The main reason I'm giving Peak City Diner in Apex, NC only 2 stars is due to the atrocious action of my table's waitress; Jackie. This was my first time... along with my family's time dining at the restaurant.
This review may be extensive, but the intention is to thoroughly provide details regarding the experience. I want to also highlight the sheer entitlement of Jackie and her rude disposition towards the end of my dining experience.
To start off, I want to highlight an undeniable truth - the food was delicious (two adult hotdog plates with fries/tater tots, a children's chocolate chip pancake with eggs and bacon, a children's chicken tenders and fries, and an adult waffle with bacon and eggs). The cooks did an excellent job (fresh, hot food with flavor), and my family was genuinely impressed.
As it was time to pay the bill, I chose to pay the bill and to cover the tip. I did not have to provide this option (tip), but I was willing to do that as she was our waitress. As I added my tip and provided the receipt back to her - she looked at it and said... "$5.00, that is not even 10%". I was baffled as I did not even have to provide a tip to her, but chose to do so for the expected (or close to) services that she provided. She goes on to address that she did not even charge me the usual gratuity fee that she charges for a party of 5. I did not make her conduct that action, nor did we ever discuss that policy. Furthermore... there were ONLY 3 adults and 2 children. I politely made her aware that her action was completely disrespectful and she rudely addressed that she was not trying to make me feel bad (about my decision) but that she had 2 children and was single, and so forth.
There were no extra or exceptional actions conducted by Jackie.
- She wiped down an extra seat that we needed due to it being dirty, which was appreciated.
- She never gave refills (when necessary)... only when we inquired about a beverage chance.
- She had to be reminded about our beverage change request.
- She never removed items off of our table, even when she addressed that the space was getting limited on the table.
- A family member removed trash from the table to throw away in the nearest trash can... for table cleanliness and so that the she did not have to do it.
- We made sure that the table was tidy (stacking plates, compiling trash into one area, setting utensils together and more) as possible before getting up from the table.
- Our table was shorter than 10 steps away from the kitchen- mind you it was an old fashioned-like diner.
Thorough Back-Story Details....
The waitress (whose name has been shared above and confirmed on my receipt) conducted not all, but a majority of her job responsibilities and no actions beyond that. My table consisted of 3 adults and 2 children. Her co-waiter (who took our beverage order) brought us our drinks. The main waitress (Jackie) provided us our menus, brought us our meals, and provided coloring books (of which the coloring books' purpose were to remain at the restaurant, but to allow the desired page of our children's choice to be taken out and kept by our children... which was sweet).
As space on the table became a bit limited, Jackie addressed that aspect when she started to hand us our food, but did not remove any extra plates/trash. We did not say anything and ate without complaint. As a drink replacement was desired, we requested for one drink change (from sweet tea to Pepsi) ONLY for one family member. Jackie addressed that she would provide the swap and give another family member a drink refill. She ended up placing one beverage on the table, and upon waiting for the other drink... we had to re-inquire about the other beverage.
Towards the end, she asked if we wanted to-go cups and we said "yes". She gave us empty cups of which we had to pour the remainder of our beverages in opposed to receiving to-go cups with new beverages. We did not complain and ONLY asked if we could at least get a new beverage for one family member who had nothing left of her beverage. At the end, we purchased 2 slices of cake and awaited an updated check (to include the cake slices).
I inquired with her about speaking to the manager and she addressed that they did not have one. Again, the food was delicious and if I could tip the cooks I would have loved to do so. But, Jackie's role unfortunately placed a large damper on the overall experience. To whomever the manager may be, if you are reading this - please note that your waitress's reflect the company and overall customer experience. read more