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Describe A Bad Service You Received In A Restaurant Shop: IELTS Speaking Cue Card

You should say

  • When and where it happened?
  • What happened there?
  • How was it solved?
  • How did you feel about it?
Show all 44 answers

Cue 1:When and where it happened?

  • Begin by mentioning the name of the restaurant and the city where it is located.
  • Specify the date or occasion when you visited the restaurant.

Example

Last month, I visited a popular restaurant called 'Spice Junction' in Delhi with my friends to celebrate my birthday.

Cue 2:What happened there?

  • Describe the specific incident that made the service bad.
  • Include details about the staff's behavior and the impact it had on your experience.

Example

As soon as we arrived, we were ignored by the staff for nearly 20 minutes. When we finally got a table, the waiter was rude and took our order incorrectly, bringing us the wrong dishes.

Cue 3:How was it solved?

  • Explain how you addressed the issue with the staff or management.
  • Mention any actions taken by the restaurant to rectify the situation.

Example

I politely spoke to the manager about our experience. He was very apologetic and offered us complimentary drinks and ensured that our correct orders were prioritized.

Cue 4:How did you feel about it?

  • Share your feelings during the incident and after it was resolved.
  • Reflect on how this experience affected your view of the restaurant.

Example

Initially, I felt frustrated and disappointed, especially since it was my birthday celebration. However, after the manager's response and the complimentary drinks, I felt a bit better, but I still left the restaurant with mixed feelings.

Conclusion

    Example

    Overall, the experience taught me the importance of good service in a restaurant. While the manager's efforts to resolve the issue were appreciated, it made me reconsider whether I would return to 'Spice Junction' in the future.

    Following this structure will ensure you cover all the essential points while providing a clear and engaging response to the cue card topic.

    Tips to answer this Cue Card

    1: Vague Descriptions

    Using vague language can make your response unclear. Avoid general statements that do not provide specific details about the service you received.

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    Tip

    Be specific about the incident. Describe the location, the service received, and the exact issues you faced to create a clearer picture.

    2: Neglecting Emotions

    Failing to express your feelings can make your story less engaging. It's important to convey how the bad service affected you emotionally.

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    Tip

    Share your feelings during the experience. Use phrases like 'I felt frustrated' or 'I was disappointed' to connect with the listener.

    Ignoring Resolution

    Not mentioning how the issue was resolved can leave your story incomplete. It's essential to explain if and how the problem was addressed.

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    Tip

    Include details about how the restaurant handled the situation. Did they apologize, offer a refund, or improve the service? This adds depth to your response.

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    All Answers

    Here are all the answers by real-users practicing speaking for IELTS Cue Cards on our IELTS Prep App.

    Band 6

    I go to the restaurants in every weekend and now I would like to talk about a bad service I received in a restaurant shop. Two years ago I was going to a restaurant for dinner and I ordered some delicious dishes and the waiter come to me and take my order but their timing is very slow and I was very frustrated. The restaurant name is Master Burger. Master Burger has bad service because they do not bring the order to their back time to time. It is very bad but I complained to the manager for late order gave and the manager told to their staff and action on them. After sometime my order is ready and I will take my food and the hotel manager tells me to not give money for my order. He was happy to know about her staff and I was gone there. I feel good after talking to manager because he was very nice.

    Band 6

    I am a travelaholic. I do often travel and I try to prefer outside food most of the time. Here I would like to talk about one of the restaurants where I went and I ate food. Which I thought it would be delicious. Moreover I was expecting so many things. But I was disheartened when I took first sight of that dish. It was a paneer tikka. I thought it would be spicy but it was sweet and I am not a sweet tooth. In addition they were taking too much time to serve the food. When I had ordered something they used to tell me we need some time and there was no rush. Still they were taking too much time. In addition it was a hectic day for me. Furthermore my family members and I were really impatient with their service. Additionally it was an unforgettable day for us. Because we did a lot of things but our expectations didn't match with the food. It brings disappointment on that. Particularly that paneer tikka dish which we expected.

    Band 6

    I went on a trip to Udaipur in December because Udaipur is located in Rajasthan and the winters of Rajasthan are amazing to experience that's what I heard from people. So there when we went to a restaurant to have our dinner so first of all we had a long day and on that day we skipped our lunch so we were expecting me and my friends we were expecting a good dinner and we like browsed on internet about some good places with a good view so that we can click pictures of course so for that reason we chose one restaurant its name was the cafe with lake view the name is the cafe with lake view we went there it was amazing in terms of the looks it was really good it had a lot of spots where we can collect pictures but when we ordered food it came so late that we were so hungry and it was kind of irritating and also the food was not good so that was the very triggering point which made me very angry and then I spoke to the waiter and I called manager to resolve the issue but it is something which can't be done anything so our issue didn't got resolved but it was very bad experience and as a result of that the whole day got ruined for me and I like kind of felt so bad and

    Band 6

    So, I had a bad experience in a restaurant which is called Haiboming, it's a well-known Chinese restaurant in Trishul. They had a lot of food varieties, so my favourite food is always noodles, so I went often there, so it's in last month, so I went there, but the staffs didn't attend our table, I went with my fiancé, so we waited a lot of time, they didn't approach us, so I had a chance to complain with their manager, so I complained about the bad service, but as I said the manager took a very spontaneous action and they resolved, the manager came himself to attend our table and took the menu and served.

    Band 6

    last weekend I went to a restaurant named Apsara with my family after reaching there we ordered dosa, pav bhaji and some snacks. Snacks were very nice but dosa and sambar was quite cold and potatoes stuffed potatoes was smelly it means it was rotten when I complained to the manager he felt sorry and served again dosa with sambar and he felt extremely sorry for that and he even didn't charge for that I felt happy and I accept his apologies but I warned him not to do again with me or others as well because serving bad food to others can spoil their reputation in the society and we were the regular customer so I made him understand and I came back

    Band 6

    Yesterday, I had gone to a restaurant near my house with my family for dinner as we had decided it long time ago but we didn't get time to go out. So finally, yesterday night we had gone there. We have decided the menu and called the boy for giving order. We have ordered the french fries, manchurian, pizza, rice, dal makhani and curd. When they had served us the manchurian, we started serving in our own plates. When I started eating, I found hair in my plate and I got shocked after seeing. Immediately I called the waiter and let him see that hair that was there. I was very upset with that incident. The manager has also arrived and they apologized for the mistake and they assure us that this will never happen again in the future. They will replace our tables and provide us with the other ones and we start eating again. The bad thing is we were very happy when we visited there because since we were waiting for the long time but when I found something like this, I was disappointed. Though it was not their mistake but I felt very guilty because of this incident. All my happiness comes to be at the sorrow. That's why I was really disgusted.

    Band 6

    When I visited Manali with my friends and I was returning back to my hometown, we took a stop at a restaurant which was on the way from between Manali to Chandigarh. We were a group of almost 10 people and it was 10 pm in the night and we were very hungry. So we decided to stop at this restaurant and order some good food. So we ordered Indian food basically which included vegetables like paneer which is also called cottage cheese and other veggies and with that we ordered Indian bread called roti or naan. It took around 20 minutes for the order to get ready and after the order arrived, the major part of the roti was burnt and also the vegetables were half cooked or you can say some of them were not tasting as good as we expected. So we complained it to the manager. The manager was quite rude so we had an argument with him but when we complained it to the owner of the restaurant, he was a generous person. He considered all our problems and he replaced all the dishes with new ones and he also provided us with complimentary dishes which majorly included desserts and sweets. So it was

    Band 6

    Well, the occasion was Christmas when I went to a restaurant with my sister and that restaurant was something I was looking forward to because I have seen reels on that and I really wanted to experience because the ambience was so good and I have seen in the reel, it was shown that it has cute aesthetics and background where you can go and click pictures. So when we went there, it was nice, it was cozy and the surrounding and the people, it was all calm and soothing. However, when we ordered food, we expected a lot from them, I guess. It was like the first time when we didn't do cafe hopping that we usually do. So we ordered food like pizza, pasta and some drinks, specifically we ordered mojito and a chocolate smooth, but when it came, it was blunt, the taste, there was no taste actually. It was, furthermore, we expected a lot from drinks as well. The mojito was so salty and the lemon in it.

    Band 6

    So a bad service that I received in an E3 was when I was with my family in Maharashtra. There is a restaurant for every savoury. So we went there so we can try some new foods as well. So firstly when we entered the restaurant it was very nice. The environment is very good and the ambience was superb. So when we entered there we have ordered different kinds of Idli. So I tried to have a Chilli Garlic Noodles which is also one of my favourite. So I ordered the food. After sometime, I think after 15 minutes our food has came. So when my food has came, the Chilli Garlic Noodles has no salt. So when I tasted it, it has no salt actually. Firstly I thought that maybe they had put the lesser one. But when I asked my mother to have it, so it hadn't any taste. So I complained then the manager has came. So he solved the issues by replacing it by another. So it was the worst one because Chilli Garlic Noodles is one of my favourite. And while at a new place, I want to have a new experience with my favourite one. But additionally it gave me the worst experience at that place. But manager has consoled me that this is never gonna happen. So please don't complain or put anything over the social media. So I was like okay, there can be mistakes. And it was an honest mistake because they actually accepted that. So that was the worst experience.

    Band 6

    A bad service I received was at a restaurant I visited with my friends a few days ago. It was a newly opened cafe in my city that had been getting a lot of attention on social media. So we were quite excited to try it out. However, the experience was far from what we expected. First of all, we had to wait for almost 50 to 60 minutes for each dish we ordered. Our order, even though the restaurant wasn't very crowded, the staff looked confused and disorganized. They didn't seem to pay much attention to the customers. When the food finally arrived, there were a few items that were missing in the dish. One of the dishes didn't have exactly what we ordered. We informed the waiter politely, but the response was taken very lightly. They didn't even react to our query and told us we had to wait to get it fixed. We ended up eating just a bit and we were just happy about it. We again placed an order of another dish and this time the waiter told us that there was no stock left and they had to get it replaced. They do it as soon as possible and get the dish. Overall, the experience was really disappointing. I felt frustrated because we had been looking forward to a good meal and a good time. Later, I posted a detailed review online, hoping the management would look into it and improve their service. It made me realize how important customer service is and how much it can affect our overall impression of the place.
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