Your recent remarkable food service (good or bad)

[McLovin]

Restaurant food service is something I'm really picky about. Kinda goldilocks-esque, where it needs to be just right for me. A recent experience has me interested in getting the conversation rolling with my fellow THP diners. Tell me about your recent remarkable food service experience, good or bad.

 

[McLovin]

this thread topic popped into my mind after a remarkably BAD experience at the cracker barrel in tifton, georgia. for the most part, i think cracker barrel does a pretty good job training their servers. usually they are attentive and engaging. we stop at the cb when driving to and from my in-laws' in alabama because the food is usually consistent, affordable, and quick without being too much like drive-through fast food.

so we roll up today around 3pm. parking lot isn't terribly full, and we get seated within 5 minutes. we sit for 10 minutes or so with no one coming to our table. we flag down a hostess, and she sends a waitress over who is not our waitress, who then throws our waitress under the bus for being new and clueless. not a great start.

takes another 10 minutes or so for our waitress to come with our drinks, and take our orders. then we wait. and wait. and WAIT. 45 minutes pass and no sight of our server. no update about our food. nothing. i have two small children with me. this is not cool.

finally the waitress comes by, to tell me that they are out of what i ordered, and what would i like instead. she did apologize, but no offer to bring some bread out for us to eat while we wait. no offer to bring the kids' food so they can start. nothing.

then we wait. no sight of the server. my wife was a hostess and server for a little while in college, and she was fed up. she flags down a manager and puts on her full karen mode. they apologize all over themselves, say what i ordered actually WAS available, blah blah blah. we weren't rude, but i wasn't about to say it was ok. we didn't ask, but they did comp the meal.

we left almost 2 hours after we arrived. it added 2 hours to our 8 hour trip. we think the kitchen got hit with a few big tables, and just managed it poorly. that happens, i get it, but the lack of communication was the problem. as we were leaving, we think they comped almost every meal in our entire section, mostly because of the kitchen. but i was most disappointed with the service.

 

[baylrballa]

going to a restaurant from 3-5 in the afternoon is asking for trouble, shift change and a bunch of servers who dgaf.

sit in the bar or cocktail area if at all possible. (not so much at cracker barrel.) much higher chance of a competent server at most places though during this time.

 

[mikeg_74]

Luckily I've not had too many real "bad experiences".

The one that stands out for me was at Terralina in Disney Springs a few years ago. Long story short we drove to Disney that year and overnight had our vehicle broken into. Nothing was taken, but our vacation started off on a negative note, requiring us to get the window fixed that was broken and mentally getting back to the right frame of mind.

We decided to go to Disney Springs and and just enjoy ourselves. We had dinner and my youngest explained to the girl who was taking care of us that our vehicle was broken into. we didnt think anything of it because it was said in passing and not really elaborated on. It comes time for the check and the server tells us "it's on us. we are sorry for your recent experience, but hopefully this makes it a little better for you guys". I was floored because our meal wasnt cheap. To date the best dining experience i've ever had.

 

[McLovin]

Luckily I've not had too many real "bad experiences".

The one that stands out for me was at Terralina in Disney Springs a few years ago. Long story short we drove to Disney that year and overnight had our vehicle broken into. Nothing was taken, but our vacation started off on a negative note, requiring us to get the window fixed that was broken and mentally getting back to the right frame of mind.

We decided to go to Disney Springs and and just enjoy ourselves. We had dinner and my youngest explained to the girl who was taking care of us that our vehicle was broken into. we didnt think anything of it because it was said in passing and not really elaborated on. It comes time for the check and the server tells us "it's on us. we are sorry for your recent experience, but hopefully this makes it a little better for you guys". I was floored because our meal wasnt cheap. To date the best dining experience i've ever had.

wow that's an awesome story!

 

[pattyboy21]

Now that we're living in San Jose del Cabo, we've noticed that waiters have adapted to American expectations; they get to you fast, check on you frequently and are quick to clear dishes and bring the check when asked. This differs markedly from other places in Mexico, or for that matter, most of Latin America and the places we've visited in Europe.

 

[campilobaxter]

Now that we're living in San Jose del Cabo, we've noticed that waiters have adapted to American expectations; they get to you fast, check on you frequently and are quick to clear dishes and bring the check when asked. This differs markedly from other places in Mexico, or for that matter, most of Latin America and the places we've visited in Europe.

Do they expect an American-style tip as well?

 

[pattyboy21]

Do they expect an American-style tip as well?

15% is good as opposed to 20% back home. Elsewhere in Mexico, 10% is more common and most expats discourage over-tipping as well as offering more than the market rate for services such as landscaping, housekeeping, maintenance, etc... We have to be cognizant of the impact we have on market conditions and how locals can be adversely affected.