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  • #1

    Stupid El Chico Occurance

    After last night I'm wondering . . . how does El Chico train their servers?

    My friends and I went to El Chico last night for an "end of the semester" dinner. Everything went fine from being seated to getting our drinks. But the waiter just didn't cut it the rest of the time.

    ***My friend C ordered a baked potato with fajita meat. The waiter had to come back 3 times to get her order right. First:
    W: "I'm sorry ma'am, what was it you ordered? The fajitas, right?"
    C: (All of us thinking "Baked potato=$5. Fajitas=over $10. Big difference!") "Umm, no . . . I wanted the fajita baked potato."
    W:"Oh, ok, sorry."

    Second:
    W:"Sorry, ma'am, did you want beef or chicken on that potato?"
    C: "Beef, please."
    W: "Ok, sorry."

    Third:
    W: "Sorry, ma'am, did you want the regular or spicy cheese?"
    C: "Regular."
    W: "Ok, sorry."

    ***I had ordered the taco dinner with the puffy beef taco. When our food was brought out, I had rice, beans, and a puffy corn shell. EMPTY. I picked it up and shook it just to make sure (I'd never ordered it before so I didn't know) and sure enough . . . empty.

    W: is there something wrong, ma'am?"
    K: ". . . . yes, my taco is empty."
    W: "Oh, well, you said you didn't want any cheese . . ."
    K: " I'm sorry, but never said anything about not wanting cheese. I order the beef and cheese taco."
    W: "Oh, sorry."

    ***It took absolutely forever (I didn't time it, but I've been to El Chico before and know how long it should take, and they weren't busy) for the guy to come and ask how we wanted our bill split (our plates were empty; it was obvious that we had been done for a while). Then it took another "forever" for him to actually bring the checks. We had all forgotten that we pay up front (a booboo on our part ), but then it took a 3rd and final "forever" to bring my change and my other friend B's check card back.

    I was the only one who tipped (waiters get like $2.50/hr; they need tips!), but I also left him a note saying that it would be beneficial to work on his timing. Yes, I was that polite because . . .

    -maybe he was training and just wasn't in the swing of things yet? But if he's training, shouldn't he have a mentor with him at all times?

    -maybe it was his first day on his own. But if so . . . he needs more training.


    Either way something was wrong. So how does El Chico train? Is it El Chico's fault for the crappy service or was this guy just having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day? (A cookie to the first person to get the reference!)
    Last edited by kerrisan; 12-15-2006, 02:28 PM. Reason: forgot something
    ~*~"If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching." -Romans 12:7~*~
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  • #2
    Quoth kerrisan View Post
    ...or was this guy just having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day? (A cookie to the first person to get the reference!)
    Maybe the guy should move to Australia.

    My son has that same book.
    Sometimes life is altered.
    Break from the ropes your hands are tied.
    Uneasy with confrontation.
    Won't turn out right. Can't turn out right

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    • #3
      *gives MadMike and his son a cookie*
      ~*~"If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching." -Romans 12:7~*~

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      • #4
        I don't know. Here at our local El Chico for a while, we had the other end of the spectrum. Me and my family, some four years later, STILL talk about Super Waiter.

        Me and my parents went into El Chicos for lunch and it was sort of crowded. But we got shown to our table at the same time a table of 8 was seated beside us. We sat down and spent a couple minutes nibbling chips and reading the menu when Super Waiter enters stage left. Comes to our table and the first thing I notice is that he doesn't carry an order pad. He greets us very nicely, and asks for our drink orders...a Dr Pepper for me, water for my mom and unsweetened tea for my dad. THEN...he turns right around to the 8-top and takes all THEIR drink orders. Still no order pad in sight. Uh-oh I think.

        A few minutes later, Super Waiter returns, expertly balancing a tray LOADED with drinks. He comes to our table and hands out our drinks, boom-boom-boom, perfect. Turns to the 8-top, boom, all the drinks handed out, exactly right. Takes their order since he's facing them, then turns around and takes OUR orders. Keep in mind that's 11 seperate orders with no notepad. AT ALL.

        A minimum of time later, Super Waiter returns with two other waiters in tow, carrying trays loaded down with food. He then proceeds to hand out EVERYONE'S food, getting the right dish to the right person with 100% accuracy. At this point, all of us are kind of leaned back away from him a little because we're afraid at any moment that he'll turn my mom's water to wine and then cast us sinners down into hell.

        We start eating and Super Waiter has gone into minimal invasive mode. I was slurping down my Dr Pepper and got it about 3/4 gone, and set it down like normal. In about a minute or so, I went to get it and drink it again AND THE GLASS WAS FULL. I was actually almost freaked out because I didn't see him come by...hadn't even begun to sense his presence, and my mostly-empty glass had completely disappeared and this full one just generated in it's place.

        My mother finished her meal...literally the SECOND her fork left her plate for the last time, Super Waiter swooped in. "Can I get that for you?" WHOOSH, off he goes again.

        Everything was just...amazing. Fantastic memory, amazing service, etc. We gathered up as much money as we could as a tip for this guy. It was just...wow. Spectacular.

        Never seen him again. Knowing the way the world works, someone that obviously skilled at his job probably got fired for having a crooked tie or something...
        "Maybe the problem just went away...maybe it was the magical sniper fairy that comes and gives silenced hollow point rounds to people who don't eat their vegetables."

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        • #5
          Quoth MystyGlyttyr View Post
          I don't know. Here at our local El Chico for a while, we had the other end of the spectrum.
          Yeah, I've been to this El Chico many a time, and every other time the service has been great. I wasn't going to complain to the manager or on PFB or anything because it was just one guy and there could have been many contributing factors to the guy's behavior (he was acting shy and nervous, much like someone on their first day). As opposed to the $.75 that would have been a 15% tip, I left him a $.50 tip. Not great, but not that bad either. I left it right on top of the note I left. Hopefully that will be enough.
          Last edited by kerrisan; 12-17-2006, 02:53 PM.
          ~*~"If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, do a good job of teaching." -Romans 12:7~*~

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          • #6
            That does sound like some poor guy who got thrown out on the floor with too little of training.


            I liked the Super Waiter story too. My sister was that way. When she waitressed she never used a pad. Boom, boom, boom, could take a dozen orders, make suggestions, upsell the order, tell a few jokes, and never make a mistake. Amazing. Wish she could still do that.

            I on the other hand would have to write everything down and would then have to return to the table two or three times just like the bad waiter first mentioned.

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            • #7
              Wow, Super Waiter reminds me of a video I saw from the Guiness World Record archives. I had this guy who had been a waiter for something like 20 years serving a special made 200 top using the full menu, and including an appetizer and dessert round, all from memory. That was pretty impressive.
              The Rich keep getting richer because they keep doing what it was that made them rich. Ditto the Poor.
              "Hy kan tell dey is schmot qvestions, dey is makink my head hurt."
              Hoc spatio locantur.

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              • #8
                We start eating and Super Waiter has gone into minimal invasive mode. I was slurping down my Dr Pepper and got it about 3/4 gone, and set it down like normal. In about a minute or so, I went to get it and drink it again AND THE GLASS WAS FULL. I was actually almost freaked out because I didn't see him come by...hadn't even begun to sense his presence, and my mostly-empty glass had completely disappeared and this full one just generated in it's place.
                Sounds like the French Ninjas...

                The table of 200 is amazing.
                Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.

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