This perfectly describes my experience and opinion as well.

I will disagree.

Red Lobster is to seafood as Olive Garden is to Italian food.

Most of your food from those places started its day being freeze dried.

I am a firm believer in supporting the mom and pop places.

non sequitur?

I admit, I'm a pretty demanding person. Wherever I go, I expect excellence in the context of the environment. I don't think that's too much to ask.

The one time I tipped 100% was a $20 meal at the Wood & Tap, a small brewpub in CT. My waitress truly cared about my experience that night and anticipated my needs. She was just as good as the waitress we had at Del Frisco's that was $800 for the two of us. She got 20% (edit, I think it was 25% actually, she was great) or so because, well, 100% would be a bit much.

The total sales are tracked and the IRS assumes that you got at least 8%. You are taxed accordingly. That is how it has been done for at least 30 years.
Could be. What other names do you suppose they have posted under?

I kid you not, I was an absolute chameleon as a waiter...not obsequious or fake just very observant of the table and willing to anticipate and adjust. It was about them, not me. They were paying and I was there to make it worth their while by figuring out as quickly as possible what their value proposition was on that night, what they wanted from me to make it pay off.

Especially in San Francisco.

True story.

I worked a large table of obviously old City San Franciscans one night. In those days, late 1970's, they were the type of folks that in my experience wanted silent service that was never intrusive. They were not on vacation and weren't looking for a memory.

So that is what I did. At the head of the table was the family/business matriarch and five minutes in we had a Vulcan mind meld. We had easily 10 eye contacts where we both knew exactly what he wanted and I could support.

At the end of the meal, on his way out, he took me aside and asked me where I was going to school and what I was studying. He handed me his card and told me to call his Secretary and get on his calendar.

So I did.

He offered me a job for the summer and was a bit surprised when I told him I was a part owner of a small white water rafting company so I would have to decline.

I took his son and family rafting the next year, he never got on a raft. I lost touch with him when I left the Bay Area.

The point is, as Shaun mentioned, if the support staff cares, then I care. Everyone, and I mean everyone, recognizes a job well done. Keys to the car.

Sorry for the long ramble. I am on an engineering GTM and our folks are doing well and I am in a support role.

Because Tabby is the only male here capable of that....voluminous output ;)?

But she has passion...I do like that :)

Do you walk into a Red Lobster expecting the experience to be excellent?

If I am reading you correctly, strolling into a Red Lobster, you set the bar very low realizing that in the context of the environment, as long as you do not get food poisoning later that evening it was a win for you. Service can be a step above Burger King. Because contexts.

I honestly skimmed her posts, somewhere I saw Red Lobster and somewhere else I saw a reference to her husband.

I may be off and it may be HIS husband, not that there is anything wrong with that.

Absolutely. In the context of what a Red Lobster strives to be, I absolutely do. And having eaten at a Red Lobster at least 10 times, Wethersfield, CT on my way back from NYC, I've been happy most times. Their biscuits are amazing. I'm not sure why you say the service is a step above Burger King. Every time, IIRC, I've had a friendly waitress who has added extra lemon and tartar sauce and cocktail sauce to me order on request. Sure, sometimes you get 1 extra lemon wedge and sometimes 4+ which is really what I want but since I'm not explicit, that's on me. But I am fairly certain all of my special orders have been correct. I always make special orders. I want what I want and am happy to pay for it. And waitstaff are typically happy to make it happen. See below.

Maybe it helps that I'm friendly with the waitstaff wherever I go but from greasy spoons to truly outrageous dinners where we don't order just one extra fois gras but many times two more after devouring the first, I am typically very happy with our server.

In the spirit of stories, here's a good one. Most Sunday nights are movie nights for our group of friends. We see a movie and have dinner, a cherished ritual. One time it was just a friend and me, we went to a chain steak place, Longhorn Steakhouse. Overall decent food. Got a great waitress. We both ordered bone in ribeyes, I was explicit about getting the steak with the most fat the cooks could find and then directions for a very hot sear that would caramelize and crust but timed correctly for rare++. More on salad, how I wanted that done, and more little things, etc. Waitress loved it, and we were kidding around with her about the whole thing. She came through amazingly. Everything was perfect. She got 40% I think that night. She was fun and lively and the whole night was just plain great.

Earlier I had said I like to write notes on the receipt of why something was good or bad. Here I went to their website and typed in a book about how great the meal was and how our waitress made it all happen and someone should give her a raise. Here's the email response I got:

Dear Shaun,

Thank you for writing to us. At LongHorn, we're thrilled to learn when we've delighted our guests!

One of our goals at LongHorn is to provide Western hospitality. We were so happy to learn Jessica exceeded your expectations by anticipating your needs and ensuring you had all you needed to enjoy your visit.

Our General Manager and the entire team at our Nashua restaurant will share in recognizing Jessica for a job well done.

We know you have a choice when it comes to selecting a restaurant and appreciate your having chosen us. Our ongoing commitment is to always treat you like a valued member of the LongHorn Steakhouse family.

Sincerely,

Ghislaine
LongHorn Steakhouse Guest Relations


But here's the fun part. 2 months later we were all there, table of 7. Our waitress was HORRIBLE. At some point we got the manager to come over and I was explaining this and that and said what a great meal we had 2 months ago that I had written in about and how this experience was the exact opposite. The manager's eyes grew wide and he said, "That was you?!" Said yes and he said hold on. He went to talk with the waitress, came back and comped the entire table. He said he was sorry about this time and to please come back again. We still left a big tip even though our waitress was terrible. Just seemed like the right thing to do since we weren't paying and some things were ok.

So, thanks to you Jessica moved onward and upward into the elite world of truly high end steakhouses.... And you were left with just the gristle...

Nothing would make me happier if that were the case.

Well, what I was insinuating was that the food quality at a place like Red Lobster vs. a local place.

For example you are traveling, I love nothing more than finding local places I cannot visit anywhere else.

Like this would be my choice over Red Lobster.

Max's Oyster Bar


You seem to like chain places like Longhorn and Red Lobster, I cannot remember the last time I stepped foot in a chain. I try to keep my money flowing to the mom and pop type of places.

If I want seafood I go to the local docks to table seafood joint. Sushi, the little place on the corner owned by the coolest Japanese motorhead you will meet. The service there is horrible, the sushi the best around, it is a family joint, the heavy set sister is lazy the skinny one is awesome, you hope to get the skinny one and hate it when you get the heavy one.

If I want Italian, there is a little place up the corner that is owned by a Sicilian guy who grew up there and moved to New Jersey then Florida. He even has traditional Sicilian fare on his menu which my wife loves.

Steak? I make a pilgrimage to Berns once a year or so. Otherwise we purchase locally grown and butchered steak at the green market and cook it at home. If I want some local there are 2 options, a little high end place with about 10 tables in downtown. 11 Maple Street Restaurant | Jensen Beach, Florida

Or I will drive a couple towns south to a really cool farm to table place.

https://www.districttableandbar.com/table


While I am sure the service at Red Lobster and Longhorn is good, I was making a joke based on the fact that they are chains and the food quality is going to be poor. Over seasoned to hide the fact it is not fresh food.

Yes, I am a food snob. I have come a long way from my poor days of going to Taco Bell with my wife because we had an extra $10 to spend.

Lol!

Because the 4th line of her (or his?) first ever post was this:

"I had some other situations as well. Once, my husband and I had a check of $34.69, which we paid with (2) $20 gift certificates..."

I didn't read the entire novel for clues beyond that.

All you made her learn is to GIVE BAD SERVICE AGAIN AND GET THINGS COMPED. You didn't make her actually ***LEARN*** from the experience. When you pay someone well for doing a bad job is creating bad service for you again if you have this waitress and for ALL the other people she serves in the future.

It's not the "RIGHT" thing to do if you received bad service. This wasn't the "WAITRESS" that asked for a comp, this was the ***MANAGER*** that comped your issues.

A good example. In 2007 or 2008, me and my husband had a waiter who admitted he forgot to put our appetizer order into the computer. Instead of what most servers do, he did the 100% opposite, he PROFUSELY APOLOGIZED TWICE OFFERING US some chips n' salsa(this was a menu item, not free). I asked him instead since we ordered a lot of food if we could get something off the bill instead rather than more food that we did not want since we wouldn't be hungry for the free chips n' salsa plus our appetizer plus our entrées. Well, he came back to say he couldn't, but then I said "Even if it's just a coke off the bill, I'd rather have that than more food." So then, he ended up getting $5 off our check. We tipped him 16% BEFORE the $5 discount.

We didn't tip him 20%, because I had remembered why it happened in the first place. He saw someone apparently he knew and went to hug her after we had our appetizer and drinks when greeted. Now I see WHY, he was *********PLAYING ON THE JOB INSTEAD OF DOING HIS JOB************! That's why we had bad service. Now, the only reason why he got a decent tip was because he was like no other server. He was ******HONEST, HUGELY APOLOGETIC, AND OFFERED US SOMETHING FOR FREE, which what you ********SHOULD DO IF YOU MESS UP MAJORLY LIKE THAT********!

My point is, the comp you had didn't come from the waitress's heart like our waiter had in his heart for us. The ********MANAGER************ comped the issues. The waitress didn't give a care about you like most don't. I don't know what happened terrible in your service, but if it was so horrible you were going to leave 10% or less or even nothing, then I am not sure why you left anything? Did she even apologize for her mess ups even?

You aren't making the server learn. Just like they have punishments whether in school or as an adult when you can go to jail or get a ticket, etc. That's life and that's THE ONLY WAY the person can try to improve. If you give them a good tip anyways, they will keep thinking they did an acceptable job. Think about it....

Yeah, I agree for the most part but it was a team effort. But make no mistake, the manager ensured that she learned, which is all that is important in the end.

You should though. Years ago before the new company took over Red Lobster, it was most of the time excellent or near that. Now-a-days horrible. One waiter I had(I had gone by myself due to my husband was working that day), my waiter got my side salad wrong which didn't even go fix the mistake while he greeted the next table that had a couple that wanted to order their food as well so I waited and waited for my missing cheese and extra onions(remember servers make the side salads at Red Lobster, not the kitchen staff). Then I had ordered 4 tartar sauces, he brings 4 cocktail sauces(which he did repeat the order when I asked him to, so he had it written down correctly). He even wrote my order down and was too lazy to verify anything. Then, get this, the jerk manager said our waiter was a good waiter. I wrote corporate over it and spoke to the lady. She agreed with a lot of stuff I said including she always said "Either use your brain or feet" meaning he should have checked the food with his written order BEFORE he brought it. He had many more trips than necessary to my table. No I didn't tip him. He didn't have one, NOT ONE sorry to speak of and as I said, cut in front of my turn since HE forgot my cheese and extra onions, so I shouldn't have had to sit and wait to eat my side salad. He should have told the couple he'd be right with them and gotten his forgotten items I had ordered well before those people got seated.

Anyway, Red Lobster has just gone downhill with service. The manager said "It's the pace of the restaurant", I was like "What", so my waiter can make a mistake and then my mistake I have that wasn't mine is going to be PUNISHED with my time even longer to fix the mistake simply because another customer is there that didn't call him over? Seriously, it's wacked. No one at the hostess's stand when I walked in and had to wait a minute or two for anyone to be there.

My point is, Red Lobster I am not understanding why the service is so bad there? They are letting managers be OK with servers not getting orders right and to cut in front of someone else's turn when mistakes happen.

Imagine having your side salad missing cheese and then the waiter not apologize for forgetting it, then go to greet the next table that ends up ordering their food, which most meals come with side salads, so it's a lengthy process to order there compared to if you just say you want one item at other places that don't offer most meals with side salads.

Anyway, my point is, I used to feel I'd go in there expecting good service until a few years ago or so. At least our Red Lobster anyway.

What I don't get is if you have a mistake(especially that THEY made), the server makes you wait twice as long to attend to other customers when they didn't call their server over? It's so mean to do that, it really is. It's PURE CUTTING turns just like if you were in a line or interrupting the server taking an order at another table. It's the same thing.

Most of your service though is from your server, so that's mostly who you go by when you tip.

Who says she learned? She still got paid well anyway to know people will accept crappy service if the manager says he will comp their meal. That's a good way to keep getting a good tip by not trying your best and get paid well anyways.

I truly don't agree she learned. She would learn if you didn't pay her or left an 8% or lower tip along with the complaints.

I said she learned. See above. It's right there. :D

I don't agree. Unless you have her again and she does well with NO major mistakes and not a lot of small ones either, she didn't learn. If she does well, then she learned. The only way you'd really know is to have her again.