The Case Of The Disappearing Server

January 21, 2008

in Server Stories

Dining experience that definitely was NOT kosher… or… server in need of a GPS! Well known chain kosher style deli in Tampa Bay area. Husband and I have eaten here often, and have found the service to be somewhat inconsistent, but never this bad. We started with an appetizer – which came out fine, but we still did not have eating utensils, and our server magically disappeared for the longest time. I had to get up, walk over to the hostess station, and then waited there for what felt like 5 minutes for someone to appear. Finally, utensils are brought to our table, but food is now room temp. Salad and soup arrives next. Salad dressing on side in cup has white scum on top. Of course where is our server? Who knows.

I sit there and give it exactly 10 minutes, when I have to get up AGAIN and go to the hostess station. This time the manager is there and I explain to him that our server just disappears and I show him the tainted salad dressing. Some time later the server shows up to ask what other type of salad dressing I want….again he disappears for some time, and I flag down another server who brings me my salad dressing. Next our meals come…..and Oh My God. My husband had ordered the brisket on top of potato pancakes, with NO gravy. Of course, the meal is swimming in gravy. I ordered the salmon cakes, but asked for potatoes instead of rice. And what did you think was on my plate? Rice, of course, and it was cold. And worse yet, the veg of the day was supposed to be green beans. Instead we get creamed spinach – to which our server says they ran out of green beans. Now, my husband is lactose intolerant and can not eat this…and I just plain do not want to. We were never told nor asked if we wanted to substitute the veggie. Or it should have been taken off the bill.

Well, again our server disappears before we can protest our dinner, and I had to get up once again, find another server and demand that the manager come to our table. Before the manager arrives, the server comes back and asks what is wrong (seems he could find his way back quick then). We told him to look at our plates and see if that is what we ordered. He said yes it was and we said no it wasn’t, and that we couldn’t eat creamed spinach. He just looks down, says sorry, and walks away never to be seen again.

Manager arrives, we explain very patiently, and to the manager’s credit he comps our meal, but we decide to leave anyway since we now are completely disgusted with the whole ordeal. We believe this is a good lesson in why you should stick to local eating joints, because the chain places do not train their staffs to get it right or care to get it right. We will heed our own advice from now on.

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

OG March 24, 2008 at 1:15 pm

Creamed spinach? Gross…also I don't see how that can be kosher or gemoelkte, doesn't it have dairy?

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kurt May 18, 2009 at 9:01 am

What the hell is this waiter doing?!?!?!?!

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Nanette June 20, 2009 at 9:09 am

Hey I wrote this original story and have a follow up. Been almost a year and half later, we decide to give this place another shot because we got a coupon in the newspaper for buy one dinner get one half off. And cutting back on our dining out – we decide what the heck lets give it a try. BAD DECISION! we get there, order dinners that come with soup/salad. Waitress brings out wrong dinner, before we even had soup/salad. Then another waiter comes over, brings out our correct dinners – but still we did not ever get our soup and salad first!!!! Our waitress was no where to be seen after we sent the food back, we sat there for about 20 minutes, got up, had to walk to take out counter to get a manager to come out. We explained what happened and what happened a year and half ago, and told him guaranteed, we will never EVER be back again!!!! Can you believe it, nothing changed!!!

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MW July 13, 2009 at 4:32 pm

Oh the restaurant was so shitty, I'll never go back!

Well, we gave it a second chance. It was STILL shitty!

You're an idiot.

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Ilovefyling February 12, 2016 at 4:44 am

Well it should've changed! The ONLY reason they went again is because the coupon!

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Nanette August 13, 2009 at 3:22 pm

No MW, you are a sad little child, you have no other goal in life but to come on here and insult the contributors. Please go back to sucking your thumb, it might satiate you better.

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Shall January 5, 2011 at 5:42 pm

Nanette,

I'm sorry to hear that you had a bad exsperience but I disagree with the large chain resturants and training issues. My girlfreind and I enjoy food at a perticular chain of Family/Breakfast place and always get phenominal service. It sounds like it's more that location then anything else. If I were you I would consider writing their head office about the problem so they can be made aware of the issue.

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Iloveflying February 12, 2016 at 4:45 am

I agree with this person

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