Saturday, August 21, 2010

Wednesday night 8/19

Wednesday night, I went out with a couple of friends, Mandy and Laurie, for dinner and drinks. Expectations were high, as the restaurant is popular, busy and fairly expensive ($12-15 for basic entrees).

The good:

We were seated pretty quickly, and the server was quick to greet us.
The food was well prepared and delicious.

The bad:

There was some confusion as to what tables were available. Ended up following the hostess all over the restaurant only to be seated outside. Which was not a problem. Just seems there should be more communication with the host stand.
The appetizer we ordered never came.
Our drinks sat empty often.
The wrong entrĂ©e was brought out to one of my friends.
The server never checked to see how the food was.
We were sitting on a patio and asked for an ashtray which also didn't come until he noticed the empty pastic cup with several cigarette butts in it.

I was watching for our server. He had three tables, none with more than four people seated at it.
I can forgive inattentiveness if there is a valid reason. I didn't see one.
Forgivable reasons a server may be inattentive:
Entire section filled at once (double/ triple/ quadruple seated)
Sat with a large party (8+)
Has a very large section (5 or more tables)
Has an incredibly demanding table that keeps them occupied

The only other forgivable reason: They're new.
In this case I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt on this one, and still tipped a bit over 20%.


After dinner, we all went to a bar where we knew a lot of people, including the bartenders. We were quickly served strong drinks, and tipped very well on them. (Like 90%)

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