Waiters ....

[aspeck]

So, on Thursday I drive 2 hours to meet my uncle who has flown in from Arizona. The meeting place is a restaurant on the Susquehanna River on the other side of the river from Harrisburg. Beautiful looking across the river to the State Capital. Boaters, Jet Skiers, Fisherman, geese, etc, all enjoying the river.

So we order. About 30 minutes later I am wondering where my salad is and where our ice tea refills are. Not seeing the waiter anywhere around, but having a good time catching up on things.

45 minutes later a waitress asks us where we are in our dining process, did we order, did we get our food, are we just visiting before leaving? Apparently our waiter walked out on his job and our order had come up and was sitting there waiting for someone to pick it up. My salad was delivered AFTER the meal, the food was cool (tasty, but cool), and drink refills were scarce in coming. It still baffles me that the restaurant did not do anything to make our visit tolerable ... no bending over backwards on service, no discount on the bill, not even an apology for what transpired.

I can't say that I ever had a waiter walk out on me before. The meal was ruined, and I doubt that I will ever visit that restaurant again; certainly not drive 2 hours to eat there ... but the reunion was good anyway.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Waiters ....

First of all congrats on passing the 7000 post mark!

I know some resturants can sue a waiter for when they walk out for loss of revenue. However since they didn't compensate you (or others), they won't have a chance to recoup any loss or future loss. SOrry to hear you got caught with a gutless waiter.'

Last week while at tech school, another tech and I got supper from Ruby Tuesdays. My meal was the worst I've ever had. Everything tasted the same and I just didn't care for it. The other tech said "You need to call the waitress over say that you're not going to pay the bill". I told him that I will take care of the situation, but not that way. The waitress came by and spotted my barely touched plate with my napkin on top. She asked what was wrong. I told her that I just didn't care for the flavor. She picked the plate up and came back and offered me something else. By this time, the other tech had his finished and I did have a nice salad at the saled bar. I told her no thank you. She presents my bill and the main course was deducted. Since she was great about the whole experience, I tipped her the amount that was taken off the bill. Made her day and made me feel good.

Wait staff needs to know that "TIPS" stands for "To Insure Proper Service". It will make a difference in how much they can earn by doing a great job.

 

[mscher]

Re: Waiters ....

Did you speak directly with the Manager?

The backup waitress was probably very busy and it's possible that the manager did not know what had happened.

The manager should have been called to the carpet, inquiring what he/she was going to do to correct the situation. You had paid good money for a very poor meal.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Waiters ....

you should have gotten a free meal. atleast a discount.

 

[Brent S]

Re: Waiters ....

When I worked in restaurants the rule was that if a customer left unsatisfied then they would not be back for a year. If they left again unsatisfied the would not be back, ever. There are places my uncle will not go because he had a bad meal thirty years and two name changes ago. He's extream, but he makes the point.

I would have spoken with the manager and explained my unhappiness, my brother would have NOT payed the bill.

If you are really nice you can send a note or email the chain, you'll probably get coupons.

ON the other hand, if you have a great experience also ask for the manager. It makes their day when someone tells them that the meal was fantasic and service better. I've even recieved free stuff just by doing this.

I'm glad the visiting part was great!
Brent

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Waiters ....

A little noise to the manager usually goes a long way with getting the bill adjusted or removed.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Waiters ....

% of us were at a perkins type restaurant one afternoon.
Out waitress brought our salads and drinks, then the entr?es - ooops, she dropped the first one on my aunts lap.

She ran off to the kitchen, never to return.
Turns out she was embarrassed, scared of being yelled at, and just walked out.

Manager took care of us personally, and comped 50% off the entire bill.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Waiters ....

So was it Duke's or Dockside Willies?

 

[skargo]

Re: Waiters ....

% of us were at a perkins type restaurant one afternoon.
Out waitress brought our salads and drinks, then the entr?es - ooops, she dropped the first one on my aunts lap.

She ran off to the kitchen, never to return.
Turns out she was embarrassed, scared of being yelled at, and just walked out.

Manager took care of us personally, and comped 50% off the entire bill.

Back in my server days before I was a bartender, I dropped a plate of pasta on someone, and dropped a bloody mary on someone too. It happens! Both times the customers were understanding and even laughed about it!

 

[lncoop]

Re: Waiters ....

I cooked my way through college so I've spent some time in the alternate reality that is food service. I can tell you with 100% certainty that the manager (if he or she is worth anything as a manager) would want to know about your experience. You should call the restaurant during a non-busy time and convey your thoughts to him or her in a friendly way.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Waiters ....

. However since they didn't compensate you (or others), they won't have a chance to recoup any loss or future loss. SOrry to hear you got caught with a gutless waiter.'

Not sure how you come to the "gutless waiter" conclusion.

We have absolutely no idea why the waiter walked out, but it could have been any number of understandable causes....from a health problem to just that it was an awful place to work and he'd had enough.

This is all about the restaurant and its abysmal management. Suddenly being one waiter short can present challenges, but there it doesn't sound like they did anything to address the problem whatsoever; the place was on "autopilot" and nobody at the controls...

There are many isolated incidents that can fly under management's radar screen, and unless they are specifically brought to their attention, they might never know. But if a waiter walks out during a busy lunch time and there are no proactive measures taken ASAP, that is appalling.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Waiters ....

So was it Duke's or Dockside Willies?

Duke's.

The bill came to the other end of the table and was paid before I ever knew it arrived. If I had gotten it, I would have talked with the manager. I was surprised a place like that didn't automatically deduct something. Would have left a lot of good will. Even if they just deducted the appetizer's, just some token of "sorry."

Like I said, I did not pay, so it was no skin off of my back, but it was the principle of the whole evening. Even cool, the food was good (finished my meal this afternoon while on a stand-by fire call). Their crab pretzel appetizers were delicious, but not on my diet, so I only had a bite (I have dropped 30 pounds, BTW, another 60 and I will leave the "fatboy club"!).

The waiter was not overly friendly when he took our order, but didn't seem rattled or upset. Just don't know what sent him off. And I don't blame the restaurant, because I don't know why he left, or even that he told them he was leaving. Things do happen. But when they happen, and the result is crappy customer service, a class establishment will make it right BEFORE the complaint (then again, there is a chance that the other wait staff tried to cover for him and the manager didn't know). I don't know the behind the scenes mayhem that went on, I just know that our waiter left, and as a result, we recieved cool food and lousy service.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Waiters ....

....Even if they just deducted the appetizer's, just some token of "sorry."

........

Things do happen. But when they happen, and the result is crappy customer service, a class establishment will make it right BEFORE the complaint (then again, there is a chance that the other wait staff tried to cover for him and the manager didn't know). I don't know the behind the scenes mayhem that went on, I just know that our waiter left, and as a result, we recieved cool food and lousy service.

Agree completely....

 

[Tig]

Re: Waiters ....

I'll mention a bad experience if asked, but I keep low expectations of the place making it right. That way I don't get wound up. We did get cold meals at a restaurant last year and when they asked, we told them. Our entire bill was discounted.
I just had a couple of bad hotel stays back to back at the same chain. I got a survey for the first one and I pulled no punches. No reply yet.
The second one was kind of funny. Have you ever checked into a hotel room at midnight and found someone sleeping in your bed?

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Waiters ....

The second one was kind of funny. Have you ever checked into a hotel room at midnight and found someone sleeping in your bed?

No, but it does raise a few interesting questions... which would get removed from DSC very quickly if i asked....