Hey Forum,
I just got back from having dinner at one of our local eateries...a Chili's restaraunt and I got a question for you to ponder.

I got in without too much trouble, but once we were seated we waited and hour and a half for our meal to be brought to us after we had ordered.

Here's the question...how long should one wait to eat in a restaraunt before leaving? How long to be seated, how long to be waited on, and how long to wait for your food?

Your opinions? And BTW I had the wife, son, daughter-in-law, and grandbaby with me tonight.

 

I'd be hotter'n the dinner. There was a time I wouldn't say anything and just grumble afterwards- no more. Now I ask to speak with the manager and ask for an explanation... and a discount.

 

Holy crap that sucks. 30 minutes and I'm irrate, I don't know how you waited as long as you did.

How long I'll wait to get seated all depends on how hungry I am. If I head to Outback Steakhouse on a Friday night I expect it's gonna be busy. Sometimes it'll be an hour wait but I'll plan for that and do some shopping while I wait. Otherwise 15 minutes is about my max. This is, of course, provided it's busy and they're waiting for a table to open. If it's not that busy but they're just not being helpful I'll leave.

I always expect drinks to be served immediately. There's no reason to be waiting forever when all they need to do is pour it in a glass. As for the food, at a place like Chili's I usually wait about 15 minutes and if it's longer than that I send out a search party. My time is valuble to me and I'm not waiting around forever to be served. If that's the service I wanted I'd cook my own dinner. If you're not happy with the service (or the food for that matter) TALK TO SOMEONE! You don't have to be nasty about it and don't take it out on people who may not have anything to do with it. Polarbear is right on, talk to the manager. It's his job to make sure this stuff doesn't happen. Explain to him how long you've had to wait and why you're dissatisfied. 9 times out of 10 you'll get a nice discount, sometimes you'll walk away with a free meal.

With the prices of food at resturants these days it really irks me to see customer service going by the wayside. For me and my lady to go out to a "cheap" resturant like Red Robin it's $30. When we hit a steakhouse it's $70-$100. There's nothing on my plate worth that money so they better treat me like a king.

 

if I had to wait 1.5 hours, I would have simply walked out, and NEVER gone back.

Most places I've been to, service is FAR FAR quicker.

makin me wait for my food, isnt a wise move, cause I get real unpleasant if I havent been served in a reasonable amount of time.

 

I am not one to speak out I usually just leave and don't come back,but I remember going to a local place that we go to all the time and even got to know the owner pretty good after we were out late drinking the night before we were seated right away and all we really wanted was a cup of coffee well the waitress must have walked by us a half dozen times without stopping so I got up and left.The next time I went there the owner came right over and asked what had happened (funny they noticed us leaving) so we explained what had happened and told her that we just were having a ruff morning well she apologize and gave us breakfast on the house,so now if I have a problem when we go out I will say something to the manager or waitress remember most of the time the customer is always right and if they want your business they should do something to compromise.

 

Wow. That ain't right. Especially for just a Chilis chain restaurant. I would not have waited more that 45min, and that would be for a busy night. I know that when new restaurants first open it may take 1.5+hrs but we learned our lesson with that and just wait until the new restaurant novelty dies down and then visit the new restaurant weeks later.

If I were in your shoes I would visit this link and give Chilis some real customer feedback. http://www.chilis.com/contact/

 

Gotta share my Red Robin story...
On a business trip, I had already checked into the motel and was looing for a decent place to have some dinner and I came across a Red Robin. "Looks good," I thought to myself. So I walked in and was immediately seated and even traded some pleasantries with the hostess. She said my waitress would be along shortly and she was. Then She went to get my drink (strawberry lemonade, bottomless- or so I thought), but the bartender came over and offered to bring it to me right away. Cool! I had my drink in about 20 seconds, then I ordered an appetizer and some dinner as I sipped my lemonade. My drink was getting low, so I was looking for my waitress and she never came by. I set my drink dangerously close to the edge of the table to get some attention (I had considered 'dropping' it on the floor to get someone to come over). Meanwhile, my appetizer comes, with my dinner IMMEDIATELY behind it. Neither server offered to refill my glass. I ate a little- by now I'm sucking ice cubes to wash down my supper. Finally, I get up, stand beside my table and wait for someone to notice me(I'm a pretty big guy) and when I was sure they had seen me, I walked to the bathroom, convinced that someone would finally come over... disappointed again, I walked around the corner to the bartender, and told him it wasn't looking too good. He was shocked that nobody had been to my table, immediatley gave me more lemonade and as I was finishing my dinner, the manager came to my table apologizing profusely and I was comp'd my dinner. I doubt I'll ever go to another Red Robin, but I've noticed that several restaraunts of the same type (Ruby Tuesday, Appleby's, etc.) have let their customer sevice slip recently. And forget about customer service at a fast food joint!!

 

went with parents one time to a red lobster--got seated near instant--not a lot of people--took 20 min for waitress to show!!!!got drinks--in another 10 min--then our food in another 20--and the orders were mixed together!!!!--soooo-ate our food-ma was going to give her tip--said like hell--on way out--got a response card--and wrote on a letter--not the card--what i thought!!! sent it to hdqts--and 2 weeks later--got 5 tickets for free meal of your choice!! good thing--i was like polarbear--burning!!!--also--some people that came after us--got served before us--that really sets my fire!!!! and i dont care if the waitress had a bad day at home--or at the business--not my problem--she needed to learn to deal with it---

 

I avoid restaraunt waiting lines. If we see a line, we'll go somewhere else. Some friends of my wife and I actually enjoy going out to eat on a busy weekend, and think standing in line for 1+ hours is actually fun!

 

I dine out as little as possible because I will not stand in line for very long.

The last time I went out, only because a close friend was buying, we went to the Red Lobster Lobster Fest(again). After a 45 minute wait, we finally got seated. While walking to our table, I noticed about half of the tables were empty of customers, while probably 50 or more folks still standing in line waiting to be seated.

This happened on 3 or 4 previous visits, at more than one Red Lobster location. They have no wait staff! I don't know why their staffing problems, if they don't pay good, or people just don't want a server's job.

I can name other establishments in the same fix, but I just as soon stay home and prepare my own meal.

 

Thankfully, here in Tulsa/Owasso, that is not quite true. The Sonics, Burger Kings, and McDonalds that we frequent are exceptions to that rule. Any issues immediately get corrected on the spot by the manager. Especially the McDonalds establishments. I think corporate must give the store managers extra training/incentives because a couple of them that I frequent are just outstanding. Seriously. For example, the night before Thanksgiving I stopped by the Owasso McDonalds to get dinner for the family so we could head out to OKC for the holiday. Got home only to find the burgers were under cooked and bloody. Yuk. I called the restaurant to let them know so no one else would eat undercooked meat that might cause sickness.(First time we ever had a problem there in 7+ years.) They offered to replace all of our meals that night but we were out of time and had to head out of town. They got my info and kept my name on file. Days later I came in and told them my name was on a list for some items and they replaced both hamburger meals and my sons chicken nugget meal just because, and offered anything else off the menu. I declined any extras but was appreciative for their offer. That same McDonalds has an older senior married couple that works there during the week. When my wife goes in with our 3yr old son and 7 mos old baby she orders the food and the older couple helps my wife carry the diaper bag and stuff to the table. So my wife and sons only have to sit and wait and the nice older couple brings over the drinks and food. Now that is service above and beyond what could be expected of a fast food place. Also, the Sonic drive ins are just awesome. The waitresses bring the food to you fresh and hot and they periodically walk around to offer everyone napkins, condiments, etc.

 

We have an Italian restaurant chain up here called The Olive Garden (you may have one near you). Although their food is fairly good (IMO), they repeatedly engage in a form of bait and switch with regards to being seated for a table. They will tell you 20 min., when in actuality, it’s 45 to 60!! We have patronized three different locations of this restaurant chain up her.....all with the same modus operandi.

I have tried various mechanisms to remedy the situation (have them note on the sign-up sheet when I arrived and how long they told me the wait would be, etc.), all to no avail. I even got the Manager involved on one occasion.......same ‘ol lame excuses.

Bottom line..........we just don’t go there anymore.

 

My gripe is with a local pizza chain. About a year ago the "lost" our (my wife and me) order. We were refunded our money. I had a very short to the point chat with the "manager." He was a total slob.

I also sent a letter to the owner of this establishment, told him "you and your staff made it evident you don't want my business and I will gladly take it else where." I also posted my comments on the company website as well.

I always assume that for every time someone complains about your service there at least 20 others that share that same gripe. The rocket scientist owner never replied. And I have never been back. Every time they send junk mail I am tempted to call the owner and jerk on his chain.

 

You have a lot more patience than I do. I would have walked out after 30 minutes at the most...

 

If you're going with a group, have the drinkers show up early, sign in, and hang out at the bar.