My three friends and I went to the Lockview tonight (Saturday). I wish we would have went elsewhere. Given it was a Saturday night at 11:15 pm and the kitchen closes at midnight, we ventured out anyways. We want upstairs to the "seat yourself" patio since it will probably be one of the last nice nights we have in Ohio this season. We waited a while for a server to come over, but given they were busy, we didn't mind. We browsed the drink and food menus we obtained from the bar and proceeded to wait. The two men of our party proceeded to the bar separately to order drinks for themselves and their girlfriends. One ordered a water an a Corona, and my boyfriend ordered a Corona and a Mr. Right martini for me (what girl doesn't want a Mr. Right?!) the first ordered his drinks with no problem, but my martini was poured a little over an inch short from the top of the rim. Since the martini was $9, the bartender was questioned on the level of the drink. He was very rude in telling him that "that was what you ordered, and that's what I gave you," so he came back to the table with the drinks and didn't tip him. Not because he is cheap, but because you tip a bartender based on customer service, which the tall, bearded, dark-haired man with glasses did not give.
He proceeded back to the table with the drinks, and I looked at the glass puzzled as to why so much was missing. The bartender was once again told about the level of the drink, "See, I'm not the only one!" He proceeded to come over to our table and actually (not exaggerating) YELLED at us in front of the many patrons at the bar. "If you don't like it, you can get the f**k out," he said as loud as he could. I told my friends that it was alright, I would fix it. I walked downstairs and asked the polite hostess for the manager. He came over and I sat my unsipped drink in front of him and asked if it was a standard pour for this type of martini. He said "Yes, it is, but would you like a little more?" as tears welled up in my eyes from being so upset at our treatment. The manager mixed me some more "Mr. Right" and the hostess offered me a tissue. I walked back upstairs and showed the group it was alright.
Since the bartender was still talking about the experience to the patrons at the bar, our group said "See, now that's a martini!" The glass was still able to be carried without spilling, but it wasn't over an inch from the rim.
(It was a half of an inch at most.) He came from behind the bar and proceeded to yell at us once again, inviting us to get the "f**k out." We told him to get the manager, and he came up and told our group that he had talked to me already. He advised us to not talk to the bartender anymore, and come to him if we had any more problems. The stars given from this review are from the manager and our server at our table who are both very professional and kind as people in the service industry should be. We asked our server for our checks as soon as our food we had ordered was delivered, and she was overcompensated for her kindness in lieu of our experience. He apologized profusely for her coworker that was out of her control, we boxed our food we hadn't touched, and left.
There was no excuse for this behavior, downtown Akron or not. I will personally never be returning to the Lockview. Plenty of customer service oriented people would love to have a job at an establishment with such a good reputation. Hire them. I'm not sure if this individual was having a bad night in general (we've all been there,) or if he is just actually that rude to customers that question his "authority." I'm sorry Lockview, but one star each for the manager and hostess/server who treated us humanely. Please reconsider your weekend patio bartender, and best wishes in the restaurant industry. read more