I wish there was an option for 2.5 stars. As much as I LOVE Chuys, I've eaten here well over 10 times, it seems the management is very lacking. Out of my last 4 visits I've had issues with either A) My order being wrong, or B) Bad service.
Here's a quick history of my last few dinners, for a bit of backstory:
- my waiter may forget my drink refill/bring out the wrong order
- or my table/silverware may be dirty (happened twice now, we're talking brown grease across the top of it, probably from a fellow burrito lover)
- or the server will forget we're on the patio and I'll have to track him down (and he had TWO tables out there, we just sat there and stared at each other like shipwreck survivors, wondering what the others would taste like if we ended up having to eat them out of desperation).
- or they'll drop the queso right before they get to the table (such a tease!) and it'll streak down the purse of the lady next to us ( no manager said sorry for that incident either!)
I'm prompted now, however, to write this review after dinner tonight. See, I order the exact same thing when I visit. Every. Single. Time. It's the Steak Burrito with queso on top, and queso on the rice. That's it. It's not rocket science, and I don't feel like I'm being picky. Hell, you tell me.
So, I go in tonight, the 4th out of 4 lackluster experiences, and order my usual. Everything is going fine, the waitress brings our drinks, salsa, chips, and that delicious ranch they like to call creamy jalepeno sauce (okay, it's creamy, but certainly not worthy of the jalepeno designation). After a small 10 minute wait our food arrives and, lo and behold, my order is wrong.
Except, it's not just wrong in the sense they forgot the queso, it's wrong in that it's the completely wrong burrito. The food runner was awesome and explained what it was she was handing me and we figured out together that it was certainly not what I ordered. Waitress comes over and admits it was her fault, she entered the wrong burrito.
....but then she starts backpedaling and saying that when you order queso on it, the burrito then becomes a Fajita burrito which also has beans in it. Now, I'm not picky with my food. I eat just about anything. Except, I came there specifically for a Steak Burrito which has no beans at all. She takes the offending burrito away and brings me the correct Steak Burrito no more than 10 minutes later. Excellent timing on the resolution.
Now, here's my issue. Not once, out of 4 bad experiences, has a manager graced the table with an apology or any sort of comp. Not even an appetizer coupon! Seriously, how much does it take for a manager to come by your table and simply say "I'm sorry, we messed up, it was our fault and your Steak Burrito is on us tonight."
That being said, I still always tip 20% and pay my meal without a fuss. I was a waiter once, I know the job can really suck sometimes, so I don't give anyone flak because I truly don't care.
BUT, it's the managers job, not the servers, to correct mistakes and make sure the guest is happy. I shouldn't have to raise a fuss, they should just come over on their own accord, because hey, that makes sense as a business. And, since it takes a manager to comp a meal in the system, they certainly know the table has an issue. Ignorance is no excuse.
So, to summarize, GREAT food. I seriously love that burrito. The Flautas are very good as well, my girlfriend orders those often. But, the service and management are the real downfalls of the restaurant.
So I'll be back. And everything may go wrong. BUT, I'll get that burrito....eventually. And I'll tip my 20%. And everything will remain as it was, and as it apparently always will be. read more