So Crazy It's Funny...going to dinner

[crewboy]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to post this one, since this manager doesn't work with me. It has to do with a manager at a restaurant I went to. My apologies if I put it in the wrong topic, but here it is.

I went to dinner at a buffet type restaurant with my grandmother and aunt a few weeks ago. This is a place where you pay and order your drinks in the beginning and then go and eat all you want on the buffet. Well, we were seated and we proceeded to go select our food from the buffet.

The food was wonderful, mind you, but the service left a lot to be desired. For the longest time, nobody came to our table to bring us our drinks or to clear away the dirty plates from our trips to the buffet. Well, after 30 minutes we had still not received our drinks or a single visit from the waitress. So I got up, and found the first employee I saw. I asked her to please send a manger to my table.

Well,the manager comes over a few minutes later. I explained to him that we have been here for 35 minutes and still have not been served our drinks. He apologizes and takes our ticket from the table that lists the drinks we ordered. Now I worked as a restaurant manager for a couple of years. Common sense would say that he should immediately get our drinks for us, but does he do that? Nope...he starts running around asking employees who is supposed to be watching our table and he seems to be getting very flustered.

Ten more minutes pass and a girl finally comes over to the table and asks where our ticket is. I tell her that the manager took it and she runs off to find him. By this time I am laughing so hard that food is coming out of my nose because I can't believe how ridiculous this place is and it's just plain pathetic.

Finally, a very nice girl comes up to the table with our drinks and apologizes profusely. Apparently we came in right at the time of the shift change and nobody was assigned to our table. My aunt wanted me to get the manager back over and demand that our meal be free, but I refused. I would have felt guilty about that after getting such a big laugh out of seeing such an incompetent manager.

I just don't understand what he was thinking. If I were the manager in a situation like that, common sense would have said to immediately get the customers their drinks...then go and find out why they were overlooked.

[Kiwi]

he should have gotten the drinks... but then he might be a manager who cant actually do any of the work that his minons do

the picking and packing manager spent 40 minutes trying to figure out how to change the printer paper.... he wouldnt let one of us do it... he would rather let boxes pile up and pile up

I think you handled it well, I think you were well within your right to ask for the drinks to be compted, but I think you made the right call on still paying for your meals.

flag waiting for 1/2 hour to get drinks, id be up and asking after 15 minutes, 10 if they are quiet.

[Rapscallion]

More of a 'sighting', so placed here.

Rapscallion

[Mixed Bag]

How can anyone eat without drinks?

Once I was in a restaurant where I knew not to expect the server to come between delivering my drink and the time my entree was ready, as I'd ordered them both together. So when I left to use the restroom after ordering and found a problem with my drink, I knew I had to make a special effort to get it addressed in time--especially since it involved replenishing soft drink syrup, which I amazingly often find myself in the position of requesting (I guess others will just order something else, not notice, or like weak syrup because their palates are more sophisticated).

The server told me I was rude for holding my hand constantly in the air to get her attention. Now, you might think it's unfair to expect them to notice a weak drink since they (presumably) don't sample our food--but I was still 10 feet away from the table when I thought she'd brought me an iced tea instead of Pibb. Needless to say, called over a manager and saved 15% at the end.

[rdp78]

Well, it sounded like manager didn't know what the hell he was doing and I mean wouldn't it be the first thing to do is to get all something drink after eating for half an hour instead of running around finding someone to do that. Also what time of day was it since it was during a shift change since it wouldn't make sense if to have one during the lunch (noon to 2) or dinner (6 to 8) hours and how busy was it becuase that might be a major factor into why drinks took so long.