I had a perfectly horrible dining experience this afternoon, and the first thing I thought about of course was "I HAVE to post this when I get home!"
I was meeting a friend for lunch in the next town over. She had heard that a little Italian restaurant had opened, and wanted to give it a try. When we arrived, we were seated quickly (there was only one other couple there, and the entire time we were dining, we were the only 2 tables in the restaurant. This is important.)
Our server sat us at our tables, gave us menues, then walked away without taking our drink orders. About 15 minutes later she comes by and asks if we are ready to order. I tell her that we'd like a drink first, so she takes our orders and disappears again for another 15 minutes. During this time I can't see ANYBODY in the restaurant except the other couple, who were eating their entrees. Finally she comes with our drinks, and asks us if we would like to order. My friend gives her order, and I ask for their "meal size" grilled shrimp & calamari ceasar salad. She also brings bill to other couple who pay and leave. Server then disappears for 40 minutes. In that time we're not checked on once.
Finally she brings our food - my ceasar salad is missing the grilled shrimp and calamari. She says she'll get the chef to make some. 30 minutes later I'm STILL waiting for it, my friend has finished her meal, and we haven't once been checked on or asked if we'd like our drinks refilled. Finally she comes out of the back area and I catch her eye and she comes over and asks if she can get us anything. I said I wanted my shrimp/calamari. She said "Oops I forgot to tell the cook. Do you still want them?" By then I was beyond fed up with the lack of service and asked if there was a manager present. She said she was "acting manager" that day, as the day manager was out sick, and it was just her and the cook. I informed her that although my friend's meal was satisfactory, the fact that she had pretty much ignored us the entire evening, in addition to screwing up my dinner order, I wasn't pleased. We were leaving, and I wasn't going to pay for the ceasar as I never got to eat it, as I kept waiting for the missing portion to arrive. She offered to go back and get the cook to make the shrimp/calamari again but I'd had enough and asked for the bill. We left enough to cover the drinks and my friend's entree, and a looney (Canadian $1 coin) as a tip. Personally I still think we overtipped her. I hope I wasn't a SC for doing that.
I'll be giving the restaurant manager a call and complaining. No wonder the restaurant was empty!
I was meeting a friend for lunch in the next town over. She had heard that a little Italian restaurant had opened, and wanted to give it a try. When we arrived, we were seated quickly (there was only one other couple there, and the entire time we were dining, we were the only 2 tables in the restaurant. This is important.)
Our server sat us at our tables, gave us menues, then walked away without taking our drink orders. About 15 minutes later she comes by and asks if we are ready to order. I tell her that we'd like a drink first, so she takes our orders and disappears again for another 15 minutes. During this time I can't see ANYBODY in the restaurant except the other couple, who were eating their entrees. Finally she comes with our drinks, and asks us if we would like to order. My friend gives her order, and I ask for their "meal size" grilled shrimp & calamari ceasar salad. She also brings bill to other couple who pay and leave. Server then disappears for 40 minutes. In that time we're not checked on once.
Finally she brings our food - my ceasar salad is missing the grilled shrimp and calamari. She says she'll get the chef to make some. 30 minutes later I'm STILL waiting for it, my friend has finished her meal, and we haven't once been checked on or asked if we'd like our drinks refilled. Finally she comes out of the back area and I catch her eye and she comes over and asks if she can get us anything. I said I wanted my shrimp/calamari. She said "Oops I forgot to tell the cook. Do you still want them?" By then I was beyond fed up with the lack of service and asked if there was a manager present. She said she was "acting manager" that day, as the day manager was out sick, and it was just her and the cook. I informed her that although my friend's meal was satisfactory, the fact that she had pretty much ignored us the entire evening, in addition to screwing up my dinner order, I wasn't pleased. We were leaving, and I wasn't going to pay for the ceasar as I never got to eat it, as I kept waiting for the missing portion to arrive. She offered to go back and get the cook to make the shrimp/calamari again but I'd had enough and asked for the bill. We left enough to cover the drinks and my friend's entree, and a looney (Canadian $1 coin) as a tip. Personally I still think we overtipped her. I hope I wasn't a SC for doing that.
I'll be giving the restaurant manager a call and complaining. No wonder the restaurant was empty!
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