Hi friends, welcome to the Farmingdale Diner. My favorite Diner on Long Island has had a change of ownership. It's no longer owned by Steve and staffed by his 4 Brothers.
I've been here 6 times since their change of hands. Mostly my visits are for breakfast, as it's just about still the best meal anywhere.
I have noticed some changes in the dinner service and aviance however. I really love my Long Island Diner and I'm very small business-friendly. That being said, I also have a responsibility to my yelpers. I can't have a previous 5-star review describe this venue when it's no longer appropriate.
I can still very much recommend the most wonderful breakfasts here. This relaxing experience has not changed. The breakfast is still top-notch, the sausage and ingredients have not changed. I pair my eggs with their delicious Hollandaise sauce (+$2). There's a higher level of hospitality and service that I'm accustomed to here during breakfast.
My dinner experience Sunday night's experience was different than any I'd had. Sitting down, I immediately noticed the difference. Usually Billy sits me at the booth in the corner, knows exactly what I want & brings everything to the table without a word needed. It was uncomfortable being a stranger now in a place I have visited hundreds of times.
You now must ask for the extras that are included with your meals, because they are no longer automatically provided.
After a few minutes I noticed I was not asked if I wanted the complimentary glass of wine and I was not given my bread basket, I was not given my side dishes of beets, coleslaw or the garbanzo beans. When I asked for these items, my servers response was .."oh you want that? I don't know if they do that anymore". I told my server that these items were mandatory. She searched for them for a little while and I believe opened some fresh cans for me.
A chill ran down my spine! These are the included amenities expected by "EVERYONE", all of your regular customers are accustomed to these automatically included with your dinner specials for many years. They would include a basket of bread, complimentary glass of wine, pickled beets, chilled pasta and beans, coleslaw, pickles. (Check my previous photos)
These complementary items, were traditionally brought without customers having to uncomfortably ask for them.
Usually there's a wait line for Sunday night dinner. I was able to park and immediately, sit down without waiting. Now I know why.
Just a few months ago this place was packed. Now it's empty of the regular customers. In 6 months, I can't believe they went downhill so quickly.
I called Farmingdale Diner before rewriting my review and was hung up on 4 times? That was a first. How can your struggling restaurant be so comfortable hanging up on their cu$tomers?
There's never a second chance to make a first impression. Hire & maintain a professional greeter to be the voice and first impression of your business. They handle telephone calls, respond to social media, coordinate deliveries.
I made suggestions to help return the positive experiences here. I didn't recognize the taste of my Caesar salad from different greens and dressing. Please don't change anything. Stick what with what has worked many years.
Please conduct a retraining of your evening Staffing. Don't let the Busboys noisily Clank dishes in back of your customers while bussing the tables. Put a towel on top of the tray, it helps to muffle the noises. Recognize your regular customers and lavish the attention on them that they're accustomed to here.
Low-cost UV light traps will capture the flies that now land on the food. Train the staff not to be loud about issues, so your customers can't hear.
Make sure the Bread Basket comes with hot, fresh pieces of bread. Please bring back the delicious breadsticks.
When a glass of wine is
included with the meal, please ask your customers if they would like it. Don't make us have to ask for what was included. The appetizers included need to be immediately brought to the tables without the customers asking.
Don't have me have to get up after my meal is over and search for my check. My waitress was very aware of my displeasure as I mentioned the frequency of my former visits (200+) several times. Curiously, she didn't offer apologies or any dessert to compensate. I never saw her again at the conclusion of my meal.
Thanks for offering me compensation in the future.
Stopping back, for breakfast at Farmingdale Diner a few days later, everyone was so apologetic concerning my poor experience. Breakfast was wonderful as always and they simply would not accept my money or even write me a check for my meal in compensations. It seemed my poor experience may be narrowed to the actions of a new server.
I am grateful this kind action earned an extra star returned to their review. read more