Post by killercupcake on Mar 6, 2015 0:09:06 GMT -5
I don't know if the customer service was too bad, though. Maybe they should have clarified whether or not her date was coming before they seated her, but on a busy night like Valentine's Day, I don't think they were that out of line to ask her to move to another place so they could accommodate the other guests as well.
I read on another local news site that she claims it was racially motivated. If she really is claiming that, she's going to have a tough time proving it.
I don't know if the customer service was too bad, though. Maybe they should have clarified whether or not her date was coming before they seated her, but on a busy night like Valentine's Day, I don't think they were that out of line to ask her to move to another place so they could accommodate the other guests as well.
She had a reservation, though, it shouldn't matter that she was just one, as opposed to two. I guess I'm not sure about customer service, b/c she was never served. lol
Haven't you seen that Friends episode about this exact same thing? lol
Well, if I was her husband, I probably would never go out with her again. How embarrassing. She told everyone that he bailed on Valentine's dinner?? Ugh. Monster.
Although, I wonder if that was her true intention. Revenge, a dish best served cold.
the ridiculousness of the lawsuit overshadows her treatment. If this was a yelp review, I might be on her side. But she's shown her batshitcrazy, so I discount everything she says
Well, okay; but the restaurant pretty much corroborates her claim. I certainly don't think any of it is actionable; but I think the restaurant certainly could have handled it better.
And I hope they (the restaurant staff, mgr, owner) learn an etiquette lesson from this, instead of solely focussing on the hypothetical future win of this "frivolous" lawsuit. Eta: I do think that it's frivolous/ ridiculous/ I'm not surprised she's representing herself Re-reading I wasn't sure that was clear. I think she's gonna lose. But I also think there were ways for the staff to handle it better. That's what I was trying to say in my reply.
Also maybe I'm just irritated by this woman now, but it doesn't even sound like this was that big of a deal. Ordinarily she wouldn't have been seated. They presumably let her sit there through at least one glass of wine. At places here on valentines, you have to give your credit card at the time of reservation and if you flake they charge you. They make A LOT on valentines. She could have sat at the bar. And yeah, they could have done take out, but some places just don't. She could have avoided this had she told them it would just be her when she showed up.
The lawsuit is ridiculous. Could the restaurant have handled it better, sure, but they didn't really do anything that wrong by asking to move her. Annoying? Yes. It's just a failure to communicate. She could have let them know the rest of her party wasn't coming. They could have been more clear (if they weren't) that tables were reserved for couples on this night.
Post by whiskeyandwine on Mar 6, 2015 8:03:22 GMT -5
It is really common here to not be seated unless your whole party is present. Her whole party wasn't there, and she lied to the staff about why that was. She continued to lie while they offered her wine, and even while they seated her.
Had she been truthful, they could have offered an alternative arrangement like a spot at the bar. I don't have that much sympathy here. My guess is she lied because she knew there was a reservation policy about whole parties needing to be there.
Edit: ok,she didn't lie, they assumed. That said, I still think it is a fine policy to not sit/serve a reservation until the whole party arrives, which in this case didn't happen.
But the restaurant staff treated her really poorly. She had a reservation and they should have served her.
But they did offer to didn't they? Just at the bar.
I don't think they should have made her move. And the article doesn't say she lied. It just says the staff assumed he was coming. When asked, she said no. Since she was already seated - presumably at a two-top - they should have let it go.
But they did offer to didn't they? Just at the bar.
I don't think they should have made her move. And the article doesn't say she lied. It just says the staff assumed he was coming. When asked, she said no. Since she was already seated - presumably at a two-top - they should have let it go.
Yeah I don't necessarily agree but definitely see your point.
Am I weird that I always call and tell the restaurant if our number changes? Or at the very least tell the hostess if we have one less person? I always thought that was common courtesy.
Yeah I don't necessarily agree but definitely see your point.
Am I weird that I always call and tell the restaurant if our number changes? Or at the very least tell the hostess if we have one less person? I always thought that was common courtesy.
Isn't it more common if the number goes from say, 8 to 5 people? I wouldn't call and say one person was coming instead of two.
Yeah I guess, but always call because I'm over apologetic about everything Eta: except to people like this apparently. Haha.
It is really common here to not be seated unless your whole party is present. Her whole party wasn't there, and she lied to the staff about why that was. She continued to lie while they offered her wine, and even while they seated her.
Had she been truthful, they could have offered an alternative arrangement like a spot at the bar. I don't have that much sympathy here. My guess is she lied because she knew there was a reservation policy about whole parties needing to be there.
Edit: ok,she didn't lie, they assumed. That said, I still think it is a fine policy to not sit/serve a reservation until the whole party arrives, which in this case didn't happen.
So how does that work? If one person can't make it, no one gets to eat?
I don't think they should have made her move. And the article doesn't say she lied. It just says the staff assumed he was coming. When asked, she said no. Since she was already seated - presumably at a two-top - they should have let it go.
Yeah I don't necessarily agree but definitely see your point.
Am I weird that I always call and tell the restaurant if our number changes? Or at the very least tell the hostess if we have one less person? I always thought that was common courtesy.
Well, it was Valentine's Day. Her husband bailed on her, so likely she was pissed off and hurt and determined to have a good time anyway. And, frankly, good for her. I'm guessing she didn't think it was necessary to call to change from two people to one person. Same size table. No special set-up.
This woman was not going to linger. She was going to eat her meal and go home. They would have lost the cost of her husband's meal, but that's not an overall tremendous loss for the evening. I would have been livid if they sat me and then said, "you have to move to the bar." This was absolutely terrible customer service.
It is really common here to not be seated unless your whole party is present. Her whole party wasn't there, and she lied to the staff about why that was. She continued to lie while they offered her wine, and even while they seated her.
Had she been truthful, they could have offered an alternative arrangement like a spot at the bar. I don't have that much sympathy here. My guess is she lied because she knew there was a reservation policy about whole parties needing to be there.
Edit: ok,she didn't lie, they assumed. That said, I still think it is a fine policy to not sit/serve a reservation until the whole party arrives, which in this case didn't happen.
So how does that work? If one person can't make it, no one gets to eat?
IME, if it was a reservation for two and one didn't show up, they may honor your table for two, or ask you to sit at the bar.
If it's ever happened when we had a group, and one person didn't come, not a huge deal.
In this case, though, it was a special night, with a special menu. I think the other option the restaurant had was to allow her to keep her two-top table and charge her for two meals (since it was a price fix menu).
Post by EmilieMadison on Mar 6, 2015 9:35:15 GMT -5
She was treated poorly. Maybe. But, most restaurants dont offer take out on V-day (I know this because DH tried lol). I also kind of assume that they let her know that they couldn't seat her until the other person arrived, but she never mentioned he wasn't coming, and they gave her 2 glasses of wine while she "waited". They also offered her other options for seating.
Also, her husband just decided not to go at the last minute? Because he was "too full"? How sweet.
She didn't tell them he wasn't coming. They treated her as someone who was waiting for the rest of her party. The mistreatment is in her mind. Ridiculous.
Exactly. She had to wait so long because they assumed she was waiting for another person to arrive. With a special menu and a waiting list a mile long, I don't even have a problem with them asking her to sit at the bar. I agree with whomever said they wouldn't bat an eye if this was a yelp review. Yes, be upset. Give them a bad review. Fine. But $100K because they wouldn't give you takeout for a special menu on what might be the busiest restaurant night of the year? Nope. You crazy.
Post by lightbulbsun on Mar 6, 2015 11:36:08 GMT -5
It's weird that she didn't tell anyone her husband wasn't coming until she'd had 2 glasses of wine. Restaurants I've been to pretty much always confirm the number of guests when you first get there, even with a reservation. She sounds crazy.