Dining out during these difficult times of COVID/Supply Chain/Inflation concerns

[Koapaka]

We have found ourselves eating at home much more given the cost, crowds and weather.

Tonight we decided to enjoy dining on the patio of one of our favorite places and found that while the prices have only slightly increased, it seems to be at the expense of the quality of the food. A dish that I order often and have always loved there was something I would NEVER order again if that was my first experience enjoying it at that facility. It has to be awful as businesses struggle to meet the challenges of increased pricing AND trying to make their business to remain profitable.

My question is given the unprecedented times, would you as a villager prefer to pay the cost increase and keep the quality/serving expectation consistent with "what we have know and learned to expect" when you choose to dine out, or is it more important to you to keep the price closer to what we knew it to be and willing to accept cut the quality/serving???

Personally, to me it seems most venues are more focused on keep costs a consistent as possible. We are more inclined to expect the quality and consistency in making dining choices, knowing full well prices are fluid. I can not help but believe there are more than just us that would rather eat out less, but would appreciate the ability to come away from the evening not being disappointed, even if it cost a little more.

It appears to me that most of the dining venues we have visited seem to be leaning towards trying to cut corners in order to minimize inflation, when I personally would much prefer knowing I am going to be able to expect the quality I have learned to love and enjoy the meal paying a few dollars extra for it.

I would be most interested in other perspectives. Again, we enjoy dining out, but cooking at home more these days like most I suspect. (and even THAT cost more!) But at the same time, there are few reliant on food stamps here to make ends meet, and I think a little extra for quality vs cutting a few bucks raising cost might serve those that want to come away from a nice meal feeling satisfied with the experience. I guess what I am trying to convey is that given these strange days, inflation and shortages, are there still some that prefer known quality when deciding to celebrate and evening out. Thoughts? I truly believe there could be support for both options here. We have enough variance here in TV that you can buy wine from $7.00 per bottle to $80 per bottle...

[Bogie Shooter]

Yes.

[JMintzer]

They're damned of they do, damned of they don't.

People will complain of they raise their prices to ensure the quality remans the same, and they will complain if the quality suffers when they try to keep the prices the same...

I'm sensing a trend...

[Stu from NYC]

Would sure not want to own a restaurant now.

[davem4616]

I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it must be for those in the restaurant industry to stay afloat in this era of Covid, add to it the damn inflation, supply chain issues and shortage of employees that are willing to work and it's almost a perfect storm

yes it would be great if the quality, quantity and service level stayed exactly where it was....IMHO, as much as the owners try, I just don't think that's going to happen.

So, continue to go there, but order dishes that you know won't be affected by all of the above...and maybe go when they're not slammed and the waitstaff isn't in the weeds, because they're short handed and your food will sit getting cold waiting to be picked up

We need to support these businesses...every restaurant owner I've ever known has put their heart and soul into their business....if you want an inside view of what it's like to run a restaurant...read the book Sous Chef....it's one day in the life of a Sous Chef,

huge, huge eye opener on what goes on behind the scenes that we never see, and it's a decent read

[Babubhat]

4 dollar sodas are the last straw. Often cheaper to drink beer

[retiredguy123]

4 dollar sodas are the last straw. Often cheaper to drink beer
Except that soda drinkers get free refills. Beer drinkers don't. So, it's only cheaper if you drink one beer. Who drinks one beer?

[JSR22]

I eat lunch or dinner out 6 or 7 times per week. I would prefer a cost adjustment on the prices to keep up the food quality. I only go to restaurants that take a reservation.

[MDLNB]

I never did like to stand in line to be seated, so I rarely eat out during "snow bird" months. I am usually patient with servers, but don't accept bad service that shouldn't be bad. Years ago, I went to one popular restaurant here and after waiting a long time to be seated (only because we were with visitors did we not leave) we had to wait almost an hour before our order was taken. Then, an additional long time to be served. The food was average. It was a long time before I tried again. When we returned, two orders were under cooked and one order was overcooked/dry and crusty. I returned during the Covid period for carryout and found that the item I wanted was no longer on the menu. I won't be going back. I would rather have good service at a fast food place than poor service, poor meals at a nice, classy restaurant. I pay for the meal, not the atmosphere. For average service, I give the minim tip(20%) and for good service I give a decent tip, regardless of the quality of the meal. I do not penalize the servers for the poor quality meal.
Once, at my favorite spot I received a very poorly prepared menu item, which was unusual. As I was paying the employee asked me how my meal was and I told her that I was very surprised that my meal was so bad, and added that I frequent their establishment on a regular basis and it was very unusual. She said she was going to discount my bill and I replied that I did not expect to have it discounted, just give the person that prepared it a warning that the meal was unacceptable. She still insisted on giving me a discount, so I accepted it just to get out of the place as I was holding up others that wished to pay and exit.
Eating out has become costly, likely due to the cost of supplies and labor costs. I realize that. However, if you are going to be expected to pay double what you would have a little over a year ago, then compensate the customer with great service and great food preparation.

[tsmall22204]

Why are you so long winded about a subject that isn't that complicated?

[banjobob]

Having owned and operated restaurants for years , I find that quality of the food plus the consistency of the food ,that it is the same every time, plus service are the factors that people expect. The price according to The National Restaurant Association ranks way down the list as to why people go to a restaurant.

[Bethwill]

Why are you so long winded about a subject that isn't that complicated?

Why are you so rude? Nobody forced you to finish reading it.

[GRACEALLEMAN]

We have found ourselves eating at home much more given the cost, crowds and weather.

Tonight we decided to enjoy dining on the patio of one of our favorite places and found that while the prices have only slightly increased, it seems to be at the expense of the quality of the food. A dish that I order often and have always loved there was something I would NEVER order again if that was my first experience enjoying it at that facility. It has to be awful as businesses struggle to meet the challenges of increased pricing AND trying to make their business to remain profitable.

My question is given the unprecedented times, would you as a villager prefer to pay the cost increase and keep the quality/serving expectation consistent with "what we have know and learned to expect" when you choose to dine out, or is it more important to you to keep the price closer to what we knew it to be and willing to accept cut the quality/serving???

Personally, to me it seems most venues are more focused on keep costs a consistent as possible. We are more inclined to expect the quality and consistency in making dining choices, knowing full well prices are fluid. I can not help but believe there are more than just us that would rather eat out less, but would appreciate the ability to come away from the evening not being disappointed, even if it cost a little more.

It appears to me that most of the dining venues we have visited seem to be leaning towards trying to cut corners in order to minimize inflation, when I personally would much prefer knowing I am going to be able to expect the quality I have learned to love and enjoy the meal paying a few dollars extra for it.

I would be most interested in other perspectives. Again, we enjoy dining out, but cooking at home more these days like most I suspect. (and even THAT cost more!) But at the same time, there are few reliant on food stamps here to make ends meet, and I think a little extra for quality vs cutting a few bucks raising cost might serve those that want to come away from a nice meal feeling satisfied with the experience. I guess what I am trying to convey is that given these strange days, inflation and shortages, are there still some that prefer known quality when deciding to celebrate and evening out. Thoughts? I truly believe there could be support for both options here. We have enough variance here in TV that you can buy wine from $7.00 per bottle to $80 per bottle...
As far as the quality of the food you were talking about that you usually order. It all boils down to the cook that made it. It has nothing to do with anything else. If you have a bad cook or chef then it's gonna taste awful.

[gloriam1]

I would prefer quality over cost.

[toeser]

We have all but ceased eating out. It's not that we cannot afford to, we just choose not to. Much easier to maintain the waistline and have unclogged veins.

[Cliff Fr]

Why are you so long winded about a subject that isn't that complicated?

I was thinking the same thing

[Luggage]

I have to say coming from a major metro area and traveling the u.s. for many years, Central Florida has some of the cheapest prices for eating out at restaurants. As an example you can get barbecue ribs here 4. $13 to $18 but many other places there 25 to 30. So called fine dining in the other squares is at least $10 cheaper an even going into Orlando or Tampa

[Two Bills]

I have never paid too much for a good meal out, but I have paid far too much for some bad ones.

[midiwiz]

We have found ourselves eating at home much more given the cost, crowds and weather.

Tonight we decided to enjoy dining on the patio of one of our favorite places and found that while the prices have only slightly increased, it seems to be at the expense of the quality of the food. A dish that I order often and have always loved there was something I would NEVER order again if that was my first experience enjoying it at that facility. It has to be awful as businesses struggle to meet the challenges of increased pricing AND trying to make their business to remain profitable.

My question is given the unprecedented times, would you as a villager prefer to pay the cost increase and keep the quality/serving expectation consistent with "what we have know and learned to expect" when you choose to dine out, or is it more important to you to keep the price closer to what we knew it to be and willing to accept cut the quality/serving???

Personally, to me it seems most venues are more focused on keep costs a consistent as possible. We are more inclined to expect the quality and consistency in making dining choices, knowing full well prices are fluid. I can not help but believe there are more than just us that would rather eat out less, but would appreciate the ability to come away from the evening not being disappointed, even if it cost a little more.

It appears to me that most of the dining venues we have visited seem to be leaning towards trying to cut corners in order to minimize inflation, when I personally would much prefer knowing I am going to be able to expect the quality I have learned to love and enjoy the meal paying a few dollars extra for it.

I would be most interested in other perspectives. Again, we enjoy dining out, but cooking at home more these days like most I suspect. (and even THAT cost more!) But at the same time, there are few reliant on food stamps here to make ends meet, and I think a little extra for quality vs cutting a few bucks raising cost might serve those that want to come away from a nice meal feeling satisfied with the experience. I guess what I am trying to convey is that given these strange days, inflation and shortages, are there still some that prefer known quality when deciding to celebrate and evening out. Thoughts? I truly believe there could be support for both options here. We have enough variance here in TV that you can buy wine from $7.00 per bottle to $80 per bottle...

All that and you fail to mention Staff - kitchen staff that dream up dishes that make no sense, nor do they have the ability to cook properly. That is a huge factor in all this. I can switch a cut of meat on you and you will never notice that I did, some of these 'chefs' can't even make a simple dressing, sauce, or side correctly. This isn't just here, it's everywhere. With that said it will focus here quite a bit considering the demographics.

[Vermilion Villager]

Why are you so long winded about a subject that isn't that complicated?
Seems a little harsh
What??? your ADD/ADHD med not working today? :1rotfl:

[Professor]

Quality over price any day.

[meme5x]

So would I… lack of help is a problem…way to much money given out previously so people don’t have to work

[Cdwright56!]

I don’t mind paying extra for quality food when I dine out. I agree the prices here are much cheaper than the metro areas. My biggest concern is that once the supply labor issue is over that the prices go back to what it used to be. That is for restaurants, gas and supermarkets. The prices in supermarkets are high everywhere. The supermarkets are my biggest concern because we don’t have to dine out, but we have to go to the supermarkets. Publix prices are good if they have a bogo item you like , but some of the food prices there are too high and not even worth it. Winn Dixie is not clean enough for me. I don’t mind shopping at Aldi’s sometimes on 301. However, this is about restaurants so yes I will pay extra if I know the quality meets my expectations.

[CountryFox]

In my opinion the quality of food wasn't that great prior to the pandemic most country clubs and restaurants serve what we classify as "bar" food. As was before the pandemic and still is now, we cook at home. We won't pay for lower quality food. I think a true farm to table restaurant could do well in this area.

[Stu from NYC]

In my opinion the quality of food wasn't that great prior to the pandemic most country clubs and restaurants serve what we classify as "bar" food. As was before the pandemic and still is now, we cook at home. We won't pay for lower quality food. I think a true farm to table restaurant could do well in this area.

Interesting how we all have such different opinions about the restaurants around here.

Think the food is generally good but service not so good especially when items come to the table at room temps.

[frank1975]

......and healthier!!!!!

[frank1975]

WOW!!!!! Where have you been eating?????

[Boomer]

Warning: I am seeing a few posters here who think they are entitled to critique the length of others’ posts in this thread. So, for those who have the attention span of a gnat, please do not read any further because my posts are often column length with digressions and a story or two. I write them because I feel like writing something and for the handful who might read them.

And now, on with it. . .

Having owned and operated restaurants for years , I find that quality of the food plus the consistency of the food ,that it is the same every time, plus service are the factors that people expect. The price according to The National Restaurant Association ranks way down the list as to why people go to a restaurant.



Your post caught my attention.

I have not been a server since I was 19 and worked at a golf course clubhouse. I still have flashbacks.

To this day, I am curious about what goes on behind the scenes that makes a restaurant a success. . .

I don’t know anything about running a restaurant but that does not keep me from having a theory. . .

Supply chain, inflation, etc., are things that cannot really be controlled by management. . .

But there is one thing that is totally under management control — — how is the staff treated?

Is team-building a priority?

Is the staff encouraged to take pride in the place — as in, “Ya got time to lean, ya got time to clean.” (Are the restrooms checked for supplies, etc., more than once a day (yuck)? Are the fingerprints cleaned off the front door? How does the entrance look in general — any litterers been there? Is management keeping an eye on this and acknowledging those who keep up with the place as a whole, maybe with a simple, reinforcing thank you here and there. Not overdone, not effusive, but acknowledgment once in a while of a job well done — even though, yeah, it is supposed to be their job.

Is the manager willing to pitch in when things are falling behind? (I have seen managers hanging out like some kind of overlord, watching servers knock themselves out trying to keep up. . .I once told a self-important manager that I did not like his attitude toward his servers. . .teachable moment, could not resist. . .but that’s my personal curse — or gift???)

Several years ago, there was a book called Waiter Rant. The writer was in a higher end restaurant in a big city, as I recall. . .

When I read that book, I thought it would be interesting to go undercover as a server in TV and then write a book about it, specific to TV. But I am not doing that. . .or am I? ;)

Boomer

PS: That job I had at a golf course clubhouse when I was 19. . .we had to take our orders and then go into the little kitchen and cook our own burgers.

Well, the manager kept stealing my burgers while I was out front, making HER customers very happy.

Also, we had to share tips in a jar in back AND I suspected and finally figured out she was stealing from the tip jar. (I made sure I was right about the money.)

And soooooo, I waited until the place was packed and the dirty dishes were piled high. And I said, “You have been stealing my burgers and my tips. I quit!”

She shouted at me, “You’ll never work here again.”

(So I had to go be an English teacher.)

[Mrprez]

We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary at Bluefin on Friday night with two other couples. We had reservations and were seated within minutes of our arrival and before our actual time. The server was attentive and brought our drinks and water right away. We ordered our dinners and that was all brought our right away and was tasty and hot. We had no issues with the meal, drinks, or dessert. The price was fine as well. A generous tip was left for the server for doing such a fine job. We did not inform the restaurant of the special occasion.

There are other places that I won’t mention where we ate and will not return due to the poor quality of the food and or service.

[westernrider75]

Also to consider is there might have been a turnover in the kitchen which is causing quality to suffer as new staff is trained. Everyplace is hurting for employees.

[Stu from NYC]

To those who complain that others posts are too long let me remind them there is a way to scroll thru the post.

[Brynnie]

We have found ourselves eating at home much more given the cost, crowds and weather.

Tonight we decided to enjoy dining on the patio of one of our favorite places and found that while the prices have only slightly increased, it seems to be at the expense of the quality of the food. A dish that I order often and have always loved there was something I would NEVER order again if that was my first experience enjoying it at that facility. It has to be awful as businesses struggle to meet the challenges of increased pricing AND trying to make their business to remain profitable.

My question is given the unprecedented times, would you as a villager prefer to pay the cost increase and keep the quality/serving expectation consistent with "what we have know and learned to expect" when you choose to dine out, or is it more important to you to keep the price closer to what we knew it to be and willing to accept cut the quality/serving???

Personally, to me it seems most venues are more focused on keep costs a consistent as possible. We are more inclined to expect the quality and consistency in making dining choices, knowing full well prices are fluid. I can not help but believe there are more than just us that would rather eat out less, but would appreciate the ability to come away from the evening not being disappointed, even if it cost a little more.

It appears to me that most of the dining venues we have visited seem to be leaning towards trying to cut corners in order to minimize inflation, when I personally would much prefer knowing I am going to be able to expect the quality I have learned to love and enjoy the meal paying a few dollars extra for it.

I would be most interested in other perspectives. Again, we enjoy dining out, but cooking at home more these days like most I suspect. (and even THAT cost more!) But at the same time, there are few reliant on food stamps here to make ends meet, and I think a little extra for quality vs cutting a few bucks raising cost might serve those that want to come away from a nice meal feeling satisfied with the experience. I guess what I am trying to convey is that given these strange days, inflation and shortages, are there still some that prefer known quality when deciding to celebrate and evening out. Thoughts? I truly believe there could be support for both options here. We have enough variance here in TV that you can buy wine from $7.00 per bottle to $80 per bottle...

After reading the posts on this thread, I just have to relate an experience we had today. We went to lunch at Cane Garden and were shocked that the restaurant was virtually empty at 12:30. We're usually accustomed to waiting in line for a table and seeing the place and the patio full of diners. Today there were only three or four tables occupied inside the restaurant and two tables occupied on the patio. A sign at the hostess desk apologized that they were short staffed and asked patrons to be patient. We had no problem with waiting to be served. The waitress informed us that the chef didn't show up for work today, so none of the Chef's Specials would be available. She and one other server were waiting tables, and our waitress was doing double duty tending bar. In spite of this, she was very pleasant and handled her duties with grace and good humor. Kudos to her! The pizza I ordered was one I had ordered there many times before, but today's was by far the best I had ever had--fresh veggies, just the right amount of cheese, and crispy crust. On the way out we stopped by the kitchen to compliment whoever was making the pizzas on the great effort, and he was grateful. We also tipped the waitress 40%.These employees are working very hard to keep the restaurants running and please their patrons. I hope everyone will keep this in mind and reward them for showing up and doing multiple jobs at once with good humor. Bless them!

[Bdame]

Yup

[JMintzer]

We celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary at Bluefin on Friday night with two other couples. We had reservations and were seated within minutes of our arrival and before our actual time. The server was attentive and brought our drinks and water right away. We ordered our dinners and that was all brought our right away and was tasty and hot. We had no issues with the meal, drinks, or dessert. The price was fine as well. A generous tip was left for the server for doing such a fine job. We did not inform the restaurant of the special occasion.

There are other places that I won’t mention where we ate and will not return due to the poor quality of the food and or service.

Since first coming to TV, just over 2 years ago, we've dined at BlueFin at least a dozen times. We've yet to leave unsatisfied in any way. From the (lack of) wait times, to the attentive service, to the quality of the food.

If they can figure it out, so should everyone else...

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Argh. . look at the big picture readers, you / we are in rural mid central FL, with a rip roaring city 1 hour away. Restaurant business is very competitive, and most normal cities and towns have staff who lives in the area, or close by because its a heterogeneous society. TV is not that, most workers have the choice of Orlando or TV. . . where Orlando you have many choices for employment and very steady employment. . . restaurant work is not considered a highly skilled profession, and sometimes those types aren't the easiest to manage. So most likely if you can't make it in Orlando, there's this place about an hour north who will take anyone.

Yes, most restaurants do not have corporate skills teams, and they are not operated by companies with lots of training time and budgets, the margins are too thin. . . and yes, many who were good at their restaurant jobs often were biding their time waiting until they could find a higher paying job, which many did jump into out from their past job.

So its a characteristic of both the area in a bigger sense that the town squares, and the pandemic which has realigned the job market by age and mobility, and talent. Just chalk it up to the unfortunate downside of central FL rural living when pandemics and other job market disruptions hit the labor market.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Yesterday I ordered a sub at Taki's, in person. When I got there I realized doh - it's Saturday, dinner time, the place is full, and it's also belly dancer night. But the woman who took my order said it'd be around 15-20 minutes. I know a meatball sub normally takes only 8-10 minutes to prepare, heat, and bag, so okay - double the time, I'm fine with that.

I walked around the plaza, into the medical center campus (lovely wooded area). It was still a sunny late afternoon, still needed my sunglasses, not yet 6PM.

I got back, stood in line, thinking maybe just a few more minutes, they're busy, I can handle that.

An HOUR after I walked in and placed my order, I got my sub. Recall - the meatballs are pre-made. The sauce is pre-made. The cheese is pre-sliced. The sub-rolls take seconds to cut, if they're not already pre-cut. There was nothing for them to DO other than line one side of the cut bread with a couple slices of cheese, dump a few meatballs over it, add a spoonful of sauce, and stick it in the pizza oven for 4 minutes so everything heats up.

No excuse. I don't care how busy it is, or whether the chef was having a nervous breakdown or not. The belly dancer could've made it on her break. Hell, I could've made it for myself, if they'd suggested I do so.

There was no "cooking" involved here.

A lady who came in behind me, had ordered a pizza almost an hour prior, and was told a half hour wait. She left after an hour's wait, with no pizza, and no payment. That pizza did come out 5 minutes later, and I'm guessing it ended up either thrown away or becoming some lucky employee's free dinner.

I blame management for this. They should know that all times are doubled JUST for the fact that the bellydancer was performing that night. Make it a Sunday during dinner hours, and that should double again. Add a party of 10, and double it yet again, just to be sure.

The meatball sub was not even very hot, which means it'd been sitting there waiting for someone to bring it to me. The roll was burned on the edges so it was definitely IN the oven long enough.

When I went in, the sun was still shining brightly, it was just before 6pm. By the time I left it was 6:58, and dark.

[DAVES]

They're damned of they do, damned of they don't.

People will complain of they raise their prices to ensure the quality remans the same, and they will complain if the quality suffers when they try to keep the prices the same...

I'm sensing a trend...


People are people. There are people who must complain.

[Stu from NYC]

People are people. There are people who must complain.

But some complaints are valid

[golfing eagles]

Warning: I am seeing a few posters here who think they are entitled to critique the length of others’ posts in this thread. So, for those who have the attention span of a gnat, please do not read any further because my posts are often column length with digressions and a story or two. I write them because I feel like writing something and for the handful who might read them.

And now, on with it. . .





Your post caught my attention.

I have not been a server since I was 19 and worked at a golf course clubhouse. I still have flashbacks.

To this day, I am curious about what goes on behind the scenes that makes a restaurant a success. . .

I don’t know anything about running a restaurant but that does not keep me from having a theory. . .

Supply chain, inflation, etc., are things that cannot really be controlled by management. . .

But there is one thing that is totally under management control — — how is the staff treated?

Is team-building a priority?

Is the staff encouraged to take pride in the place — as in, “Ya got time to lean, ya got time to clean.” (Are the restrooms checked for supplies, etc., more than once a day (yuck)? Are the fingerprints cleaned off the front door? How does the entrance look in general — any litterers been there? Is management keeping an eye on this and acknowledging those who keep up with the place as a whole, maybe with a simple, reinforcing thank you here and there. Not overdone, not effusive, but acknowledgment once in a while of a job well done — even though, yeah, it is supposed to be their job.

Is the manager willing to pitch in when things are falling behind? (I have seen managers hanging out like some kind of overlord, watching servers knock themselves out trying to keep up. . .I once told a self-important manager that I did not like his attitude toward his servers. . .teachable moment, could not resist. . .but that’s my personal curse — or gift???)

Several years ago, there was a book called Waiter Rant. The writer was in a higher end restaurant in a big city, as I recall. . .

When I read that book, I thought it would be interesting to go undercover as a server in TV and then write a book about it, specific to TV. But I am not doing that. . .or am I? ;)

Boomer

PS: That job I had at a golf course clubhouse when I was 19. . .we had to take our orders and then go into the little kitchen and cook our own burgers.

Well, the manager kept stealing my burgers while I was out front, making HER customers very happy.

Also, we had to share tips in a jar in back AND I suspected and finally figured out she was stealing from the tip jar. (I made sure I was right about the money.)

And soooooo, I waited until the place was packed and the dirty dishes were piled high. And I said, “You have been stealing my burgers and my tips. I quit!”

She shouted at me, “You’ll never work here again.”

(So I had to go be an English teacher.)

Love it!!!!!!

Might want to include a table of contents with the next one:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl:

[golfing eagles]

Yesterday I ordered a sub at Taki's, in person. When I got there I realized doh - it's Saturday, dinner time, the place is full, and it's also belly dancer night. But the woman who took my order said it'd be around 15-20 minutes. I know a meatball sub normally takes only 8-10 minutes to prepare, heat, and bag, so okay - double the time, I'm fine with that.

I walked around the plaza, into the medical center campus (lovely wooded area). It was still a sunny late afternoon, still needed my sunglasses, not yet 6PM.

I got back, stood in line, thinking maybe just a few more minutes, they're busy, I can handle that.

An HOUR after I walked in and placed my order, I got my sub. Recall - the meatballs are pre-made. The sauce is pre-made. The cheese is pre-sliced. The sub-rolls take seconds to cut, if they're not already pre-cut. There was nothing for them to DO other than line one side of the cut bread with a couple slices of cheese, dump a few meatballs over it, add a spoonful of sauce, and stick it in the pizza oven for 4 minutes so everything heats up.

No excuse. I don't care how busy it is, or whether the chef was having a nervous breakdown or not. The belly dancer could've made it on her break. Hell, I could've made it for myself, if they'd suggested I do so.

There was no "cooking" involved here.

A lady who came in behind me, had ordered a pizza almost an hour prior, and was told a half hour wait. She left after an hour's wait, with no pizza, and no payment. That pizza did come out 5 minutes later, and I'm guessing it ended up either thrown away or becoming some lucky employee's free dinner.

I blame management for this. They should know that all times are doubled JUST for the fact that the bellydancer was performing that night. Make it a Sunday during dinner hours, and that should double again. Add a party of 10, and double it yet again, just to be sure.

The meatball sub was not even very hot, which means it'd been sitting there waiting for someone to bring it to me. The roll was burned on the edges so it was definitely IN the oven long enough.

When I went in, the sun was still shining brightly, it was just before 6pm. By the time I left it was 6:58, and dark.

Imagine how long it would have taken to get their gyros or souvlaki:1rotfl::1rotfl::1rotfl: