Horrible Dining Experience!

We went out for dinner today to celebrate my friend's boyfriend's birthday and also Mike passing the first part of his interview.

We were going to go to Sushi Ya - it has received excellent reviews online and we both have friends that love it there. Unfortunately, their website did not say that they would be closed for the week while they were on vacation, so it was closed when we got there. We decided to go to the place next door instead, Gozen Sushi and Grill, even though we had heard some bad things about it.

When we went in they were annoyed that we didn't have a reservation even though the place was empty - literally, no one else in there and it was about 5:30 pm. They seated us at a booth, gave us menus and were very slow to even take our drink order. When we opened the menus, there were post it notes inside each one saying that they weren't licensed yet - this place has been open for at least a year now, if not two - why are they not licensed yet?! We were really looking forward to having saki, wine or beer with our meals. We grumbled a bit amongst ourselves about it and just ended up ordering water and pop - tip, don't drink pop while eating sushi, lol. Most places that we've been to give you unlimited green tea to drink - not this one... I don't remember how much it was, but it was expensive for a small pot.

I assumed that everything was made fresh, because... sushi in a sushi restaurant is usually made fresh. Mike and I were going to share one of the platters - it had spicy salmon rolls on it, which I know I do not like. I asked her if I could sub them out for California or avacado rolls because I like both of those and they were both cheaper on the menu than the spicy rolls so I didn't think it would be a problem. Apparently it was, she made a big deal about how they can't sub things out because some of the platter (the rolls) aren't made fresh. I ended up ordering another order of rolls just so that I could have something that I really liked - rolls are my favourite part, lol.

Our food got there and looked pretty good. The tempura that Mike and I ordered was alright, it wasn't nearly as warm as it should have been but still tasted good. The rolls on the other hand were a completely different story - when we picked them up with our chopsticks they would fall apart. We resorted to using our hands, which has always been fine in every other Japanese restaurant we've been to, but the waitresses all scoffed at us and were giving us dirty looks.

When it came to our sashimi, the slices were extremely thin and the quality was severely lacking - especially for the price. The sushi was the same story - small portions and not that great. They also don't put wasabi on their sushi, which is not common around here at all. The sushi was so small that I could easily fit the entire thing in my mouth, I normally have to take it in two big bites. Nothing on the platter tasted fresh at all and the fact that everything was falling apart only confirmed that.

When our bill came, it was split up into three different bills for some reason, even though we had asked for it all on one. No big deal, Mike and I just paid for ours and Kat and Nick added theirs together and paid. We specifically told the waitress THREE TIMES to keep the change (only around $5, which is a bad tip considering our bills combined were around $90 but our service and the quality was BAD). She came back a few minutes later as we were finishing up our drinks with change, and the wrong change at that - she gave us back $1.24. We just said screw it, she messed up her own tip, whatever, and left. Another woman that was working there that had been hovering over our table immediately went over to check how much we had left, she was interrupted by having to seat someone else so I took that time to scoot around our the door so I could look in the window - she immediately went over to the table to check out tip. I told everyone what she did, the consensus amongst us was "she wasn't even our waitress!". Next thing we know, she's coming out of the restaurant yelling at us for not leaving a big enough tip. I was stunned, Nick just told her we were poor and don't have any money.

Now, everyone except myself has worked in the restaurant industry and we all have friends that work in it and understand - but we ALL refuse to pay for bad service and bad food.

She seriously yelled at you for not leaving a big enough tip that wasn't even suppose to be hers? ROFL. That's the best thing I have heard in ages. I am sorry your dining experience was so terrible.

It is so frustrating and awkward being in restaurant that is run by/has morons working there.

At my last job, my boss took all the employees to this supposedly awesome Chinese restaurant for supper. It was clean, people were friendly but when I went to order, they had run out of everything that I wanted. They didn't even have any eggrolls. I ended up ordering fish and chips...the fish was cold when it got to me. Haven't been back there since.

Chef Ramsay would not be pleased!!

Yikes, that's insane.

When she came out yelling about the a bigger tip I would have been honest and told her the service and food sucked.

In this day of unemployment and hard economic times, you'd think they would want to be as good as possible.

However, about 98% of all new restaurants fail within 2 years. Usually it's due to a lack of reserve cash, but in the case of many of them, it's because they deserve to.

I'm not sure I would have left any tip. Poor wait staffs deserve to be starved out of the business.

At that point, I would have gone right back into the restaurant and asked to speak with the manager. You don't have to be yelled at bc you didn't leave a tip simply because the service and the food were lousy.

Several years ago, we were in NY visiting with friends. We went to an Applebees for a bit of lunch. Terrible service and even worse food. It took them over 15 minutes to even come to our table and the place wasn't crowded. When we finally did give our orders, it took well over an hour for our food to arrive; people who were seated after us were receiving their food and we're still sitting there.

When the food did come, it was cold and it was terrible. Our friends' orders were actually worse than ours. We talked to the server and she brought the manager to the table. Our friends received a big discount from their bill, but actually they shouldn't have had to pay for something they didn't receive. They couldn't eat it. We ended up asking for the bill and refused to stay there.

And then, they messed up our bill and we ended up paying about $15 less than what we were supposed to pay. We paid it (although I didn't want to), left no tip, and got out of there. The bill was basically to cover appetizers that we had purchased to share with our friends and we did eat that.....by that point we were so hungry. The whole thing was a disaster.

To this day, I have not been inside an Applebees.

After we've been on a cruise, it's always hard to re-adjust to normal restaurants. We feel like getting up and standing on the table and shouting, "What's the problem here? We came in here voluntarily, and we will willingly give you good money if you give us good food and good service! Don't you WANT money?"

We had a bad experience at an Applebee's, and our letter to the company led to a big shakeup at the restaurant. It's in a location that should be packed most of the time, and it's not. It got better, but it's still not good.

We went to an El Fenix (local Mexican chain) yesterday, and the waitress took our drink order (just Coke and Sprite) and disappeared. When she came back, she apologized for how long it took, but I joked that we were beginning to think we would have to send out the search parties. She got the message and was very prompt and careful after that.

I would have left when I opened the menu and saw post-it-notes.

I hate when servers come back and say you didn't leave a big enough tip. We had that happen once, but she had actually been left a good tip. We were out for dinner with my husbands work for Christmas. The food was horrible. We ordered spinach dip and it came out tasting funny. Then we found a huge piece of melted plastic in it. The waitress took it off the bill so at least that was good. My salmon came out burnt and I had to send it back. It took forever to get a new one. When we finally finished eating and got the bill, the manager paid with gift cards that their company had given them. He gave about a $40 tip and the server came back and said he had only given her a few dollars and she didn't think that was fair since it was a table of 10. He got mad and said no there is about $40 there, count it again. She counted again and came back and apologized.

I hate when people think they are entitled to a huge tip, especially when its crappy service. Rob used to go to lunch with a coworker and sometimes her mom. Her mom would put money on the table and tell the waitress it was her tip. Every time her glass was empty and getting a refill took forever, or something was wrong, she'd take some of the money and put it away.

Last night, our waitress screwed herself out of a tip because she decided that she would give us three $20s, a $5 and a $1 back for our change. Well, we were going to give $10, but she ended up with $6 because she certainly wasn't getting a $20 out of us.

I would have gone back in and spoken to the manager about how the other waitress came out to yell at you for leaving her coworker an insufficient tip - like it was any of her business

OMG If a server would have done that where I work they would have been fired!
That whole experience sound terrible! I think your server should have been more attentive and more professional. When you work in this industry long enough you develop the ability to "read" people. If your server had been more competent (or just cared a little more) she/he would have sensed that things weren't right at your table.
My approach at work is to treat everyone like they were a guest in my home. We will do just about anything to ensure that they come back. If there's something that can't be done then I try to explain why and always offer alternatives. If something goes terribly wrong then they don't pay for their meal and I refuse the tip.
Some of these people should be happy they've got J.O.B.S.

Originally Posted by catlover19

I hate when servers come back and say you didn't leave a big enough tip.

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I've never had that happen, but, if it did, I would tell them they've gotten more than they deserve. There is a way to really tell them what you think. Leave a 1 cent tip. That way they know you didn't just forget it.

I have called a wait person or two over and had this discussion with them:

Me: "Jenny (or whatever), what is your hourly wage here?"

Her: "Uh, it's $2.13."

Me: "OK, how much do you expect to make each hour from tips?"

Her: "About $10, hopefully more."

Me: "OK, then, you're expecting me to pay you 5 times more than your boss does, right? So who are you really working for?"

Her: "Well, I guess you."

Me: "Right. So when I tell you there's a problem, what should your answer be?"

Her: "Uh, I dunno..."

Me: "Your answer should be, 'I'm sorry sir, I'll take care of that right away and make sure it's right.' And if that's not your answer, you won't be surprised if I decide you're not worth what I expected to pay you, and I don't pay you anything, or not much, since apparently you think keeping your restaurant happy is a better idea."

I love all of your replies! I was so stunned that I didn't even know what to say... usually I have a big mouth, lol.

I think the woman that came out after us is the daughter of the owner or something. Apparently, most of the servers there are related to the owner - our actual server was white, so I doubt she was.

I posted a review to their website and emailed their owner. I also posted a review on Urban Spoon - that's where we get most of our restaurant recommendations from. We would have gone somewhere else - there are TONS of sushi places in London, but we had already paid to park ($5) and Nick can't walk very far... it was the closest one. The rest were like 4 blocks away. We also had to get to the play right after we ate.

Wow, I would have asked for my change back!

Originally Posted by mrblanche

I've never had that happen, but, if it did, I would tell them they've gotten more than they deserve. There is a way to really tell them what you think. Leave a 1 cent tip. That way they know you didn't just forget it.

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I have done that before. I figured it was a bigger message than just not leaving one at all.

I had lunch with a coworker, and the service was absolutely horrible, and the waitress had a really nasty attitude. So, I left her a nickel out of my change. My coworker said she couldn't "not tip" someone and look like a jerk, so she left a standard 15% tip. They're not gonna learn/realize that way.

I heard of one person who put a penny in a glass of water, then using a card, turned the glass upside down. They then slid the card out, so when the waitress removed the glass, water would run all over the table.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I would have left when I opened the menu and saw post-it-notes.

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^ Yes...that!!!

You probably won't have to worry about going back since with that type of service, I highly doubt they'll be in business for much longer.

I recently had a bad experience too. The highlight was when my food arrived after everyone else was done. I was not served any silverware. My DH wiped his off so I could eat.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

We went to an El Fenix (local Mexican chain) yesterday, and the waitress took our drink order (just Coke and Sprite) and disappeared. When she came back, she apologized for how long it took, but I joked that we were beginning to think we would have to send out the search parties. She got the message and was very prompt and careful after that.

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

Me: "Your answer should be, 'I'm sorry sir, I'll take care of that right away and make sure it's right.' And if that's not your answer, you won't be surprised if I decide you're not worth what I expected to pay you, and I don't pay you anything, or not much, since apparently you think keeping your restaurant happy is a better idea."

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It was a long time ago, but I waitressed/bartended for 18 years. You may be suprised why you had to wait.

One restaurant served mud pie - a frozen dessert. When I first started working there, when mud pie ws ordered, the waitress was required to go downstairs, through the kitchen, through the front porch, and into the walk-in freezer to cut a piece of very frozen pie with a steak knife. This was one of many tasks that waitresses had to do while on the floor. My work-around was to come in 1 1/2 hours early (off the clock) to prep.

Another restaurant required that waitresses deposit silverware into a bucket of water with sanitizer, and when it started running short, wash it in the hand sink. (I know - totally illegal) I took the time to wash each individual piece. Most servers did not. We all had customers waiting.

I hope this sheds a little light for you on what happens behind the scenes. Sure, there are slackers, but there are a lot of servers that are doing the best they can.

Honestly, if a customer asked me what I made an hour, I would have told him it is none of his business. I think respect goes both ways.

Originally Posted by Rockcat

Honestly, if a customer asked me what I made an hour, I would have told him it is none of his business. I think respect goes both ways.

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I wouldn't have asked her if there wasn't already a problem. And if she gave me that answer, I think you can guess at her tip.

I'll tell you what my boss tells us when we complain about things at our job. "You chose this job, knowing what it entailed. There are 60 more applications in the office for your job. You make your choices."

I, on the other hand, came into the restaurant with no foreknowledge and expecting only good food and good service.

It still remains true that the customer is paying (directly, in this case, instead of indirectly through your employer) for your service. It's your job to protect and serve the customer. If $2.13 is fine for your pay, then take it and keep your manager happy. If you want to make $25/hour, then make sure the customers want to come back. See how easy the math is?

I have gone in some truck stops where some of the waitresses were actually making more than the truck drivers they were waiting on, and some were making less than minimum wage when it was all said and done. Guess what the difference was between them!

Originally Posted by mrblanche

I wouldn't have asked her if there wasn't already a problem. And if she gave me that answer, I think you can guess at her tip.

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I still think your question was disrespectful. Even servers deserve respect. I would never ask someone how much they made, how old they were, or what they paid for mortgage/rent.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

I'll tell you what my boss tells us when we complain about things at our job. "You chose this job, knowing what it entailed. There are 60 more applications in the office for your job. You make your choices."

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Who was complaining about their job?

Originally Posted by mrblanche

I, on the other hand, came into the restaurant with no foreknowledge and expecting only good food and good service.

It still remains true that the customer is paying (directly, in this case, instead of indirectly through your employer) for your service. It's your job to protect and serve the customer. If $2.13 is fine for your pay, then take it and keep your manager happy. If you want to make $25/hour, then make sure the customers want to come back. See how easy the math is?

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I got it the first time. I read your posts often, so I don't think you meant it this way, but your dialogue with your server made you seem quite condesending, kinda like when you said "See how easy the math is?"

I also get that it is not your problem. All you wanted to do was go out and have a good time. I expect good service when I go out too. I admit I may be a little more empathetic to the server since I've done it. IMO, it is a more taxing job than estimating construction jobs, bookkeeping, and managing offices. It's been about 20 years since I waitressed and I still have nightmares every once in awhile that I forgot some lady's sour cream.