What's the Best and Worst Restaurant Service you've had?

[Jay]

The best service I've ever had was when a friend and I went to our local diner. I guess you can say we were regulars at the time... anyhow, we walk in and they hostess sits us at a booth with our favorite waitress. She brings us two cups of coffee and asks what we want. We decide on cheese-fries and she walks through the in-door of the kitchen, the door closes, and the out-door opens with her holding a plate of perfectly cooked fries. I never asked what or how it happened, and we just said our thanks, tipped great and left.

 

[Fletch]

Some of the best restaurant service I've had happened recently when I was in Melbourne, Australia in transit to Norway.

Exactly where on Earth were you "in transit" from that Australia was on the way to Norway?

Or was it on Earth???

 

[Smithy]

Exactly where on Earth were you "in transit" from that Australia was on the way to Norway?

Or was it on Earth???

I'm from NZ and my Norwegian fiancée and I were moving from there back to Norway. Far more fun for us to stop off in Melbourne where my best man lives than Bangkok or Singapore. And if you are travelling from NZ to Europe, Australia is generally regarded as being on the way there.

 

[Fletch]

Ah. A quick spin o' the old globe and all comes clear. Thx.

 

[rockyj]

Had 'em both good and bad

Over the years I had them both. Great food and service in some and the absolute worst in others:rage:
However. I grew-up in two different Italian neigborhoods in two different countries. (The U.S and Canada)and when I go to any of those neigborhood restaurants, in (St.louis and Toronto) I am treated very well. l get very good service. Even with new staff members. (And no I'm not mob conected). I guess though I'm lucky to get good service in those places. still I've had very poor service and food in other places. I think the worst I've ever had was in Rome Italy !!! Go figure

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

The California Brewing Company in Alhambra, CA.

Almost no customers during the hours of 11am and 3pm on weekdays, so the service is quick, and the food is great. Go on a weekday around 1pm. There's a nice waitress there that finds me creepy. Tell her I said hello.

I haven't really looked for bad service. I understand the stress the employees go through everyday and that accounts for the long waits and sudden accidents. Tough business, especially with people who act obnoxious or rushed. All types of people are hungry.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

I just wanted to say I think Beaucallou's statement about restaurants was right on the money (no pun intended).

I have worked in many restaurants, and my family was in the restaurant business for the majority of my life. Although now it is a chain, and we really aren't involved, for many many years, since 1901 in fact, we were a small family run restaurant that started out as a small fish market. This fish market swelled into a household name in New England. We have been serving our chowder at Presidential inaugeratian's for I don't know how many decades. Growing up, I had a lot of experience in this restaurant. Their goal, to treat every individual customer that walked through the door as a member of our family. Feed them only food that we ourselves would eat. Nothing but the freshest ingredients, always served perfectly hot, by servers who not only knew what was on the menu, but also had tasted everything on it as well. They didn't want to pass through customers like a revolving door. We wanted them to come in and enjoy every moment of their time in our kitchen. Customer satisfaction, not only in food but also in service was the number one priority. That is why people would wait for hours for a table. It was, and still is worth the wait. What was once a fish market grew to 3 restaurants in Boston. For years that was all that was wanted, to keep this family run business small enough to manage. But in the late 80's changes happened. Legals started opening up restaurants out of state. There are now stores up and down the Eastern seaboard. But, it is still a family run restaurant. The family might not get along in their personal lives, but when it comes to keeping the original ideals of the restaurant, there is no argument. People still wait, sometimes for hours, just to eat there. Every year the restaurant adds some sort of new service to make the dining experience better. Is it a pricey restaurant? Well, it's not Friday's, but it's not so expensive that it's alienating to people. It's not snooty or snobby at all. People know what the prices are, and they still want to eat there. They know that they will get a great meal and great service. The manager is often on the floor going around to tables, asking customers how everything is and if anything should be done differently. I'm not involved in this restaurant anymore. Actually, it was a pretty horrible falling out. But, much to my parents dismay, I still go there, and often, it's that good.

So there's something to say about a restaurant with higher prices than the average Chili's or Applebees. These high prices aren't because the owners want to make tons of money on poor service and bad food. The owners of these restaurants have a ton of overhead. They know that they could dig themselves a huge hole if they didn't provide the best possible service, and the best food and drinks. I've eaten at a lot of higher priced restaurants. I do this because I enjoy a good meal and the experience of it. To me, and this is just my opinion, there's something very elegant to going to a high end restaurant. It's how I choose to spend an evening out. I'm not going there to be snobby, I don't feel like the other people surrounding me in these places are snobby. I think that all the people who go into a restaurant planning on spending there money have a level of expectation that must be met. I don't really recall when this expectation, at least for me, was not met. I've never had a bad experience in one of these restaurants. Bad experiences aren't good for any restaurant, especially for one with a high overhead.

OK, I guess what I'm trying to say if fine dining is a form of entertainment for some. Some go to the theater, others go to the movies, some spend an evening at the state fair. Whatever it is that one chooses to do with an evening out, and however much that person decides to spend on that evening out, doesn't make them any different, or in this case any more snobby than anybody else. It's purely a choice. It's not snobby or snooty, and the higher priced restaurants that they choose to go to aren't snobby or snooty.

Sorry, I guess like Beaucillou, I'm a bit frustrated by such a judgement[huh]

 

[RedPop4]

It is a very difficult business.
New Orleans has a restaurant critic with a DAILY radio show, Tom Fitzmorris. He's a snob, an elitist, and condescending. He WILL, though, gladly go into any poor boy joint and enjoy a sandwich, a saving grace, and he will have all the local news, restaurant-wise. But I can't listen to him. One of his truths, and I don't disagree, is that it takes five years to make money in the restaurant business IF you can last that long.

Anyway, he has always maintained that as a diner, you must be educated. You must KNOW what to expect from any particular restaurant, on any given day. He gives "tips for defensive dining." These include things like--don't expect even a good meal on Valentine's Day, Mothers' Day, Thanksgiving, or any other major holiday. They are too busy in both the kitchen and the house, often with amateur diners who expect the extraordinary. People who don't dine out but twice a year yet who know a restaurant's reputation. They are then disappointed beyond belief, because the kitchen and the wait staff are way too busy to do a really superb job and live up to this expectation.

Bad experience was this past Mardi Gras. We went to a parade on the Friday before Mardi Gras. It was two families and we wanted something relatively inexpensive. So we chose a local "red-check-tablecloth" burger place. We get in, and they have a limited Mardi Gras menu. Everything on the menu appears to be at least $1.50 higher than normal. Even a plate of chicken fingers was $9.95, which is TOTALLY unacceptable in New Orleans. There were no children's selections. Drinks were provided in styrofoam cups, the food was presented on throw-away plastic plates, eaten with plastic utensils. Despite the lack of diners, they managed to make mistakes on two different orders among the seven of us.

Now, this location was not on the parade route, either. It isn't all that far, but there was no reason for any of this, but to gouge tourists and locals alike. Nor was the place crowded, in fact, it was rather dead. Well, never again.

 

[rockyj]

I just wanted to say I think Beaucallou's statement about restaurants was right on the money (no pun intended).

I have worked in many restaurants, and my family was in the restaurant business for the majority of my life. Although now it is a chain, and we really aren't involved, for many many years, since 1901 in fact, we were a small family run restaurant that started out as a small fish market. This fish market swelled into a household name in New England. We have been serving our chowder at Presidential inaugeratian's for I don't know how many decades. Growing up, I had a lot of experience in this restaurant. Their goal, to treat every individual customer that walked through the door as a member of our family. Feed them only food that we ourselves would eat. Nothing but the freshest ingredients, always served perfectly hot, by servers who not only knew what was on the menu, but also had tasted everything on it as well. They didn't want to pass through customers like a revolving door. We wanted them to come in and enjoy every moment of their time in our kitchen. Customer satisfaction, not only in food but also in service was the number one priority. That is why people would wait for hours for a table. It was, and still is worth the wait. What was once a fish market grew to 3 restaurants in Boston. For years that was all that was wanted, to keep this family run business small enough to manage. But in the late 80's changes happened. Legals started opening up restaurants out of state. There are now stores up and down the Eastern seaboard. But, it is still a family run restaurant. The family might not get along in their personal lives, but when it comes to keeping the original ideals of the restaurant, there is no argument. People still wait, sometimes for hours, just to eat there. Every year the restaurant adds some sort of new service to make the dining experience better. Is it a pricey restaurant? Well, it's not Friday's, but it's not so expensive that it's alienating to people. It's not snooty or snobby at all. People know what the prices are, and they still want to eat there. They know that they will get a great meal and great service. The manager is often on the floor going around to tables, asking customers how everything is and if anything should be done differently. I'm not involved in this restaurant anymore. Actually, it was a pretty horrible falling out. But, much to my parents dismay, I still go there, and often, it's that good.

So there's something to say about a restaurant with higher prices than the average Chili's or Applebees. These high prices aren't because the owners want to make tons of money on poor service and bad food. The owners of these restaurants have a ton of overhead. They know that they could dig themselves a huge hole if they didn't provide the best possible service, and the best food and drinks. I've eaten at a lot of higher priced restaurants. I do this because I enjoy a good meal and the experience of it. To me, and this is just my opinion, there's something very elegant to going to a high end restaurant. It's how I choose to spend an evening out. I'm not going there to be snobby, I don't feel like the other people surrounding me in these places are snobby. I think that all the people who go into a restaurant planning on spending there money have a level of expectation that must be met. I don't really recall when this expectation, at least for me, was not met. I've never had a bad experience in one of these restaurants. Bad experiences aren't good for any restaurant, especially for one with a high overhead.

OK, I guess what I'm trying to say if fine dining is a form of entertainment for some. Some go to the theater, others go to the movies, some spend an evening at the state fair. Whatever it is that one chooses to do with an evening out, and however much that person decides to spend on that evening out, doesn't make them any different, or in this case any more snobby than anybody else. It's purely a choice. It's not snobby or snooty, and the higher priced restaurants that they choose to go to aren't snobby or snooty.

Sorry, I guess like Beaucillou, I'm a bit frustrated by such a judgement[huh]

Ah, You would have made my Italian family very happy with your positive attitude. If your ever in St.louis stop in on "The HILL" at Toney G's. say my name and the bill is on me. Just don't wear your Redsox's hat