There is no expectation of true 5-star-white-linen service at Texas Roadhouse - I get that. What I do expect is kindness, customer-oriented service (if not "legendary service" that they tout on their corporate website), and a decent meal.
Well, we never got to the meal part. Here's why:
Our group of 9 showed up. They had to split our reservation because of their "no more than six to a table" policy. I first thought it was due to state COVID restaurant limitations, but in Illinois the limit is 10 - so not sure why that policy - perhaps it is an internal thing.
Anyway, our 2 groups got called at approximately the same time. The first group of 5 got seated, but of the 4 in the second group, 2 were unavoidably delayed and were not sure how long it would take to get there. They told us they would not seat the second group . That's not an uncommon policy, I get that. It's not fair to others waiting with full parties, it delays the table turnover, etc.
A manager happened to be walking by, so I quietly asked her to consider a couple of alternative options since we were already 30 minutes past our promised seating time. We could;
A - be seated and we would order for the two missing as to-go orders and if they showed up great, if not, then we would take them their food - this would not delay the table turnover
or
B - there was a table for 2 right next to the larger table that was "closed" and perhaps we could seat the 2 there and tell the two that were delayed that they were on their own for dinner or we could order to-go at the end of our group's meal. This way, we're not taking a table from another waiting party and also not delaying the table turnover times.
The manager told us that the table was closed because of a shortage of wait staff. Great, I thought, this should not be a problem since we would prefer to use the wait staff already assigned to the table right next door with our group - and we would all be on one check anyway so no problem!
Nope. The manager said that was "against policy" and she could not help us. I was more than a bit surprised and reiterated my option B to the manager pointing out that it solved the "short of waitstaff" problem, did not take up a table from another waiting party, and our group could be seated right next to each other.
She repeated herself, "that's against our policy and I'm sorry I cannot help you".
I said, "Ma'am, I run a customer-facing business as well. My managers, like you, have the ability to bend policy if it means pleasing a guest without detriment to another guest."
She repeated herself, "I'm sorry, I cannot help you. That's our policy."
Now, I was frustrated. Without raising my voice, causing a scene, or otherwise showing any outward aggression, I said, "Ah, but see, you can help us. You could offer a solution. You are choosing not to do so."
Yeah - I said that (so many reviews do not contain honest reactions by the reviewer - so this is in the interest of full disclosure) and I stand by it. This was a moment of opportunity for this manager. She could have been the hero of the day. If she did not have the authority to honor my request, she could have offered to bring in a manager who could help solve the problem. She could have taken a moment, come out from behind her policies, and worked with us to figure out a solution rather than putting 2 of us back on a wait list for another 45-60 minutes.
Anyway, after she said that, my wife walked over and asked what was going on. I told her we could not be seated because of their policies.
The manager turned to me and said, "If you don't like our policies, you can leave."
Yep. I got kicked out of Texas Roadhouse ultimately because I asked a manager to use her authority to help make few guests happy without creating any potential bad experience for another guest.
So, I walked past her and into the restaurant, gathered the group that had already been seated, and we went to a neighboring restaurant down the road that was happy to seat us all together, had no problem putting together a to-go order for the 2 that were delayed (but ultimately showed up about 15 minutes later), and recognize that the guest experience is all that really matters.
I reached out to corporate - got a template response that I feel like will not be shared with the franchisee or the store management and a $15 gift card that I will not be using.
I think it's important that this manager (maybe all of the managers at this location) learn about moments of opportunity, 212 degree service, or something that empowers them to create a good customer experience even when "policy" might, at first, seem contrary. read more