Restaurant review

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 4:54 pm

Well I thought id take the boss out for a meal last night and decided to do the decent thing and have a meal at a loval restaurant.

We got there and found that the table wed reserved was occupied and I noticed there were no reservation signs on any of the tables despite having glanced at the reservations book and seen at least 6 bookings with table numbers beside them.

Got seated and then a very nervous unhappy looking waitress appeared and gave us the menus.....the lunch menus. Didnt ask if we wanted a drink while perousing the (wrong) menu. She eventually came back and I asked her to bring the correct menu. I also gave her the lunchtime wine menu which was also not valid.

Got the meal ordered and finally got a couple of glasses of pinot which the waiter reckoned was shit hot......but I reckon tasted like Qantas economy class wine that had come out of a plastic glass bottle and been strained through the hosties tights before serving.

Half the meal arrived but the pork salad was missing. Boss was getting a bit ratty by now. The waiter glanced across at the next table and realised that hed given them our pork salad. So what does he do...he reaches across and grabs the pork salad and plonks it on our table. Well that was it for the boss....she glared at the guy and asked him if he was sure the dinners at the next table hadnt touched the pork salad. He gave her his guarantee but the damage was done. While this was going on I noticed that the people at the next table didnt look too happy. Theyd just had their desserts order totally stuffed up....ordered one icecream and coffee and ended up with two of those and another dessert. Three desserts for two people..surely the waitress noticed the discrepancy.

Anyway we finished mains and when the girl came to ask if we wanted to order desserts i told that in the interests of her personal safety it would be best if I got my wife home as soon as possible.

Not a great night out and a piss poor performance from what used to be my favourite restaurant.

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 5:05 pm

Sorry to hear that Martin, but I've come to expect that from more restaurants than not, especially up here.

I'm a firm believer that wait staff should be on the very minimum of wage. Far less than 1/2 of what they get now. Reduce the price of the meals accordingly, and then let the wait staff supplement their income with tips. It makes a hell of a difference in the quality of service, when they figure out that they have to lift their game to actually make a living.

I've got several friends back in Canada that are top notch waiters. They regularly pull in $100 cash on a slow night, and a good night is in the $300 + range.

And while you may walk away wanting for a better meal, you rarely fault the table service.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 5:16 pm

Never been a great fan of tipping but I can see your reasoning Allen & a great idea. They certainly would lift their game if it earnt them more for doing so.
I've gotten some shoddy service in the past but fortunately more & more resturants have popped up here in Christchurch & the owners and staff realize that with so much competition, unless their service is top notch along with their food, they won't be in business for very long. Doesn't help you Martin but I hope you, or your wife by the sounds of it, kicked up merry hell with the duty manager. If they don't cop an ear-full from customers about poor service then there's no change in it.

Allen · Post by **Allen** » Sun Apr 05, 2009 5:28 pm

There is a difference in the way tipping is handled in Canada, to the USA in my experience. In Canada, most people will tip, but the amount is commensurate with service. A very small tip is our polite way of saying that "You are shit". Also the cost of the meals are far more affordable, (at least they use to be, I haven't been back since 2002) than they are here for like quality. So if the service is great, then a good tip brings it up to a comparable price.

In the USA I've found that it's just expected that the tip will be 10-15% of the bill. And in many cases, this charge was levied on the bill. No choice about it. That gets under my skin as well.

Up here with the tourist trade, their attitude is 'piss off if you don't like it." There's heaps more were you came from.

The whole hospitality trade all got a scathing review a couple of months back by a study done by James Cook Uni. as part of the Tourism Bailout Package that was looking at ways of helping out the ailing industry. No surprise that they all think that they were being unfairly critisized. After all, it's always been like this.

Pisses me off that instead of lifting their game, lowering prices, trying just a hole lot harder, they want, and expect handouts to pull them through the hard times. Well, they're dropping like flies every day now. I suppose it's time to go down town and see if the remaining bunch have got the message yet.

Lillian · Post by **Lillian** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 12:22 am

Allen, I've found that they only automatically add a tip to a bill if it is a large party being served. But it could be the middling to poor restaurants we tend to frequent. I tip the service not the expected 15%.

I've been know to no leave a tip, like for my birthday. Very similar experience to yours Martin. The kicker was our waitress passed us carrying a tray of wine and sake as we are walking out of the restaurant. Fran stop to give her room to get by only to have the wine dumped on her. The manager just stood there when she let loose on him. I walked out to keep from getting really stupid. The manager never said a word to Fran. I'm surprised she didn't hurt him, no that would have been me, not her.

Paul B · Post by **Paul B** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 2:06 am

Me and the boss are over here in California working on a project. We had a major success the other day so went out to dinner to celebrate. Got the hotel receptionist to call us a taxi, and a stretch limo pulls up. It's actually cheaper than a regular cab, believe it or not.

Went down to San Jose (yes, now I know the way) and ate at a place called "Original Joe's". The food was spot on, and the service was excellent, far better than just about anything I've experienced back home. Tipped them 20%. The menu did say that for a party of ten or more there was a standard gratuity of either 15 or 20% - can't remember exactly.

Oh, and for those that can't convert ounces to kg's in thier head. A 26oz steak is like half the frigging cow. Automatic doggy bags here, so it was lunch the next day too

kiwigeo · Post by **kiwigeo** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:54 am

Lillian wrote: Fran stop to give her room to get by only to have the wine dumped on her. The manager just stood there when she let loose on him. I walked out to keep from getting really stupid. The manager never said a word to Fran. I'm surprised she didn't hurt him, no that would have been me, not her.

Bet you then rushed home and wrung all the wine and sake out of Fran's clothes into glasses!

Lillian · Post by **Lillian** » Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:58 am

kiwigeo wrote:
Lillian wrote: Fran stop to give her room to get by only to have the wine dumped on her. The manager just stood there when she let loose on him. I walked out to keep from getting really stupid. The manager never said a word to Fran. I'm surprised she didn't hurt him, no that would have been me, not her.
Bet you then rushed home and wrung all the wine and sake out of Fran's clothes into glasses!

LOL! No, it was the cheap stuff. The car still has a faint wino smell to it that I just can't seem to get out.

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