Blog
The Most Common Restaurant Complaints and How to Handle Them
5 min read
Jun 5, 2025
5 min read
Jun 5, 2025
Every restaurateur knows that reputation is everything. The quiet restaurant complaints, the unspoken disappointments — they can erode your business just as surely as a (very public) negative review.
With 94% of diners using online resources, like Google, social media and media sites, to discover new restaurants, it’s critical for you to anticipate issues before they become public problems.
Understanding what truly bothers your diners isn't about mind-reading; it's about listening strategically. From food and drink critiques to pricing and service issues, common restaurant complaints often fall into predictable categories.
Below, we’ll dive deeper into seven common customer frustrations, and offer concrete solutions for transforming negative feedback into powerful insights that elevate your restaurant's entire guest experience.
Diners’ biggest issues can be grouped into the following categories:
Poor food quality is one of the most common complaints in restaurants. Examples of this include dishes lacking flavor, food served at the wrong temperature, menus that don’t accommodate dietary restrictions and general mix-ups caused by servers mishearing and failing to confirm orders.
Peter Varvaressos, owner of vegan restaurant, Vandal, uses SevenRooms to link online reviews to guest profiles so his staff can reference them during service. By tagging past diners as “VIPs,” “negative reviewer” or “second chance,” he ensures returning customers receive special treatment on their next visit that may help change their perception.
Inattentiveness and rudeness are some of the most common customer service-related restaurant complaints. Front-of-house (FOH) staff members who are rude, curt or inaccessible are examples of things guests complain about.
Poor meal pacing is another issue. According to research in our Date Night Diner Report, 45% of diners wouldn’t return to a restaurant if their party’s meals arrived at the table at different times (i.e., more than 10 to 15 minutes apart).
For example, when Gosford RSL began using SevenRooms’ AI and automation, they were able to collect feedback and address it before it ended up on Google.
According to our recent data report, more than 1 in 3 consumers (35%) connect with restaurants through design and atmosphere. Customer complaints about the atmosphere cover a range of issues, from room temperatures and poor lighting to noise levels and ambiance.
Common customer complaints about takeout and delivery orders include receiving the wrong item, food getting cold, long wait times and customers having to meet delivery drivers at their vehicles instead of at their front doors.
Cleanliness and experience are more important to customers than cost, according to the National Restaurant Association.
The most common customer complaints about hygiene restaurants receive are related to finding hair in food, dirty utensils and dishes and cleanliness issues in restrooms and throughout the venue.
Solutions to managing restaurant hygiene complaints:
When it comes to pricing, guests most commonly complain about expensive dishes, surprise charges for upsells, high delivery and service fees, reservation cancellation fees and unexpected auto-gratuities.
Hospitality operating expenses have skyrocketed in recent years, forcing restaurants to raise menu prices by upwards of 25% and reduce labor costs to stay afloat.
At the same time, customers are more selective with their spending. They’re still willing to splurge on a meal — as long as it feels luxe and exclusive. SevenRooms’ 2025 Restaurant Trends Report found that customers are willing to pay extra for personalized touches, preferred seating and special occasions or events, but value and transparency is key.
Solutions to managing restaurant pricing complaints:
When it comes to restaurant tech, guests complain about reservation cancellation charges, outdated websites, confusing online ordering platforms and inflexible self-service ordering kiosks.
Preventing customer complaints is better than receiving and resolving them. With the right solutions, you can anticipate and resolve common restaurant complaints before they turn into big problems.
To earn better restaurant reviews, consider sending automated restaurant surveys to gather insightful feedback you can use to improve your processes. Then, proactively monitor your restaurant’s reputation across Google, review sites and social media using an automated reputation management strategy powered by SevenRooms. Want to learn more? Check out our reputation management guide.
“One hundred percent of the time, we get those customers back. You can make a negative into a double positive.” - Peter Varvaressos
“Whenever we received a negative response, we addressed it immediately to try and transform that feedback into a positive outcome. This feedback was crucial in helping us correct our mistakes. It’s a safety net where if a guest goes home unhappy, they let us know before posting on Google. It’s helped us improve our score.” - Andrew Strickland, F&B Manager at Gosford RSL
Darwin Brasserie used SevenRooms’ reservation system to monetize its window seats with a view. By labeling them a premium option guests could select at booking, the venue achieved a 626% increase in digital sales within two months.
