thank’s for reading me!
Interesting read! I have yet to frequent a Chilean restaurant, but I have had other similar experiences. I agree that it all boils down to treating your customers the way you want to be treated. I think there is also a different dynamic abroad then in America. In the West we are groomed to think that the customer is always right and that we have to be overly gracious and hospitable, whereas in other regions this is a job that they have to do.
Salût @lesvoyagesdumonde! I totally agree with you, I think this is something many countries must learn about hospitality
This is very disappointing. I’d always heard great things about Chile. I’d still love to go there and see for myself.
Chile is really cool country to explore @mags!…just some things to improve in this area and I’m sure you’ll love it when you visit it!
Interesting for sure. We have yet to visit Chile, but it is good to have a heads up.
Just details to have in mind @Heidi, many thank’s for visiting my site!
This isn’t just an issue in Chile. I have seen these issues all over the world.
I can agree with that @jennifermelroy , sadly some things are kind of Universal. Thank’s for reading me!
Interesting point of view.
The only thing that bothers me is that they put mayonnaise on almost everything :/
Thank you Nelson! hahhaaaha I agree with that!
Three things,
First, Santiago no es Chile 😉
Second, the same thing happens in all big cities in the world.
And finally, you think your blog it’s going to be read by the owners or the people who work in this restaurants? No, it’s going to be read by turist that after reading your opinion may change their minds about going to Chile (maybe the ones who are not from a big city), so in the end you’re not doing any good to Santiago.
Greetings from Paris
p.s:congratulations on being another “chaquetera” 😉
I can’t speak for anyone else, but yeah, I am.
Are you trying to change a country , what kind of criticism are this bullshit…..
As Max wrote you can’t expect a great service from almost slave workers and probably don’t like you to ask things in English or stuff they are not used to (i.e. vegetarian food) as they feel hat you are somehow exploiting them and not adapting to the place.
About the waiting for the bill: there is a word that means talking after a meal sitting at the table (sobremesa): once you pay you are supposed to leave the place, and chilean people (like many others) like to take their time rather than rushing.
I have never seen a menu in spanish in the US….
And…no vegetarian food?? where have you been? there is plenty of vegetarian traditional food as well as new fancy international style vegan restaurants…
Summing up: another yankee wondering trough the world and expecting the world to be like her county….because of course all the different is bad and ununderstandable.
Thank you @fumanciù for sharing your thoughts.
Just for your summing up, I’m not another yankee, I’m Chilean and grew up and lived in Santiago mostly all my life, so these are the things I notice every single day when I’m in Chile and hearing about same complaints from my friends and people I have the chance to meet. Different views and different criteria for same things. And to me different is GREAT! 😉
Interesting observations…
Living in Chile myself, I’ve noticed many of these issues.
Not so much the paid toilets. In fact, I don’t remember the last time I’ve paid for a toilet in a restaurant whether it was in the middle of the city or in a rural area here.
Bad service seems to be universal though… every now and then you’ll get a great waiter or waitress, but I’ve just come to expect it as part of the culture. People are just less service-oriented in the city.
I did notice in Huilo Huilo in the South, the service was much more warm when we went to a family-style dining place. Lots of rural areas actually gave much more attention. It seems to be a big-city, Santiago thing.
I also find that the tip is included a lot of the time, so maybe this is part of the reason… the waiters don’t really try that hard knowing they’re going to make their tip anyways. Many grocery baggers have better service and ask how you’re doing than waiters/waitresses I find here.
What I’ve found is the small Peruvian restaurants are better anyways for the food and typically have great service. 🙂
Thank you Ash! I agree, in almost all the family-style restaurants and small grocery stores (and the small Peruvians too!) service is great. They usually go out of their way and give more attention to details, maybe because they have more time too.
In order to find the solution to this mess, one has to find the cause and to me the finger must be pointed towards the owners and managers of all these places. They are the ones who should care about imposing a customer retention attitude on their staff. But first they need to care themselves and as any one of us who must bare the awfulness of chilean customer service (in all and any of its expressions: retail, private sector, public sector, customer phone service, etc) knows: they don’t give a flying monkey. It’s all about getting as much money out of you as quickly as possible. A short term principle, where, wether you ever come back or not is of zero relevance.
I also think that culturally chilenos feel that customer service is degrading therefor service with a smile is demeaning. It is a poor (wo)man’s job, always has, always will and there are no success stories a lá American dream to chase after, no good examples to emmulate and the boss doesn’t care, he’s usually an exploitating idiot anyway, so why even bother? I might have this sucky dead-end job but it don’t mean I gotta do it with pride and joy!
Another thing to mention is that waiters here think that the tip (10% of your bill as a standard) is some sort of charity or some how mandatory. More importantly, customers think that also and don’t give a bother about tipping even though the service was something out of an Isis nightmare.
There is just no incentive for good customer service.
That vent felt good! Thank you!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Max!
I agree that there’s little incentive for giving a good customer service in general. When I find was a bad service I just don’t tip at all, but in general you’re right: people do it because it is expected (same as gifting the little coins for charity at the supermarkets).