If it wasn't for the exceptional server, I think we may have walked out before we even tried, and it got worse as we stayed longer.
If you want drama, if you're looking for a bitter old grandma or two, or if you just want to taste some good old-fashioned lower Alabama food that is hard to identify from a buffet line, this is your kind of place. I am a bit of an adventurer, so I tried the buffet. It wasn't all that great to look at, but I decided to try it anyway. I can't really say that anything that I got from it was bad, but is was late in the afternoon and they could have had more selection than they did on the table. My wife decided against taking the challenge, and she ordered a simple cheeseburger. I ate mine first, since it was ready.
Her burger came out a little later, not exceptionally later, but we got a little confused when one of the grandma cooks came out with a bacon cheeseburger, a cheeseburger, and a BLT. She came out of the kitchen yelling (and I mean YELLING like she needed a hearing aid) BACON CHEESEBURGER, CHEESEBURGER, then stopped when a kid at a nearby table said the Bacon Cheeseburger was hers. No one else claimed the cheeseburger right away, so I raised my hand for my wife, thinking it might be hers, sine she was seated looking at the wall. Grandma yelled again, this time CHEESEBURGER, BLT.
Our server saw my hand and noticed I was trying to get granny's attention, but then came over and let me know it wasn't for us. She sensed I was surprised at the high volume of the cook-turned-server. She was also very nice, regardless of the rest of the crew that seemed like they really did NOT want to be there. I didn't get her name, but she seemed like the only one there who had any emotional intelligence.
When it came time to pay for my meal, a buffet, two iced teas, and a cheeseburger with fries, I walked over to the place with the "Pay Right Here" sign (cute, but had I walked any farther I would have been standing in the kitchen), and one of the grandmas said: "Cheeseburger and fries, right?" I said yes, ma''am. She asked what we had to drink, and then asked if I had the buffet. For some reason, the bill came to exactly $32.00, which seemed a bit odd (and pretty high for what we had, but maybe she sensed a was an out-of-town person passing through who would not mind being overcharged). Not wanting to discuss anything further with either of the bitter grandmas, I handed over two twenties and smiled. When she handed me back $8.00 in change, all she said was: "the tip jar is right there (and pointed to it). Put your tip in there so you don't have to walk all the way back to the table." No THANK YOU...have a nice day...hope you enjoyed your meal...nothing!!!
***Some customer service, eh!?!?**
My wife told me on the drive away that I should have handed the server the tip. She heard one of the screaming grannies ask the busboy if he put all of the tips from the tables in the jar, almost as if she were accusing him of stealing them. Yeah, I REALLY should have walked the 20 feet back to the table, or even slipped the tip in the hand of that outstanding server, who seemed to know that the behavior of the other people there was not very inviting or pleasing.
We won't be back again! read more