I have been coming to this restaurant almost every day or every other day for the past couple of…read moreyears. I order the same meal regularly, have spent a significant amount of money here, and have referred many people to this restaurant. In all this time, I have never left a negative review or complained about the occasional minor issues because I understand that mistakes happen.
Unfortunately, my experience today was very disappointing, primarily because of how the situation was handled.
I ordered my usual lunch. When my food came out, I noticed that I had been given the dinner portion instead of the lunch portion. I simply let the waitress know, and she said she would correct it. The plate was then taken back, and when it returned, there was clearly much less food than the normal lunch portion. I also had requested extra onions and peppers, and it appeared that some of the food had simply been removed from the original plate rather than preparing the appropriate lunch portion.
The plate was taken back again, and when my food finally came out, it was cold. I mentioned this to another employee, who told me that it was essentially my fault because I had sent the food back and that I should have just eaten it the way it originally came out. When I asked what he would do in the same situation, he told me he would eat his food cold and that I should do the same.
I then asked to speak with the manager. He told me that he was one of the managers, although I have been coming here regularly for years and knew that he was not the manager I was familiar with. The male waiter who addressed me was extremely rude throughout the interaction and at times even laughed in my face as though the situation were a joke. I was then told that the actual manager did not want to speak with me and had nothing to say to me. He also added they did not care if I never came back there again to eat, which made no sense to me being that I have never had any bad interaction with any of the staff nor have I ever complained about anything even if something was not quite the way I wanted it. I am a paying customer and I'm not going to accept hardly no food on the plate that I'm paying for or cold food at a restaurant.
That response was extremely disappointing. I was not yelling, cursing, being disrespectful, or demanding anything unreasonable. I simply wanted to speak with a manager about an issue with my meal and how the situation was handled.
Mistakes happen in restaurants, and I completely understand that. What I don't expect as a paying customer is to be told that I should accept my food however it comes out, even if it is incorrect or cold, and then be dismissed when I respectfully ask to speak with management.
After being a loyal customer for years, spending a considerable amount of money here, and recommending this restaurant to others, I expected much better customer service. Unfortunately, today's experience left me feeling very disrespected and unappreciated as a customer.
This experience also made it very clear to me that my loyalty and business are not valued at this establishment. Because of the way I was treated today, I will not be returning to this restaurant, and I will no longer be referring friends, family, or anyone else here. I have supported this business for years, but I believe customers deserve to be treated with basic courtesy and respect, especially when they have been loyal customers and are simply trying to resolve an issue respectfully.
Today was not just about a meal being prepared incorrectly. It was about how a loyal paying customer was treated when trying to address the problem. That is what ultimately made the experience unacceptable for me.
