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thegreenerside
05-22-2008, 08:57 PM
I just spent the last 30 minutes reading comments in Restaurant Disscussions forum. There seemed to be a couple of common themes about the restaurants in TV.

1. Poor Service
2. Poor Quality of Food
3. The restaurant is closed
4. Long waits

I wanted to comment on what I feel is happening in The Villages with the restaurants and other businesses for that matter. We here in The Villages ask for a decent product at a decent price in a timely manner. Not too hard to ask for as I feel it is a fair request. What we are encountering is just the opposite in several cases if not many. The Villages is a retirement community (I won't even bring up "leisureville") built in the middle of nowhere and while we have migrated to this oasis in North Central Florida it has not been so easy for the service workers to migrate here. Affordable housing for these service workers has been slow at coming to The Villages outer fringes. Without the affordable housing it makes it difficult for these restaurants to hire decent help.

Any business is as good as its employees and with all of these restaurants in The Villages there are fewer employees to staff. I feel that the influx of so many restaurants has actually made the going out to eat experience a drag on the village lifestyle. Now, I am not saying all the dining spots are horrible (there are just as many nice places to eat as there are not so nice places). With all of these restaurants here in The Villages the people need to properly staff them are spread thin. The demographics of TV makes it look like a windfall for the restaurant chains and mom and pops, but the demographics overlooked is who is going to work there.

I remember when TooJay's opened they bussed their staff in from Orlando for several months and the same is holding true for Bonefish. Maybe that is why chains such as Friday's and the Darden Restaurants have been so slow at coming. These restaurants can not be profitable once they discover the poor quality and quantity of service workers outside TV.

Lets take Dairy Queen Grill and Chill for example. DQ has been a staple of our generation since we were children. In fact the DQ you went to as a child may very well still be standing (maybe updated or moved down the road), but it is still there in your hometown. DQ here in The Villages was open for 3 years (approx) on 441 before it closed and the one on CR466 open 3 years before it closed. Do you know why it closed? The service was horrible, they could not find quality people to work there and it did not take long before we lost that taste for the soft serve ice cream. I don't necessarily blame the management or the company, but the fact that we have very few people to work these positions.

I believe what the Morse family has failed to do in building this wonderful community is help in building a service community to support The Villages. The Morse family should be developing communities that are affordable and enticing for service industry personnel to move here from large metro areas. Right now there is no reasonable person going to leave Tampa, Orlando, NYC, etc to come to TV to work. The Morse family should make that a priority and at the same time be entitled to a profit for bring these folks to our community.

Until there is a reason for good people to move to The Village area we are going to see multiple restaurants and other businesses come and go and we are going to continue to be disappointed with our eating out experience.

With all that said it is time for dinner.

Taltarzac
05-22-2008, 09:07 PM
You are leaving out the people who have retired here to TV who may be looking for work to supplement their income. I see a lot of these people at the Villages two theaters; Publix, Albertsons, Winn-Dixie, and other grocery stores; Blockbusters; and various other businesses here in TV.

With the price of gas and how that more than likely will affect the prices of everything else that needs transporting, my guess is that, unfortunately, more and more retirees here in TV and elsewhere will need to supplement their income. >:(

Fourpar
05-22-2008, 09:41 PM
thegreenerside,

Good points all. And very timely with the continuing growth of TV. I live in a resort area (Destin) as well and we suffer some of the same issues, for the same reasons. A ray of hope, I think is the area near buffalo ridge shopping center where TV is starting what I think is supposed to be "affordable housing". Maybe the Developer is starting to address this issue....I hope.

Yea, it's time to head for Bonefish...in Destin!

Rokinronda
05-22-2008, 10:46 PM
OK, this is way too long, but you can leave now if you want. I am giving fair warning!. Many of my dining experiences here have been great. A few, not so. Consistancy lacks at times. Example: DQ gave my hubby a kiddy hot dog for a chili dog once. It should have been a foot long. BLT-5 strips one week, 2 the next.....FOOD CONSISTANCY IS CRUCIAL! Management are mostly professionals, whom have families and need housing and good schools for their children. Outside developers would be building if the need for housing is proven. TV does have a family section for professionals that could and probably should be expanded and advertised to the commercial developers. For 25 years restaurant service was my chosen profession. I loved it and had a huge following. Good restaurant help is very hard to find anywhere. It is a very tough job!! I witnessed hundreds come and go. It is a great job for a mom or dad that wants to be home during the day for children or to work a lunch shift when they are in school or at night when the dad is home. My children were my reason for choosing this profession. College students are another good example of possible employees. Restaurants should be flexible. I spent my last 15 yrs. at a fine dining, oceanfront, historical restaurant in RI. I was the lead server for my last several years. I trained everyone, served stars, politicians, athletes, and even a princess, gave exceptional tableside and wine service, and was very very well rewarded by my patrons. $400 tip from a party of 10 is one example. (owners were nice, but I never had health benefits, 401k, a raise or a good-bye PARTY!!!!) The owners lived in a multi million dollar home, have a home in Palm beach, several condos, etc........ My main reason for leaving was to come here, but if I had been treated as a valued employee, I might have hung in longer. (the restaurant has lost most of its repeat business since I left and are hurting badly, I wonder why??) The small restaurants here don't pay well. The tips add up slowly. Great 1st job for high school age. I went to human resources when we moved here and I applied to my favorite Country Club restaurant. They were hiring, but I was not hired. I am flexible, but didn't want 35-40 hours. The body is very tired. The CC and Villages owned restaurants want you available every Fri., Sat., and Sun. and EVERY holiday. That kind of demand is detrimental to its being able to hire staff. They should have some leeway on that rule. Work some of the weekend, and holidays rotated amongst staff works. I can tell you a thousand ways things within the restaurants could change for the better, but instead am saving it for my book. Look for it someday. "The Restaurant Diaries". What is lacking?? There should be extensive training in customer service and satisfaction, a detailed manual, mandatory testing, and a manager always available to the public. Management needs to be aware of what needs improving. There should be a short meeting before each shift, to discuss daily specials, and to maintain teamwork. Teamwork is vital. I could go on and on......... I truly enjoyed giving a great experience to every person I ever waited on. I miss it, but then again I don't...........I have found a less stressful job. I guarantee I am having a waitress nightmare tonight

DDoug
05-23-2008, 12:51 AM
I agree with all that is said. Talk with rest. owners and find out what their problems are,one place is good, talk to the owner and they train train train and interveiw till they find good people. Next place takes what they can get. I was in management in the Keys,talk about your affordable cost of living for employees,my answer was I paid them more.Wages and bennies are awfully low up here. I guess what I'm saying is you get what you pay.Pay a little more get and demand more. I only go to places that have good service because odds are the food will be good.

SallyL
05-26-2008, 09:28 PM
I too agree with what has been said, but I also feel like some people in TV are very impatient. I overheard a conversation out to dinner a few weeks ago that made me feel bad for the management. A couple were having dinner and after the waitress checked back with them they said everything was fine, but the husband told the wife that the pork was overdone...and they would never come back.
Now I know you want what you ordered perfect, but mistakes do happen. I felt bad for the manager who went to the table and asked if everything was alright and they replied "yes". She knew something was wrong but they never told her. Just wrote the place off. I can't help but to wonder if that is part of the reason we loose so many restaurants too.

Rokinronda
05-26-2008, 09:40 PM
A better question would have been, "how is everything?" and if they say "ok" then the manager who felt it wasn't ok could have said. "Please , how can I make things better? I feel something is wrong and I want to make it right". If the customer still does not divuldge, a nice complimentary dessert could be the fix. Just my thoughts.