Dining is a Big Bust at Bob’s

March 25, 2013

in Odds & Ends Stories

I am not shy to say this is regarding the Bob’s B** B** restaurant in El Cajon, California. This place was an epic disappointment!!

To start the hostess/waitress was very short and placed us at a dirty table when the whole restaurant was empty. The “kids menu” was a laminated black and white copy that you could barely read, and the coloring page for the kids was just a sheet of white paper with one blue crayon, no other color options.

Then it took 10 minutes to even order our drinks. Luckily my children (2 and 8) are patient and polite. I tried to order the steak sandwich but was told they were out of steak, my dad ordered the meatloaf, and my mom the fish and chips. Five minutes after the order the waitress returns… they are out of meat loaf; does he want something else? So he re-orders. Five minutes after the re-order the waitress returns… sorry but we are out of fish and chips. Why she didn’t know that when she came back the first time I will never know!

So now that all of us have had to pick our second choice we wait… and wait… We ask them to just bring out the kid’s food because they are hungry. That doesn’t happen, but when we do get our food my dad is missing his sides, my son is missing his applesauce, and my mom’s meal is missing altogether. We wait some more. The waitress was not apologetic at all and made it seem like this was the norm for the place. Sad really.

We finally did get all of our food and it was mediocre at best. My son (who is an amazing eater) flat-out refused to eat the chicken strips, and I don’t blame him… they tasted a bit “off.”

Finally, I get up to use the restroom and immediately regret that decision!! The women’s bathroom was HORRIBLE! Paper towels all over the floor, horrible smell emanating from the entire place. I turned around and decided to hold it.

This was my first time ever eating at a Bob’s and I can say I will never return to this establishment!! I am appalled that they consider this service.

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

Jack March 26, 2013 at 3:37 pm

Hopefully you complained to the manager. When doing so you should also ask for HIS/HER supervisors name. Chains like Bob's Big Boy always have levels of management. Also I hope you didn't pay for the chicken strips, if they tasted "off" they were probably laying around with out refrigeration, and could have made your son very ill. Also in an almost empty restaurant just refuse to sit at a table where you are not comfortable. You have to remember you are the customer, you pay the bills, speak up and don't take poor service, dirty restrooms, and lack of sanitation.

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Jodi March 27, 2013 at 9:54 am

I have to say that when they told me they were out of our first choices, I probably would have gotten up and left then. To be out of that much food just shows that it isn't managed right.

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RedHead0186 March 11, 2014 at 12:41 pm

Agreed. I can see being out of one thing, it happens, but to be out of that many items on the menu is a red flag. :-/

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Liir April 1, 2013 at 11:19 am

One reason that she probably came out two different times is that managers let her know that the meatloaf was out and then when she came back told her that the fish and chips were out. I've had managers do that to me and I hated having to go back to the table twice and tell them…it's like taking a band-aid off slowly.

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Restaurant Slave May 14, 2013 at 11:21 am

OP sounds like a douche, why on earth would you bring a two year old to a restaurant? And why would you complain about things that are not the waitresses fault?

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Jenn May 17, 2013 at 4:19 pm

I am the OP and certainly not a “douche”. I am a married mother of two very polite and patient children, who likes to eat out with her family. Both of my sons have been in restaurants since birth and NEVER have I had any issues with them. They are quiet and polite the entire time. You obviously do not have children and with your attitude I hope you never do! This site is to complain about service received, not just crappy waitresses, so I related my entire experience.

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mary norton July 30, 2019 at 11:43 pm

Well, certain things WERE out of the server's control!!! Also, saying that someone doesn't have kids just cuz they're objecting to certain things doesn't even make any sense!!! No-one knows who and who doesn't have kids on this site unless they TELL 'em in their story or "post!!" Just get off your dang "high horse" abt other people[s] complaining abt certain things!!!

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Will May 24, 2013 at 3:51 pm

Slave, two year olds can walk and talk, wtf do you mean why’d she bring them? What are you some kind of moron?

Terrible dining OP. would never go there again.

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Chris Mccart June 21, 2013 at 5:48 pm

Slave, this restaurant she speaks of is a 'family' place, not a fine dining establishment. I also took my kids to family style restaurants (during the family hour) from birth on. They learned manners and how to conduct themselves in restaurants. I was the 'mean' Mom as I insisted they tow the line of being respectful for others.

As to fine dining restaurants, I firmly believe they should be for adults ONLY.

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Jonasgal January 29, 2018 at 7:42 pm

WHY should fine dining places be ADULTS ONLY if the kids are well behaved?!!?

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Amy May 17, 2017 at 8:42 pm

How are they "not the waitresses fault"? She forgot the sides to their meals. And she was complaining about the service as a whole, not just the waitress.

She is a douche because she expected her full meal (especially when they had to change 3 of the meals) and to receive an EDIBLE meal for her child?

I wouldn't have paid for anything, informed a manager, and contacted their district manager as well. This is BEYOND bad service and bordering on unsanitary.

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Jennifer Fogarty May 15, 2013 at 12:40 am

The first place I worked as a waitress was a pizza parlor that had a buffet for about 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon. I was fairly lenient with those that ordered something other than the buffet, taking things from it, within reason; such as to quiet a baby or toddler, please, go ahead and grab a breadstick or something for them to occupy themselves. I had a table of six, 3 adults, 3 kids. They order two pizzas. I go put their order in, grab refills. I reach the table to find that EVERYONE now has a full plate from the buffet. I explain that I will have to charge them for at least the adults for eating at the buffet. They erupt like Mount St. Helens and start threatening me physically. I am 5 foot even and 100 pounds and change. I retreat and get my manager. He walks over, the group is sent packing. Apparently they reiterated their threats against me and my boss took it personally as I and another waitress were known for being pleasant & reasonable when others would blow their tops. I loved my boss, I wish I could've taken him with me when we moved!

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RedHead0186 March 11, 2014 at 12:44 pm

Not that I'm saying they were right, but give them an inch and they'll take a mile. Sure, you told them to "grab a breadstick or something . . . within reason." Well, that means something different to everybody.

Granted, they should have known better, but people tend to have a big sense of entitlement so they probably figured you were giving them the "okay." Maybe you could have been a bit clearer from the start. Their reaction, however, was totally uncalled for, and it's good your manager backed you up in this situation.

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Karrot April 19, 2016 at 11:03 am

The server never said they told the group they could take a breadstick or something, just that within reason they accep it may happen.

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liz June 11, 2013 at 7:41 pm

Sounds like you have an awfull lot to say about a process you clearly no nothing about, as if the waitress was scheming to give you hell and not care. CLEARLY you have never had a real job.

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Jenn June 14, 2013 at 4:20 pm

ACTUALLY I was a waitress for 5 years when I was younger and understand the process quite well. There were many things that could have been easily corrected and not all of them were the waitresses fault. This is simply an all-around horrible experience at a poorly run restaurant.

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That Guy September 15, 2013 at 10:25 am

Jenn, forget the trolls. There’s debating, then there’s the vitriol that I’ve seen in a lot of comments since I started reading this site. Anywho, as a former waiter as well, there’s no excuse for that restaurant to be run so poorly. Oddly enough, it sounds like an evil twin of the restaurant I used to work at!(not the same one, the one I worked at was in Texas) Needless to say, after I got another job, I got out of there as soon as I could(I didn’t want to leave until I had something lined up).

I’ll give the waitress a pass on having to come back to say what they were out of because I’ve had cooks wait till we put in an order for something to say “Oh, we’re out of such and such.” And they KNEW they were out of whatever it was that was ordered! But I can’t give her a pass on seating at an obviously dirty table. And agreed that the restaurant is poorly run to be out of so much.

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mary norton July 30, 2019 at 11:37 pm

If the poster isn't afraid to say which restaurant it is, then why the asterisks??? What's the big deal there then with the asterisks???

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Jenn January 21, 2020 at 5:59 pm

OP here, the site did the asterisks on the post. The full name was there when I submitted. I assume so they don't get in trouble for defamation due to my review.

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