Errg! (Long and Ranty!!!!)

[amphrite]

I would like to see what some experienced servers say about this, as it really had me angry.

After teaching School boards last week, we went out to Moose Maguire's for our lunch break. We had over an hour and a half. Three of the others had been here over lunch and had time to eat AND play pool before coming back to teach in the afternoon.

So we get there and our server explains the specials and takes our drink order. Brings it by, all good. Then we wait

And wait

And wait for her to take our food order. In this time, she has filled up her section with others and taken their drink order.after twenty minutes, we debate whether we are going to leave and go somewhere else for food.

It has been half an hour since we got our drinks, and we had half an hour to eat and get back. So, we flag her down and ask her if we can order food. She tells us that she wants to deal with everyone's drink orders first, and then she will deal with food. N explains (and I mean very nicely) "we have a little bit of a time constraint". To which our server replied "everyone has a time crisis, you are just going to have to wait."

Well, we were just slightly annoyed.

Ten minutes later, she comes to take our order. I really wanted to leave, but two people just wanted to Drink (Another rant for another time). So whatever. We wait

and wait

and wait

We twenty minutes to be back at work, so we find her and tell her we would like it wrapped up and we will take it with us.


At ten minutes left, we decide to pay for our drinks, and leave. J , who has been a server, goes to talk to her. We fond our food sitting on the bar, with the takeout stuff sitting there. We are told that we HAVE to pay for the food. And we have to box it ourselves. J pays the balance on our card we box our food, and some of us leave so that there are at least a few instructors there when the kids show up. The rest stay to box the food ( which the server made NO effort to do) and make a complaint. K told the manager that we had to wait, and the server gave us a bit of attitude ( nicely I might add. This guy is really sweet. There was no yell, no ridiculous claims, nothing like that) He was told not to come back.

What annoys me most? J GAVE HER A 15% TIP! And we were supposed to give her our share of the food/drinks (fair enough) and the Tip.


ARRRGHH.



Anyway, Were we wrong in our expectations? She sat and served drink to six(!) other tables before she snipped at us about wanting our orders taken. Was it unreasonable to go out when we have a time constraint? We have done it before, and gone to different places ( some of us even went to this place!) and we have never had a problem. She may have been new, but that does not excuse the attitude. She never once apologized for the wait or anything.

Blah. so anyway, were we wrong? Was she wrong?

[Luna Baby]

Sounds like you ate where I did on Sunday evening! My opinion is that you were right in expecting her to take your food order when you asked her to (she really should have before then). I would call back or drop by to speak with the manager about the problem and see if there is anything he is willing to do to make the situation correct. If not, at this point, you won't lose anymore than you already have if you don't go back because the manager fails to correct the mistake.

Re-reading your post, I see your friend had already spoken to the manager. Was this the 'main manager'? If not, I'd go above him to the next higher level and to the owner/corporate if need be.

[Gothicsmurf]

I've said this before. Tipping isn't a requirement. It's needed and helpful, yes, but not required.

If you don't do your job, do you get paid?

My scale:

Awesome service = Awesome tip (25-50% - At times I've done as high as 100% too!)
Good service = Good tip (17-20%)
Bad service= bad tip (15- 10%)
No Service = NO tip.

The only "sucky" thing would be maybe you should have mentioned "time" when you ordered your drinks? HOWEVER and comma, ordering shouldn't take an hour + so I can see why you wouldn't have mentioned it. Any reasonable person would expect to be able to have their orders taken and served with in that amount of time.

[Becks]

The server was wrong, wrong wrong.

Tip on the drinks, sure, since they seemed to be brought out in a timely manner, but NO tip for the food.

[PepperElf]

and you were told "don't come back" for complaining politely?

I'd let teh corporation know that's how customers are treated there.

[Emrld]

Excuse me - no foul language . . . no raised voices . . .no abnormal requests
You had to wait 30 min after drink served to order food?
And were told to not return if I read the last line of the original post correctly.

I would contact corporate if this is a chain and have them investigate.
If it is privatly owned . . .I would find out when the owner is around and when slow times are that match up. Call back or stop by in person during slow time and explain the situation.

You should have been able to place your food order when ready if everyone in your party was there. You are not dining with the other tables so I am not sure what she was trying to do other than jam up the kitchen.

Next time . . .place your money for the drink on the table and leave . . you don't have to stay with the others. If you shared a ride make sure that you cover everyone for rides . . .but you don't have to stay just because one or two do.

[rerant]

Hang on... your friend was told not to come back because he was nicely complaining about the poor service he got?
How the hell does that make sense?
If it were me I would be calling or writing to the corporate office to let them know what happened.
I wouldn't be fishing for any kind of freebies, but it sure would be nice to go in there again and find that the server and the manager are no longer with the company.

[wagegoth]

Isn't this why Planet Feedback was invented?

The waitress failed, the manager failed, everything failed. If the food wasn't ready when I was ready to leave, I would have left without paying for anything but my drinks. If it's not served, I don't pay for it, and I sure as hell don't tip. You already told the waitress I have time limitations. If she can't meet them, she should be honest about it.

My guess is she and the manager are getting it on.

Time for a major complaint to corporate. What else are they good for? Time for a major hissy fit on Planet Feedback. Be sure to post the link.

[Andara Bledin]

Oh, yeah, seriously past time for a complaint to corporate.

And there is no way in hell I would have paid for a boxed my own food after that. They can't make you pay for food they couldn't manage to serve you in a reasonable amount of time.

What could they do? Report you for a dine and dash? They'd kind of have to actually serve the food to you for that to be possible.

^-.-^

[kibbles]

Your friend left a tip?? That's the only thing I think was done wrong, this person deserved nothing except a penney maybe and that's a big maybe.

ITA, complain to corporate because did I read your post right that you said you were told never to come back when your friend complained to a manager?

[marasbaras]

1. Your friend who left the tip is a moron.

2. The waitress is worthless.

3. The manager is a jerk who is probably having sex with said waitress.

I would've left early. I'd prefer not to even pay for the drinks, but I probably would have.

As for paying for the food, no chance. No chance in Hell.

And, as it stands now, I would NOT pay my share (cough) of the idiotic tip that your clearly spineless friend left. How do you leave a TIP after that experience? Wow, that's just wrong in so very many ways.

[Rapscallion]

Isn't this why Planet Feedback was invented?

Well, yes, but it also comes under the umbrella of 'Sightings' - for things not in your workplace, but from the entire spectrum of behaviours, from sucky to awesome, usually veering on insane partway through.

Rapscallion

[MiloMorai]

Should have told your friend that you weren't paying for any portion of the tip.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

K told the manager that we had to wait, and the server gave us a bit of attitude ( nicely I might add. This guy is really sweet. There was no yell, no ridiculous claims, nothing like that) He was told not to come back.

At this point, I might suffer a BTMF malfunction and say something like "Okay, so I take it the server's good in bed then, huh? Why else would you tell us not to come back just because we complained?"

So what if I get banned? The service given to me has already guaranteed I won't ever be back.

[wagegoth]

Well, yes, but it also comes under the umbrella of 'Sightings' - for things not in your workplace, but from the entire spectrum of behaviours, from sucky to awesome, usually veering on insane partway through.

Rapscallion

What I meant was that Planet Feedback was invented for exactly this kind of insane situation. I certainly wanted to hear the story, but I believe the OP should also post this on Planet Feedback so that other people in the area can avoid that restaurant after learning about this hideously sucky behavior. Otherwise, an email goes to corporate and if nothing is done then the restaurant doesn't lose anything except the OP and friends as customers.