Dave’s Diner

We went into Dave’s Diner in Looe as my father had used it years ago on several visits and had fond memories. We had 3 x cod and chips but found that one of the pieces of fish was badly overcooked, to the point that the fish had gone yellow, it was so dry. The batter was also pretty terrible, resembling more of a thick doughnut batter than the usual light, crispy fish type… Anyway, the chips were pretty good.
Not too upset at this point, my Dad decided to take the overcooked fish back to the diner and see if they’d replace it. This is where it went downhill really; he was met by a lady (apparently the owner’s wife) who obviously didn’t have the first clue or experience regarding customer service and who didn’t empathise, apologise or even handle the situation in a polite manner. The complaint could have been defused in seconds — as i say, my Dad really wasn’t that bothered (these things happen) but she managed to make it a problem by telling him he was entitled to his opinion but they had been frying fish for years and always did it this way. Dad tried to point out that this wasn’t true, as we had also had two pretty reasonable bits of fish which weren’t overcooked. He also pointed out that he didn’t need to fall back on his expertise as a trained chef, Royal Navy caterer and former Fish & Chip shop owner to know when fish was well ovecooked, dry and unpleasant — it really wasn’t a matter of opinion, more fact. Unfortunately she wasn’t having any of it.
It’s a shame as the rest of the meal was ok and we didn’t really have any reason not to re-​visit, if it hadn’t been for the arrogance of this lady and her naïve approach to customer service. Most people in service industries nowadays know how important good service is to people and that a potential complaint can be turned into a very positive experience if it’s handled well — but not in this case, I’m afraid. If you care about being treated well by people who value their customers, there are plenty of other good chippys in Looe who probably cook a better portion of fish anyway…