Quality Service

We had someone give us a gift certificate to the Olive Garden (thanks Debbie) and so Lisa and I went and decided to make an evening of it. We weren't expecting too much, I've been accused of being a pasta snob and have turned Lisa into one as well. The food was pretty much what we've expected, the pasta was overcooked and the sauce was kind of blah. The best part of the meal is the salad, but it is pretty hard to mess up a salad. While we were prepared to put up with the so-so pasta, we weren't ready for the sub-par service. After we had finished our meal, we sat for a good 25 minutes before someone came back to see if we were doing ok, and then when Lisa asked for another Dr. Pepper (you have to feed the addiction) the waitress came back 5 minutes later with the bill and no drink. As we were walking out of the restaurant, it made me think about some of the more stellar customer service experiences in the food industry that have transpired in my lifetime. I must confess that I don't have too many bad experiences in this department, but there are two that come to mind.

The first happened to me when I was in high school and dining in the fine establishment known as Wendy's in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I don't remember if we had already ordered or if we were waiting to order, but what I do remember, and what I think about every time I step foot inside of a Wendy's to this day, is that the manager and an employee got into a screaming match the spilled out into the dining area. There were four letter words flying all over the place. I'm guessing that Wendy's marketing division probably would prefer a different technique than the one employed on that occasion. I think my poor mother still might be scarred.

The other occasion was a one of a kind occurrence, I hope. We were living in Provo, Utah and went out to dinner with our great friends (who we still miss and can't believe that they are unwilling to move across the country to be around us, come on Kenyons, get with the program already!!!) the Kenyons, although from the statement in parenthesis, you should have already been able to guess that. Richard wanted to take us to a sushi place, and so we ended up going to the Happy Sumo. Before I get into the meat and potatoes of this story, I should throw it out there that I've since eaten at the Happy Sumo, and it was great food, but I guess the quality of the food was never the problem to begin with. As I sit here typing, I realize that this is a rather lengthy post, but I digress. We got in and seated and placed our orders. We ordered a variety of sushi to try as well as some other dishes. It was my first experience with sushi, and I really liked the tuna. So we sat and talked
and ate the other dishes as they came out, one at a time with about a 20 - 30 minute wait in between each dish. Lisa says that I'm not doing the story justice, we were eating mostly raw food, how much time does it take to prepare? The tempura veggies were great, but we were getting a little hungry waiting for the main courses to arrive. Finally after waiting for close to 90 minutes (I kid you not, there is no Packer factor involved in this memory) everyone's entree arrived except mine. So I tried to exercise some more patience, but it was getting worn a little thin. After waiting close to two and a half hours for my main dish, the waitress finally appeared and left us with the bill! I was flabbergasted. It was one of those situations that you just aren't prepared for, because you really can't imagine happening, and so you don't know how to react. I stammered something as to the whereabouts of my meal, the response that the waitress gave has become a classic line by now in the Packer home, and probably the Kenyon home as well. She said, and I quote, "Oh, were you still hungry, I didn't think that you wanted it anymore, and so I cancelled it." To which I said that I realize I'm a larger guy (I really didn't say that part, but the next part yes) but I hadn't really eaten anything yet except for a few sushi samples and appetizers off of everyone else's plates! Of course I was hungry, to which she stated, "Well I could have the kitchen fix it up for you real quick." We had already waited for almost three hours by this point, and were questioning their definition of quick and so I politely asked to speak to the manager. The waitress agreed and left to find the manager, but not before explaining to us, "Yeah, the manager will tell you how it is." Exactly how was the manager going to tell us how it was? She came up and explained that she was sorry for the delay, but they were short a chef that evening. To make up for the mishap, they would give us a discount on the dinner. We then explained to the manager that the reason I was still hungry is that I had never received my order because the waitress had canceled it. She paused for a second with a look of shock upon her face and then kindly explained that she really was so sorry and that the whole meal would be on the house, and to please not judge the restaurant by that one night. So in the long run, it was good because we got our meal for free, but I think we stopped at a drive thru on the way home so that I could get something to eat. Chris didn't leave the Happy Sumo, a happy sumo.