Again, a not great experience at Nuchies…read more
I had to attend a meeting for my service organization. The bar experience was abysmal! A simple order - Johnny Walker Red on the rocks, and a whiskey sour. Bartender looks at me and grabs the bottle of Jack Daniels. I explained, no, Johnny Walker Red. I pointed to the bottle on the shelf. She proceeds to grab a bottle of vodka. Finally, she understands Johnny Walker, and asks which one - "I have two kind." Finally, she pours the correct liquor and moves on to the whiskey sour.
First, she fills a collins glass with ice, and grabs the Jack Daniels again. I told her Seagrams. She gave me a blank look, and grabs the bottle of Johnny Red. "No! Seagrams 7." I pointed to the bottle of Seagrams. She gave me a dirty look, and pours it into the glass. "And coke?" she asked. "No. Whiskey Sour. Sour Mix." Another blank expression, and she picked a button at random. My friend took the drink and tasted it. Nothing like a whiskey sour - she put tonic water in it.
Buffet food was ok. Green beans were more gray than green, and the shredded carrots mixed in were more white than orange. Other than that, everything else was acceptable.
What wasn't acceptable was the lack of attention to the room. The two servers stood at the foot of the buffet table and watched as everyone went through the line. Some people went up to the bar, and they finally had to call the bartender over to make drinks (good luck with that!) It was well into our business part of the meeting (about 45 minutes later) when they started to remove the stacks of empty plates from tables, interrupting the speaker. After that, they broke down the buffet, clanging the chafers as they cleaned them up and carried them out. Usually, this would be done when the room was empty. It was a major distraction.
As the meeting dragged on, the servers kept peeking out from where they were hiding, looking at their watches, and shaking their heads. Obviously, they wanted to be someplace else.
If I wasn't required to attend these meetings, I would spend my time at a place where I can get my drink order correct, and I don't have to worry about the papers I'm working from falling into my dirty dishes from dinner.
I don't know why the experience has changed so much from when I first attended meetings there a couple of years ago. New staff, maybe? Everything seems to be such an effort for the people working the event, and they really seemed miserable. Maybe put on servers who enjoy the job?