Table Talk

By Sugar

May 28, 2008 2:47 PM | Link to this

Usually it’s the Manager’s fault. He can’t seem to manage his restaurant and/or workers.

By ron

May 28, 2008 3:08 PM | Link to this

It makes little difference to me whether it’s the kitchen or the server that makes my dining experience bad.Believe me I’ve had enough of both.When I went to a restaurant my needs were simple.I needed someone to take my order,someone to cook me a fairly decent meal,someone to bring it to me and finally ,someone to take my money.I never cease to be amazed at the number of places I used to go that couldn’t provide those simple services.I don’t go out to eat anymore.I haven’t for quite some time.

By Taisha

May 28, 2008 3:10 PM | Link to this

If the staff is all or mostly black, then your service will not be good.
Leave and go to THE VARSITY to have a better dining experience.

By TC

May 28, 2008 3:19 PM | Link to this

Taisha, I am appalled at your statement. Its not about RACE! Its about service in a restaurant. There is no color when it comes to Customer Service and how to run your staff. Usually its the manager I fault, there are times the waiter or waitress do mess up, but goes back to management!

By georgia peach

May 28, 2008 3:20 PM | Link to this

Taisha, When was the last time you visted the Varsity? the staff is majority black. Also, blacks are not the only ones that can deliver bad service, I have experienced bad service from all ethnic groups.

By mayretter local

May 28, 2008 3:27 PM | Link to this

At least the Varsity can tell it’s customers to “Get ya order on yo mind, and yo money in ya hand! What’ll ya have what’ll ya have?”

ummm Varsity onion rings…

By TC

May 28, 2008 3:27 PM | Link to this

Georgia Peach..I figured it out! Taisha works at the VARSITY? I have no problem visiting the Varsity, BUT! again its not all about blacks.

By deegee

May 28, 2008 3:28 PM | Link to this

I went to an Applebee’s in Duluth on a Sunday evening. It was a disaster. It took 45 minutes to get our food. The table next to ours got the wrong food but pretty much accepted whatever they got after waiting so long. While we were waiting for food the server stopped coming out to the floor. That’s an indication that things are pretty bad in the kitchen.

Labor is an issue in the restaurant business right now. There are plenty of good workers that would like to work but the government won’t let them work legally.

By FCM

May 28, 2008 3:28 PM | Link to this

I am a firm believer that a day is made or broken the first 15 min the store is open. If everyone is not ready at opening time it is an uphill battle to recover.

I can ‘blame’ the kitchen when I see the waiter/waitress running their butt off to make everyone feel ok that the food is late. That does not mean apologizing. It does mean making sure that any apps, salads etc get to the table ASAP. If the bar is backed up, bring me water…..When someone ordered coffee, and it wasn’t done yet, I used to bring water and tell them, “Good news, bad news time. Good news is you are going to get a cup of really fresh coffee, bad news is it won’t be here for 2 minutes, I have to let it brew.” My tables were usually happy with the honesty and the humor.

If several large parties have recently been sat, or large numbers of tables have menus/no food…then service will be slow. If I can see the large parties, even when I am with friends not family, I usually point out we need to make quick decisions…that way we can get our order in ahead of the 10 top.

Servers do control what goes on at the table…for instance when they bring me my salad and then suddenly my food is there too. Hello, this is not lets see how fast I can be shoved out the door. I want to eat my salad and then have my dinner show it at a reasonable pace. Keep my drink glass full too (this was on the top 10 list a few weeks ago)…I too am a camel, but I tip.

Never try the blame game with a table. You can go to the table, or send a Manager if it’s that bad. Let them know you are aware that it’s been awhile and offer them something and a reasonable time frame. Sheesh, I have been known to get in the window and ask the expiditer what was up when my tables went overlong….Server get an ETA then a Manager, tell them my table was sat at 7 I put the order in at 7:05 it is now 7:30 and not even their apps came out yet….(actually I would have told him at 7:15).

By lovelyliz

May 28, 2008 3:31 PM | Link to this

I don’t eat red meat. I eat brown. The last time I had steak at a well known steak restaurant, the tag on the steak sell well, but I swear the thing mooed as soon as I cut into it. This was clearly the fault of the kitchen and not the server who couldn’t apologize enough. He still got a decent tip, but I haven’t been back since then.

How other customer are being treated is a really good way to judge whether it’s the kitchen or the staff.

My sister is still smoking from the time we went of one of those country breakfast places. There was nothing special about the order and the waitress never came to tell us what the holdup was on our order. Others sitting around us, sitted after us, with different staff were getting their meals and getting up to pay the bill while we were nursing our coffee that never got refilled. After twice asking where our meal was, we dropped a $10 and walked out.

By Sugar

May 28, 2008 3:32 PM | Link to this

I have to agree with Taisha, and I’ll explain why……

At a local Wendy’s about three years ago, the front line was strictly mexican women. They got our orders correct 100% of the time, fast and efficient. We went there so often, that the “cooks” had my order out before I even ordered it (I’m a creature of habit)…….

Then, for some reason this particular Wendy’s fired all the mexican women, and hired an all black front line. The service started to get very bad. The women were NOT at all interested in what you wanted to eat, but rather what Shquandra did to her weave. Our food was consistently wrong, and it would take 15 - 20 minutes to get two burgers and two fries………they would take one order, then stop working until that order was complete. Oh, and they never had a nice comment for me and my friend, but when a black man walked in, honey they were all over him like white on rice, seeing who could get his order first………

I have not eaten at this particular Wendy’s for 3 years…….bring back the mexican women, and I’ll go back.

By jb

May 28, 2008 3:35 PM | Link to this

Personally I feel sorry for some of the servers that have to deal with whiney individuals who want a $300 meal with service for 15 bucks. Go to KFC and get what you pay for.

By NYreallylovesthesouthmore

May 28, 2008 3:50 PM | Link to this

Its all bout us New Yokers baby!!

By Becky

May 28, 2008 4:00 PM | Link to this

I have had bad service from black & white people..As a former waitress, bartender & cook, it takes a lot for me to complain..As someone else said at a very well known steak place, I ordered a filet medium..When I cut into it, it was more like rare..The waiter apologized & took it back..Even after 3 tries, it still wasn’t cooked right..The waiter said the manager said that she was to busy to come to our table..Needless to say,

By Becky

May 28, 2008 4:00 PM | Link to this

I have had bad service from black & white people..As a former waitress, bartender & cook, it takes a lot for me to complain..As someone else said at a very well known steak place, I ordered a filet medium..When I cut into it, it was more like rare..The waiter apologized & took it back..Even after 3 tries, it still wasn’t cooked right..The waiter said the manager said that she was to busy to come to our table..Needless to say,we haven’t been back..

By DB

May 28, 2008 4:11 PM | Link to this

My daughter was (note past tense) a hostess at Applebee’s during the school year, and the stories she would bring back of the problems with the kitchen would have us shaking our heads in disbelief. Such as the night that half of the kitchen staff got their feelings hurt about something and just walked out in the middle of the dinner rush.

At at Wendy’s, we were shocked by the length of the inside order line, and when we figured out why, we stuck around just to see how the disaster would come out — the cashier had a God complex, and kept leaving her station to “correct” all the other workers. She shook out french fries from “too full” containers, criticized how much lettuce was being put on a ‘burger, and was making the staffs’ work a living nightmare. So, we we FINALLY get our order, the order filler pulled my son’s Frosty, and added a little extra dollop on the top by way of an apology. The casher LEFT the cash register, took the Frosty out of my son’s hand, and turned to the girl and said, “TOO MUCH FROSTY, YOU IDIOT!” and then proceeded to lop off two inches of Frosty into the SINK before returning it to my son! You should have seen the letter I wrote!!

By Perkle

May 28, 2008 4:30 PM | Link to this

Eat at home and you don’t have to worry about any of that. Plus you generally eat healthier when you prepare your own meals. I do have to eat out once a week and I’ve learned which places have good service (Quiznos - the best!) and which do not (won’t mention it here)

By what bad service?

May 28, 2008 4:35 PM | Link to this

Maybe my standards aren’t as high as that of others, but I rarely have bad service. It mystifies me when I hear discussions about the abominable service in Atlanta. I get my food and the server is always nice. What more could I ask for? If the food takes longer to come, I’m sure there’s a good reason - there are other people in the restaurant besides myself. But then I’ve never been the type to expect my glass instantly refilled, etc. and I don’t like people fawning over me. I’d rather go to a counter service place, get my food and not constantly interrupt my conversation and meal to interact with a stranger. I also don’t like the current system of servers getting paid almost nothing and then having to practically turn handsprings to get a good tip from me. I tip the same amount no matter what, unless the service is unusually bad.

By Kim

May 28, 2008 4:48 PM | Link to this

Golden rule: you shouldn’t be able to go out to eat unless you’ve waited on tables. I believed this 15 years ago when I last waited on tables & it is still true.

By fast food incident

May 28, 2008 4:52 PM | Link to this

I guess I didn’t think fast food places were included in the topic, but I will mention a recent incident at Wendy’s. The slow service was not due to the server or the kitchen, but to another diner. Wendy’s service is notoriously slow due to the chain’s order-taking system (dine-in) - only one cashier. It was a slow time of day, only one person ahead of me, and it should have gone quickly. However, the foreign-born customer ahead of me was not able to say small, medium or large in answer to the cashier’s question about the size Coke he wanted, so the transaction was taking longer and longer. Finally the cashier had to find a bilingual employee to help out. I’m sorry - this is just wrong. Anyone can learn a few simple words - small, medium, large, please, thank you. No matter where they’re from.

By deegee

May 28, 2008 6:05 PM | Link to this

Hello fast food incident, The order taker should have just given the customer the medium sized Coke and moved on. It would have been just fine. If you have ever tried to speak a foreign language you will learn that your level of proficiency varies with the speech and dialect of the person with whom you are trying to communicate.

By mp

May 28, 2008 6:27 PM | Link to this

management is huge it sets the mood for everyone, in the resterant business work is stressful. you rushing and trying to stay focused on multi tasking job weather it be cooking or waiting tables Ive done both it is true that good help is hard to find the Idea of true service has all but disappeared in our societies vocabulary, but an excellent manager will make a work environment that runs like a well oiled machine

important elements a manager ( in my veiew should pay attention to:

giving the wait staff liberty to make it up to the coustemer for a lack of whatever

giving to cooks the supplies and equitment they need and proper training.

the ability to find and or train help who have a service minded attitude,

By TJW

May 29, 2008 8:49 AM | Link to this

Is it the server or the kitchen? It can be either, or both… Unfortunately, its the server who takes the flak in both cases, deserved or not, since their the ones on the front line. Most times its pretty obvious were the problem lies. Example 1: Dinner at the O’Charles on Sandy Plains. My wife’s silverware was dirty, The server took it and say he’d bring another… Our food arrived 5 minutes later, no silverware. Reminded him again, he walked way toward the kitchen. 5 more minutes pass, asked a second server for silverware, who said they’d grab one in a moment. After another 5 minutes, I finally just walked across the restaurant and grabbed a set from an empty table… The food was fine, but we left no tip and have not been back since (not the first bad service)

Example 2: I ate at a Lonestar steak house, which was a good place until it changed management. I ordered my steak Medium Rare, it came out very very well done. To top it off, our Waitress never came back… Actaully, we never saw her again that night, I had to send another waiter to find our check. Couldn’t find a manager either. I’ve never been back.

Bottom line: I’ll forgive bad service sooner then bad food. If a place has good food, but I just got a lousy waiter, I’ll give it another chance. Good service but a slow kitchen, I’m certainly not going to blame the server, and the place may get a second chance. Bad Food, Bad Service, thats it, never again…

P.S. To the above arguement regarding race. It doesn’t matter whether your white, black, mexican, oriental, or green. You can choose to excel at the job your doing, or not, its your choice. If the managers hire people who just need a paycheck, or can’t speak the langauge, well, you get what you pay for…

By Becky

May 29, 2008 8:57 AM | Link to this

what bad service, I so agree with you..As I posted before, I’ve worked in the food service industry & it takes a lot to get me to complain..Usually if the wait staff is rude, I look at them & say..Don’t get paid for you personality now do you?? Works every time..

By Sandy

May 29, 2008 9:04 AM | Link to this

Last Monday (Memorial Day) my daughter and I went to Houston’s at Lenox early in the day (11:30 ish). We were seated immediately and ordered. Grilled Chicken Salad with a piece of cheese toast for me and chicken fingers with fries for my daughter. When our meal finally came the fries and cheese toast were cold, no problem she said and said she would get us hot food right out. What is “right out”; we had practially finished our meal before we got toast and fries. Too, our tea glasses were refilled after the tab was presented. It wasn’t real busy, I watched for our waitress and she had only 1 other table so what is the problem ? The lack of attention to detail in getting our food out timely and hot was caused by the waitress. Her tip reflected her level of service.

I’ve been eating at Atlanta Houston’s for years and this was the worst service and food I’ve ever been served. The best Houston’s we’ve found is at Northside Drive and that is where we will go next time. Their friendly attitudes, service and food has always been superb. On one occasion at Northside Dr a diner’s phone rang, he answered it and immediately a hostess was very graciously escorting him to the door. Another time there a guy that appeared to be totally out of his element was eating with a group of people and wearing a sock cap; he had to remove it. His complaint was that his hair looked bad, and he was right about that, but a sock cap isn’t in keeping with Houston’s ambience !

I tried to find a website for Houston’s at Lenox to register our displeasure, but couldn’t find one….maybe that is by design.

By Elle

May 29, 2008 10:42 AM | Link to this

Sometimes, it is a variety of things. I am a server at a restaurant, and it is not unusual for the kitchen to have their slow moments, or for me to have an “overload” moment or be distracted by another one of my tables. I work at a sports bar, so its common for my customers to hit on me and try to talk longer with me. I want to tell them “No, I have tables to go to!” but that would CLEARLY affect my tip, so I end up wasting MORE time to appease one table as my other tables get anxious. However, recently, I found this hilarious free pre-recorded number that basically provides servers/waitresses a number to give to customers who hit on us but we are not attracted to, thus, saving time and effort, giving us more time to focus on our job. It’s 603-413-4123. No worries, its free, and I’d advise ALL people in the service industry to at least CALL the number, for a laugh or two before going back to the hassle of impatient tables and inevitable blame.BUT If your customers are “regulars”, I wouldn’t give them the number lol =/

By wineking

May 29, 2008 11:16 AM | Link to this

WOW, race has nothing to do with bad service, if the staff, kitchen or servers are bad, dont care, manager has no training to improve service. you know what you going to get when you go to the varsity and you know what your going to get when you go out and spend $100.00 you get what you pay for most of the time. If you don’t like restaurants, call pizza delivery.

By Meridith Ford

May 29, 2008 1:31 PM | Link to this

Wow Taisha and Sugar — you guys could make the moon landing about race. Move on…

DB — I want that extra Frosty!!!

And agreed: MANAGEMENT is everything, isn’t it? It’s just a shame that the brunt of a bad time at a restaurant is almost always blamed on the server.

By Matt

May 29, 2008 2:14 PM | Link to this

Once we had a waitress who completely ignored me and focused on my husband. We thought it was funny, but I am sure she did not find her tip funny at all…

BTW- Stop trolling and making everything about race. Grow up, branch out, and move on.