This morning Sarah asked if we wanted to go out and get breakfast. My daughter Sierra asked if we could go to the Landmark. Sarah said that was what she was thinking and so off we went.
Sierra, who has her learner's permit, drove us there and we made our way to the server stand. No one was in line but us, however, they had no open tables for us. They offered us to wait for a table inside, or to be seated outside on Main Street. We took our chances and asked to sit outside.
After pushing some tables together, we sat down, and the person who seated us asked what we'd like to drink. Sarah ordered coffee, I ordered a soda, and Sierra ordered OJ. The drinks came, along with jam and creamer, but no sugar for the coffee. We waited for our server.
The couple behind us ordered and got their beverages, but we still waited for sugar. Eventually, after they had been served, we got the sugar and our waiter took our order. And a light rain began to fall...
We sat for a while and eventually the rain started falling faster, and by this time the back of my shirt was wet. I decided that we had better move inside.
During that time, 6 tables of people left the restaurant. A 3 person table was open in front of us behind the glass, and I decided to stop waiting. We gathered our drinks, silverware, and the other things on the table, so that the busy wait staff wouldn't have to. We made our way to the table we saw, and our server came over and told us that the table we were at was taken, and that we'd have to sit at the bar. The lady wiping down the table looked at me and I said "Who's been waiting longer?" but we moved anyway.
The seats at the bar were less than optimal, as they were all in a row, which limited the conversation to me and Sarah or me and Sierra... Sierra and Sarah were too far apart for any meaningful 3 way discussion to take place. So we waited for our food largely in silence.
Eventually it came. We were not asked if we needed anything else. Sierra needed maple syrup. So I interrupted the man behind the bar, our server, who was busy typing things into the computer. Eventually he found some syrup and delivered it.
Things were going down hill. My wife's coffee was empty, and my soda was getting there. No refills were forthcoming. As I was eating, I noticed Sierra picking at her "Fantastic French Toast". Eventually she put her silverware down. Right before that, the waiter had asked if we needed anything, but I was distracted. By the time I had established with Sierra that her French Toast wasn't cooked, it was too late - he was off doing other things without a second look. Sierra didn't want to make a scene, so I respected that. I asked her if she wanted something else, but she said no.
Sarah and I finished our food, drinks empty, and it took some time to get our waiter's attention just to get a check. At this point, we just wanted to leave.
Sarah and I discussed the situation, what should we do? I was furious that our server was so cavalier about the whole situation. I told Sarah that I'd be leaving a small tip as the service was appalling. She agreed but noted that if we didn't tell them what had gone wrong, there wasn't any point to it. They would just write us off as cheapskates.
I agreed, and so I left a VERY small tip... less than a dollar, and I wrote why. Here is what I wrote:
- We were denied a table of exactly 3 after having been rained onWe left after that and headed into the hallway to the back parking lot. A woman followed us out and started yelling at us. She told us she was the OWNER (emphasis hers) and that we shouldn't punish HER server because we had chosen to sit in the rain. She said that we should have told her and given her a chance to fix it, and that it was wrong to punish the server for that.
- No refill of the coffee
- No refill of the soda
- The french toast wasn't cooked
This is why I left the tip I did instead of the normal 20%+ that I usually leave
She went on to say that this was the way to handle things, not to write a "nasty note" and leave. (I leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine if my note was 'nasty')
I told her that her server had denied us the table, at which point she interrupted me and said that SHE had denied us the table and it wasn't his fault. (What is interesting is that she left the task of informing us of HER decision to HER server, rather than stepping in herself)
I told her it wasn't just the table, that the service had been horrible, that we didn't get the refills like I had said in the note, and that food wasn't cooked. Again, she started yelling at me that SHE was the owner and that I should have told her that and she would have "fixed" it.
At this point I pointed out that she was "yelling at her customer." How I was supposed to know that she was the owner and the point of contact for issues eludes me. She continued to yell at me, at which point I threw up my hands and began to leave. Her parting comments to me were that the Brass Key restaurant is right up the street. I didn't dignify that with a response.
Here are a few thoughts on what I might have done differently and their outcome:
- I could have made a point about my daughter's meal not being cooked. This would have alienated her from me, as she didn't want a scene. I'm glad I didn't do it in retrospect. Given the owner's attitude, I shudder to think what my daughter might have eaten had I sent her meal back.
- I could have left a small but acceptable tip, perhaps 3 dollars, and said/written nothing. She would not know anything went wrong. We probably wouldn't be returning to the Landmark, and she'd have no idea why. Would she have preferred that outcome?
And in my own defense, I would add that if she the OWNER was so concerned about HER server being punished by a small tip, she is perfectly within her rights to pony up 5 or 6 dollars of the $30 bill I did pay to make HER server whole. Again, I leave it as an exercise to the reader to determine if you think she did.
Bottom line is that in the grand scheme of things, this is a piss hole in the snow. However, it's funny how something like this can get under your skin.
I dare say we won't be going back to the Landmark Cafe...
And I haven't been the Brass Key in years... hmmmm. More to come.
