I've always had an overall positive experience at Lucy's. However, on Saturday night (4/2), I experienced something I hope is absolutely never repeated.
It was my first time where a "table manager" attempted to start a fight with my friend & I.
It was quite a bizarre experience. We received 2 raspberry mules that were lacking raspberry. I took our drinks back to politely request a replacement. I then watched in horror as the waitress took a straw and dipped it in both our drinks, slowly sucking the liquid from our drinks. Her unmasked mouth, hanging open over them. Never mind the pandemic. She then announced to the bartender that the raspberry ingredient was missing. I watched as the bartender poured raspberry syrup on our drinks that had had the "table manager's" straw in it.
I politely requested the drink to be remade as I am not a fan of my drink having a "table manager" unmasked mouth & straw included as ingredients in my drink. I didn't say anything about the "table manager" other than that she had put her straw in our drink in it. The bartender was flustered and said, "What do you want me to do?" I politely asked for a replacement. He obliged and made 2 new Raspberry mules. My friend and I took our drinks, thanked the bartender, he said all was okay, & we went back outside-at which point we were apparently pursued by the "table manager". She angrily told us, "You guys are fucking ridiculous. I took a clean straw. It's done at bars across America". At which point, my friend retorted, "It's okay, I'll Yelp you". The table manager then got angrier and said, "OK KAREN" at which point she proceeded to engage in a verbal altercation with her customer. I proceeded to intervene, talking to her calmly. I explained to her that her job is difficult and I showed empathy. She sort of calmed down a bit, just enough to avoid a call to the Fresno Police.
She finally went back inside. However, it gets worse as my friend attempted to use the bathroom and the bouncer turned her away. She had nothing to do with the situation and security told us we weren't allowed back in. My friend (not at all involved in the tense "Karen"controversy over the mules) was visibly upset as she had paid for a drink, tipped the "table manager" $4, & was told that a bathroom was unavailable. Eventually, we simply walked away upon determining that the sobriety of the security guard & "table manager" was questionable (both became "general managers" or "security" then "owners" back again as they wished to title themselves). However, as my friend walked back in search of a restroom, the "table manager/general manager/owner" (as she self-declared) stood outside between 2 bouncers asked my friend why she was upset with her-as if she had forgotten that she had declared the bathroom prohibited to a paying customer. Reflecting on the whole debacle, I began to wonder about the possibility of mutiny by the part of the nighttime staff. After all, the "table manager" & "security" each changed roles as they wished and each made their own rules as to who was allowed to use the bathroom and who wasn't.
Go here if you enjoy your drink being taste-tested for you during a pandemic, & if you are a fan of verbally-aggressive waitstaff of questionable sobriety. read more