food service sometimes leaves a LOT to be desired !

[rfuerst911sc]

My wife and I go out to dinner every Friday it's our date night. Not always fancy sometimes just a local dive. There is a pizza/wing/bar chain that we go to fairly regularly and have always enjoyed it. Found out there was one of these a little closer to our house so went there on Friday. Walked in and it looks just like the other one we go to so it feels comfortable/familiar. We sit down at a booth and over comes our waitress. Quite young with a nose piercing and some tatoo's. OK no big deal to each their own. We place our drink order........a beer and a white zinfendal for my lady. The waitress say's she thinks the wine is pink that they have.................no white. Oh boy ! My wife explains the wine is in fact pink. We look over the menu and decide on our food. My wife orders a chicken wrap........she specifically said not a sub sandwich but a wrap. She said it twice. Also ordered mayo on the wrap and on the side. I order some wings.......buffalo hot.......and a small side order of fries. Seems simple enough. So we have some casual conversation and finish our first round of drinks. And we wait.........and we wait.........and we wait until toots with the piercing finally shows up ! This is pretty basic hun..........you need to stop by and check on your customers especially those that are drinking alcohol this is a big money maker. So then our food arrives........my wife gets a chicken sub !!! She says to toots I didn't order a sub I ordered a wrap ! She apologizes and say's it's a quick fix........uh oh . I get my wings with no fries..........I give up. And as I'm looking at my wings they don't look like buffalo hot they look different. My wifes wrap finally shows up with no mayo of any kind but she got my fries ! I waited for my wifes food to arrive so I dig into my wings........definately not hot. I'm not saying any thing I'm going to eat and get out of there. When we got the bill I'm looking it over and I noticed I was charged for mild wings. It was not just us the guy sitting behind us his order was a mess he sent EVERYTHING back. This isn't rocket science people it just takes a little bit of knowledge and caring. I'm sure high school was the best 6 years of this girls life but come on get a grip. My wife wanted to speak to the manager but I said maybe it's just an off night. We will go back one more time, if the service is the same we won't be going back and will provide feedback.

[SilberUrS6]

Sounds like less of an employee error and more of a employer error. Even servers need training, and there is a minimum standard that folks expect anywhere there's a sit-down meal. Minimum is you keep the coffee and water filled. That's just the minimum. If they have alcohol of any kind you watch it like a hawk so you can sell more. That's high-margin product, so hit that stuff as hard as you can. If either glass has less than a swallow left, you're too slow.

Was the place really busy/understaffed? While managers want to get the most out of their employment dollar, they sure as hell won't do it if hungry people sit there with the food they didn't order. Its a fine line, and the margins are tight at food places, so they really have to be careful. But chasing folks off with crap service and poorly-trained waitstaff is much more of a sin than temporary understaffing. BTW, the owner and the manager should know how to wait table if necessary. They should know immediately if there's a problem and be able to cover.

[john70t]

I've heard restaurants:
-Have about a 25% survival rate.
-To the break-even point after five years.

It seems a shame for any new owner to spend all that time, rent, taxes, equipment, inspections, paperwork, interviews, networking, etc......
...and then have it all go to waste on this kind of stupidity.

[Baz]

This is how I have always viewed dining out......

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I hardly ever go out to eat anymore. Part of that is a deliberate effort to eat and live better (and let's face it, most restaurants serve mass-produced, processed garbage) but part of it stems from the observation that service really seems to have taken a downturn in the last few years. It seems like places are understaffed more, use more "temporary" help more often (not the best knowledge of menu / selections, young, inexperienced, don't care), etc. I get the sense that "training" to most restaurant managers means browbeating their waitstaff into pumping overpriced drinks and gooey deserts when they're not really wanted rather than actually serving the customers, being there when needed, keeping peoples' glasses full, being knowledgeable about selections, etc. A good night out with good food and good service is a real treat - it's sad it seems to be getting so hard to come by these days...

It takes a lot to get me to complain to a restaurant manager (I worked in the industry for a few years and if someone ever got a customer complaint - deserved or not - it meant you were getting your hours slashed next week at best and might be sent packing at the end of your shift. I reserve "manager talks" to the most egregious situations as a result knowing it'll likely come down on someone else's head but I've had to do it more than once in the last year - year and a half, and even then I feel a little guilty about it.

[rfuerst911sc]

For a Friday night it was not especially busy in my opinion. I would say the place was at 1/3rd capacity based on the number of empty booths/seats. Bar was somewhat busy. I chalk the bad experience to a poorly trained waitress. If the hand off to the cook is wrong then the order will be wrong. This waitress did not have the mental capacity to take orders without writing them down and she didn't write them down. I can see why this location might fail in 5 years or less.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Agree with the above - I never understood why someone will invest tens of thousands in rent, fit-out, kitchen equipment, health department inspections, permits, licenses, etc. and then cheap out on the staff. Penny-wise, pound foolish. Your business is only ever as good as your worst employee. That concept is totally lost on restaurant managers I think.

[flatbutt]

I'm lucky to have a couple of eateries that always prepare and serve fresh food. The menu is always different. BUT it is pricey! So I don't go often.

[wdfifteen]

I stopped going to my local breakfast place because of poor service. I was in a hurry and wanted a quick scrambled egg and a piece of toast. One waitress was having a Loong conversation with the only other customer in the place. The other was sitting 10 feet from me facing me eating her breakfast. She glanced up and saw me looking at her and she turned her head away. I waited for some to acknowledge that I was there and need to be seated for about 5 minutes and then walked out. It's been over a year and I haven't been back.

[techweenie]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Agree with the above - I never understood why someone will invest tens of thousands in rent, fit-out, kitchen equipment, health department inspections, permits, licenses, etc. and then cheap out on the staff. Penny-wise, pound foolish. Your business is only ever as good as your worst employee. That concept is totally lost on restaurant managers I think.

...and banks.

[bri450sl]

I rarely get the chance to eat out. My wife and daughter are vegitarians. No need to say more...

[Gogar]

Some places are "fixing" the problem this way. I don't know how much you are required to tip though.

[puddy]

It's hard to find good help these days, young kids are afraid to work & learn some skills. We see it all the time trying to find labor. Restaurants are in the penny counting business these days, it's tough out there.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by puddy

young kids are afraid to work & learn some skills.

No, they aren't. Unless you are working at a pretty top-shelf place, the pay and hours suck. You can often do better working a straight minimum wage job, with less hassle. So the servers at downscale places really are about the bottom of the barrel. I got lucky when I was working in the industry - my dad knew a guy, and the guy took a chance on a kid with zero experience. I made some good money, but I earned it by busting my ass and only needing to be told something once to have it figured out. That, and I was unfailingly nice to everyone who walked through the door, no matter how much of an assmunch they were.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

If the hand off to the cook is wrong then the order will be wrong. This waitress did not have the mental capacity to take orders without writing them down and she didn't write them down. .

Maybe she can't write, and has to talk them in.

[VINMAN]

There is nobody to blame, but the owner of the restaurant. they are ultimately responsible for the end service.
A buddy of mine has a nice place here at the shore. Very successful. His service is outstanding. One of the reasons is, that he stays on top of his wait staff. He has a short meeting before every opening, and at the end of the night. Every staffer knows what goes into each dish that is being served, including nightly specials.

Chef Mike's ABG | Seaside Park, NJ

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by VINMAN

There is nobody to blame, but the owner of the restaurant. they are ultimately responsible for the end service.
A buddy of mine has a nice place here at the shore. Very successful. His service is outstanding. One of the reasons is, that he stays on top of his wait staff. He has a short meeting before every opening, and at the end of the night. Every staffer knows what goes into each dish that is being served, including nightly specials.

Chef Mike's ABG | Seaside Park, NJ

Yup, that's the way to make it work.

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by puddy

It's hard to find good help these days, young kids are afraid to work & learn some skills.

I agree with your first assertion, but the problem is not restricted to young people. I've found just as many lazy, entitled 30 and 40 year olds in the work place. I've hired a fired my share.

[on2wheels52]

"I'm sure high school was the best 6 years of this girls life......"

Jim

[Holger]

Originally Posted by Gogar

Some places are "fixing" the problem this way. I don't know how much you are required to tip though.

This would be a reason for me to turn around on the doorstep and look for another restaurant.


rfuerst911sc, did she make notes? Or just memorize? How hard is it to have a small paper notepad. I have never understood what is wrong with that and why we have to use electronics for such tasks!