Meat, you broke the hearts of two Texaners...
I'd spent the last two weeks hounding my friends to come try Meat with me. Having lived in Dallas and frequenting the Carolinas for most of my vacations, one of the things I miss most about living in Michigan is the lack of a mom and pop barbecue restaurant on every corner. I finally got my pal, an MSU grad who grew up in Dallas as well, to come check it out last Friday around 7.
When we arrived, the place was full, minus one table - which was a great sign! I was so excited - the vibe was laid back, and the menu on the board seemed tasty and a little out of the box. We stood by the door for two minutes, and after having two of the circling waiters avoid us a couple times and spotting no "Seat Yourself/Wait to be Seated" signs, we sat ourselves at the vacant table.
So, seven minutes pass by, and we have not been greeted at this point. This is an establishment with maybe eight tables, in a very small space, so we were very visible. Both waiters walked by us many, many times, stared straight at our faces, and continued about their business... we looked at them helplessly every time, clearly with no menus or beverages on the table... there is absolutely no way they didn't know we weren't being help. They were just too pre-occupied to care, I guess.
So we waited exactly ten minutes, and my friend flagged down one of the waiters and asked "Excuse me, are you able to help us?" and he said "Um... I don't know. Let me check."... okay?
He came back and said "We're actually out of food. We weren't expecting such a busy day." and so I asked "No one could have told us this earlier?" and he responded "Well, normally we seat you, so we would have known you were here"
Well, sure! But after being stared at repeatedly and not being helped and NOT seeing a sign to wait, we sat ourselves, of course.
Here's the thing. I understand new businesses and I get how barbecue places normally work! I'm glad you guys don't keep things frozen in back, and every thing is fresh, and in Old Town you never know what you're crowds will be like so it's difficult to anticipate how much you'll need for the day. I am not upset that you ran out of food at all! I would come back repeatedly just to try it, when you do have food! I'm just very upset that no one helped. It was just pure laziness and bad customer service.
What would have happened if my friend didn't ask for help at all? Would we have waited a half an hour with out a greeting? Looking back on our experience, I think that would have been the case.
Such a disappointing experience... you may have lost your most carnivorous customer. read more