Carrabba's Horror Story

[adenicol]

My wife and son took me to Carrabba's at the Target Shopping center on HWY 27 in The Villages for Fathers day. It was the worse dinning experience I have ever had.

To start with, when we got there the line was out the door to get your name on the waiting list. We waited our turn. When we were next in line at the podium there was a party of about 5 people trying to get out the door so we stepped aside to let them through. The person before us finished giving his name and left and we stepped up to the hostess . I told her there were three of us. She said in a not so nice tone, "I believe these people were next" and she then turned away from us and helped two other people before taking our name.

Next, when our food came there was a huge (at least 4 inches long) piece of metal laying on my wife's plate, half embedded into her chicken. The server took the metal away and my wife had to ask him to take that back and bring her a new one. He took it and when he was in the back all he did was place it on another plate. When he bought it back out, there was still a hole in the chicken from where the metal was sticking out.

Meanwhile the manager came over and asked what happened, we told him and he said he was sorry and then left.

When the check finally came the waiter asked if the manager was going to comp it and we said he didn't say anything. The waiter said he would check and came back a few minutes later and said that the manager said we were fine with it (I don't know how many people are fine with a piece of metal sticking out of their food) and that he wasn't going to do anything.

The check came to 44.94 and we gave the waiter a $50. He said he would be back with change and when he came back he gave us a $5.00 bill. I usually don't complain about two or three cents but in light of what happened, it's adds to the problem that he kept $0.06 of the check.

Needless to say, we won't be going back to Carrabba's.

[billmar]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Never ate at Carrabbas in the Villages. But we have one in Virginia tried to eat there a few times over the past several years, as a lot of folks say how great it is. We gave it about three tries, never had much luck with service or friendliness of staff, and the food was nothing to brag about. So, that's a chain we crossed off our list.

[Brewster]

I have had great success at carabbas both in the villages as well as other states. You can always count on great food and a good meal. The line out the door is normal on any holiday or weekend for that matter.

Im sorry to hear about your bad experience there, but I wouldnt write them off over your experience.

[hoseman]

15% of $45 is $6.75, right? Wait staff need money to live on also.

[bluedog103]

Wow, I don't blame you. I wouldn't go back either.
What I suggest is a letter to Carrabba's detailing the horrors of your dining experience. These are all company owned restaurants and I think the corporate officials should know how you were treated. There's no excuse for what happened to you. Busy or not, you deserve better than that.

[chuckster]

15% of $45 is $6.75, right? Wait staff need money to live on also.

Wait staff are tipped for service and being friendly. I start at 20% and go up or down. In this case he lost out on both and in my book should only have been given the .06 he decided to keep from the total change due. Tips are not automatic as some servers believe. Been on both sides.

Meal should have been comped and waiter should have been more proactive for the customer. jmho:beer3:

[meriboo]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience at Carrabba's. Although we have never eaten at the one in TV....it is one of our favorite places to eat. We did have one bad experience and my hubby called when we got home to complain. Gift Certificates for the cost of the meal were in the mail the next day. You might try and call....all they can say is no.

Now, regarding the point that you didn't get all the change back, I completely agree with you....That has been done to me at a number of rest. We have always tipped good (hubby was a bartender), so we know how hard servers work. When I don't get all my change back, I write a note....letting the wait staff now that some of my money was not returned, so I will need to deduct that amount from his/her tip. I figure. that little amount of money not returned is just as important to me as it is to the eating establishments. Just think of how much, they 'get' in one day/week/month by keeping that change.

[Bogie Shooter]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience at Carrabba's. Although we have never eaten at the one in TV....it is one of our favorite places to eat. We did have one bad experience and my hubby called when we got home to complain. Gift Certificates for the cost of the meal were in the mail the next day. You might try and call....all they can say is no.

Now, regarding the point that you didn't get all the change back, I completely agree with you....That has been done to me at a number of rest. We have always tipped good (hubby was a bartender), so we know how hard servers work. When I don't get all my change back, I write a note....letting the wait staff now that some of my money was not returned, so I will need to deduct that amount from his/her tip. I figure. that little amount of money not returned is just as important to me as it is to the eating establishments. Just think of how much, they 'get' in one day/week/month by keeping that change.

Just to be sure......it was $.06, right?

[golf2140]

We all have bad days. I always give a restaurant a second or third chance. If I didn't I would be dining at home and she cannot cook. When we do dine at home I grill normally. :pepper2:

[ilovetv]

Just to be sure......it was $.06, right?

Yup....it was 6 cents, and condemning a server, over 6 cents he probably forgot to go and get from another server because he didn't have pennies or nickels in his apron, would explain why excellent servers do not stay here in TV......

...That, and people like 3 TV residents in a conversation where they were told that servers do not get full minimum wage (it is $4.23 per hour for tipped employees), and they said,

"Yeah, but we've heard that if it is a CHAIN restaurant, you don't have to tip, so we don't."

OMG.....this is one of the most ignorant things I've ever heard...

Ignorant, or pretending to be ignorant of it, as an excuse for being niggardly.

( http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/niggardly )

[IAMDMRAE]

15% of $45 is $6.75, right? Wait staff need money to live on also.

they did not state that the tip was $5.00. They only said the change was $5.oo when it should have been $5.06. I presumed that he left a separate amount on the table for the tip.some of you former waiters are a litle bit maybe in your case a lot paranoid.anyway carabbas is definitely not my favorite italian place. It is overpriced over glorified italian food. You can do a lot better at a small local place like giovannis etc. Having daid that i do think the olive garden on 466 is a very good one.management and staff has always been very accomodating with me. The food is pretty consistent. The desert menu id the best in toen.{not the cheapest deserts but the best tasting and selection. You can also have the lunch size portion at the lunch price any time you go there. Try the chicken parm it is so light.

[Midge538]

Bogie Shooter: Just to be sure......it was $.06, right?

That's what he said, and any Village employee should understand the real point being made ..... without the sarcasm.

[Bogie Shooter]

Bogie Shooter: Just to be sure......it was $.06, right?

That's what he said, and any Village employee should understand the real point being made ..... without the sarcasm.

I'm not a Village employee............ with sarcasm.

[adenicol]

Yes, it was six cents. And we did leave him a tip as well on top of that. I realize it was probably just an oversight on his part and I don't blame him for all the other stuff that happened but it just added insult to injury after everything else.

We did send a letter to corporate through the feedback link on the receipt they gave us as well as through their website (being the feedback link didn't ask for any personal contact information). We haven't heard back from them yet but it has only been one day.

[adenicol]

Oh, and we are not Village Residents yet (have a few more years before we are old enough) but my wife works for The Villages, my son goes to the Charter School, and I have clients for my business who are Village Residents.

The point here is that all three of us spend a lot of time in The Villages and we subscribe to The Villages philosophy. In my business I know that the residents come to expect a certain level of service and personal care. I see that all over the Villages, and to go into a restaurant that caters to Village Residents and see the lack of respect is something that bothers me.

If this happened to us in Tampa or Orlando, I may not have even though twice about it. But when we go into place after place at The Villages and receive a consistent level of service, and then this, it just blows my mind away. I understand it was Fathers Day weekend, and the line out the door didn't bother me, that isn't something they can control. But being courteous and showing some concern towards your customers is something that is within their control.

[Russ_Boston]

I appreciate the info re: Carrabba's but if I complied a list of all restaurants that have been complained about here on TOTV over the past 4 years there would be no place to eat in TV! And that's not much of an exaggeration. I've been to Carrabba's many times with no issues so I'll continue to go.

Could you explain what you mean by a 4 inch piece of metal? Was it some sort of cooking utensil?

[adenicol]

We are not sure what it was...it looked more like the piece of metal if you take a pair of reading glasses and broke off one of the side and then straighten it out. It was literally just a straight pole of about 4 inches by 1 cm, but looked like it had been broken of of something. It didn't look like a temperature probe but may have come from some other cooking utensil.

[ladylake1]

Perhaps you could have been a little more assertive with the manager. We eat at Carabba's often and have never had an unpleasant experience. Cannot say the same for other restaurants in the area that others may rave about. Wonder how long Russ's list is?????

[nitehawk]

My wife and son took me to Carrabba's at the Target Shopping center on HWY 27 in The Villages for Fathers day. It was the worse dinning experience I have ever had.

To start with, when we got there the line was out the door to get your name on the waiting list. We waited our turn. When we were next in line at the podium there was a party of about 5 people trying to get out the door so we stepped aside to let them through. The person before us finished giving his name and left and we stepped up to the hostess . I told her there were three of us. She said in a not so nice tone, "I believe these people were next" and she then turned away from us and helped two other people before taking our name.

Next, when our food came there was a huge (at least 4 inches long) piece of metal laying on my wife's plate, half embedded into her chicken. The server took the metal away and my wife had to ask him to take that back and bring her a new one. He took it and when he was in the back all he did was place it on another plate. When he bought it back out, there was still a hole in the chicken from where the metal was sticking out.

Meanwhile the manager came over and asked what happened, we told him and he said he was sorry and then left.

When the check finally came the waiter asked if the manager was going to comp it and we said he didn't say anything. The waiter said he would check and came back a few minutes later and said that the manager said we were fine with it (I don't know how many people are fine with a piece of metal sticking out of their food) and that he wasn't going to do anything.

The check came to 44.94 and we gave the waiter a $50. He said he would be back with change and when he came back he gave us a $5.00 bill. I usually don't complain about two or three cents but in light of what happened, it's adds to the problem that he kept $0.06 of the check.

Needless to say, we won't be going back to Carrabba's.

Look at the good side --- three less people in line next time I go there

[Russ_Boston]

Wonder how long Russ's list is?????

Don't keep a list because I need to make up my own mind.

The reaon I asked about the metal was because if it was a cooking utensil (like an skewer type thing to turn and cook the chicken) then it stands to reason that the subsequent piece of chicken would also have the same hole in it.

[getdul981]

Moral - Don't eat chicken.

[diskman]

Yes, it was six cents. And we did leave him a tip as well on top of that. I realize it was probably just an oversight on his part and I don't blame him for all the other stuff that happened but it just added insult to injury after everything else.

We did send a letter to corporate through the feedback link on the receipt they gave us as well as through their website (being the feedback link didn't ask for any personal contact information). We haven't heard back from them yet but it has only been one day.

I disagree, I don't believe it was an oversight. This happens way too often. The server just decides that the customer will not care and from the description of what took place , he was wrong. I will bet that if everything had been a great experience, the .06 would never have been discussed.
Rigtht?:spoken:

[adenicol]

Your right, if everything else went ok, I wouldn't have even cared about the six cents.

[rubicon]

Look at the good side --- three less people in line next time I go there

Really! Really!

[StarbuckSammy]

I am sorry, I read this 'horror" story and did not think it was much of a "horror" story.
I would assume that the chicken is cooked on a skewer and thus the "hole"...and the 6 cents....hmmmmm.
Sorry, I'll still eat there.

[BowleesCreekYachtClub]

The moral of the story is "Never stand in line for food" - the restaurant will be full, the the kitchen at capacity and the wait staff pushed to their limit - a recipe for a poor dining experience.

[Shimpy]

Guess we've been lucky, but have never had a bad experience in 4 Carrabbas in S. Fla. and the one in TV. Sometimes when restaurants are overwhelmed with customers they lose their usual domineer and don't give the usual pampering customers seek in that type of restaurant.

[gatherer47]

I ageee 100% with Russ Boston that every restaurant in the Villages will have complaints made about it over time.Like Russ,I go myself and judge for myself.

[BowleesCreekYachtClub]

The moral of the story is "Never stand in line for food" - the restaurant will be full, the the kitchen at capacity and the wait staff pushed to their limit - a recipe for a poor dining experience.

Having said that - we've never had a problem dining in any of the restaurants in The Villages - not that we've been to them all - yet!

[Brewster]

I am sorry, I read this 'horror" story and did not think it was much of a "horror" story.
I would assume that the chicken is cooked on a skewer and thus the "hole"...and the 6 cents....hmmmmm.
Sorry, I'll still eat there.



I agree, no horror here, a busy resturant on fathers day, they left a cooking utensil in the food and 6 cents is gone, retirement is over, gotta go back to work.

[barb1191]

We frequently order take-out from Carrabbas and have never had any problems with their dilicious food.

A big plus in ordering take-out is, no waiting for seating, and the take-out order is brought to your car for pickup. How's that for service?????

Order a snack and/or dinner and pick it up while wearing your PJ's. :icon_hungry:

[Bill-n-Brillo]

.......Order a snack and/or dinner and pick it up while wearing your PJ's.

Hey Barb...........thanks for the visual!! :thumbup:

Bill :)

[barb1191]

Hey Barb...........thanks for the visual!! :thumbup:

Bill :)

Hey Bill......You're very welcome. Knock yourself out with your version of the visual. Reality is no Playboy bunny; more like the caricature Maxine. :1rotfl:

[GatorFan]

I am sorry that your Father's Day dinner was a bad experience. I know I have had some bad experiences at different restaurants not only in The Villages but elsewhere. It happens, but I think Managers must step up and turn a Negative into a Positive.

[Freeda]

Hey Bill......You're very welcome. Knock yourself out with your version of the visual. Reality is no Playboy bunny; more like the caricature Maxine. :1rotfl:

That is so cool. I know that Maxine is quite the diva when it comes to her PJ's.

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Hey Bill......You're very welcome. Knock yourself out with your version of the visual. Reality is no Playboy bunny; more like the caricature Maxine. :1rotfl:

Thanks for snapping me back to reality, Barb!! Ha-ha! :thumbup:

Bill :)

[Tbugs]

Oh come on now - this just had to be the posting of someone who was trying to stir up the pot.

No one at all would send back a chicken breast if a skewer was left in on the serving plate - and the waiter immediately took it. The chicken had a hole in it from where it had been skewered? What are they supposed to do - fill it up with spackle?

You had to wait an extra few minutes because you stepped aside in line? So what? Oh, yeah, if you had not been forced into the extra wait, the skewered chicken would have been served to someone else!

The waiter kept 6 cents. How long do YOU work to earn 6 cents? Even at minimum wage, that is about 30 seconds. Oh, that is going to break you.

This totally ridiculous post has to be bogus and just trying to stir the pot. No person is as petty as what the poster tried to be. Good joke on his part.

[diskman]

Oh come on now - this just had to be the posting of someone who was trying to stir up the pot.

No one at all would send back a chicken breast if a skewer was left in on the serving plate - and the waiter immediately took it. The chicken had a hole in it from where it had been skewered? What are they supposed to do - fill it up with spackle?

You had to wait an extra few minutes because you stepped aside in line? So what? Oh, yeah, if you had not been forced into the extra wait, the skewered chicken would have been served to someone else!

The waiter kept 6 cents. How long do YOU work to earn 6 cents? Even at minimum wage, that is about 30 seconds. Oh, that is going to break you.

This totally ridiculous post has to be bogus and just trying to stir the pot. No person is as petty as what the poster tried to be. Good joke on his part.

Tbugs, I agree when this happens to us I just mumble to myself s.o.b and leave because, it is not worth the time or blood pressure to even write about .06 cents how petty can one be? :agree: :cus: :shrug:

[natickdan]

IMO, even an excellent restaurant is NOT at their best on special days like Mothers/Fathers Day or Valentine's day. For that reason, I avoid restaurants on those special days because I know they are going to be packed.

[Bogie Shooter]

Oh come on now - this just had to be the posting of someone who was trying to stir up the pot.

No one at all would send back a chicken breast if a skewer was left in on the serving plate - and the waiter immediately took it. The chicken had a hole in it from where it had been skewered? What are they supposed to do - fill it up with spackle?

You had to wait an extra few minutes because you stepped aside in line? So what? Oh, yeah, if you had not been forced into the extra wait, the skewered chicken would have been served to someone else!

The waiter kept 6 cents. How long do YOU work to earn 6 cents? Even at minimum wage, that is about 30 seconds. Oh, that is going to break you.

This totally ridiculous post has to be bogus and just trying to stir the pot. No person is as petty as what the poster tried to be. Good joke on his part.
Careful what you say about the $.06 or you will get this from Midge;;;
Bogie Shooter: Just to be sure......it was $.06, right?

That's what he said, and any Village employee should understand the real point being made ..... without the sarcasm.

[Bonny]

Oh come on now - this just had to be the posting of someone who was trying to stir up the pot.

No one at all would send back a chicken breast if a skewer was left in on the serving plate - and the waiter immediately took it. The chicken had a hole in it from where it had been skewered? What are they supposed to do - fill it up with spackle?

You had to wait an extra few minutes because you stepped aside in line? So what? Oh, yeah, if you had not been forced into the extra wait, the skewered chicken would have been served to someone else!

The waiter kept 6 cents. How long do YOU work to earn 6 cents? Even at minimum wage, that is about 30 seconds. Oh, that is going to break you.

This totally ridiculous post has to be bogus and just trying to stir the pot. No person is as petty as what the poster tried to be. Good joke on his part.

:thumbup: Thank you !!! I thought I was the only one who thought this post was ridiculous !!!!

[ilovetv]

Yes, it was six cents..... I realize it was probably just an oversight on his part and I don't blame him....
We did send a letter to corporate......We haven't heard back from them yet but it has only been one day.

It's amazing and embarrassing to see how fast some will jump at a chance to destroy a working person's employment that keeps him off the public dole--and paying into our social security, medicare, and national debt--even when you "realize it was probably just an oversight on his part".

It's possible that this server's boss has read this thread, and and if he's vindictive, the server could lose his job. If it was "probably just an oversight" on the server's part, then I would have spoken to the server directly and given him a chance to correct the change without putting his job and performance reviews at risk.

It's also hard to empathize with a person who says in another post that he does business in TV, who jumps to damage the reputation of a business (on the worldwide web, no less) when the complainant did not give the company even one day to respond to an online complaint.

[dcammel]

All the great places to eat in The Villages and people still flock to franchises from back home. There are several places to eat near The Villages without going to a franchise. So many great places to eat....and watch the paper for coupons. Someone is paying for all those television ads for Carabbas....and it must be their customers.:gc:

[Russ_Boston]

All the great places to eat in The Villages and people still flock to franchises from back home. There are several places to eat near The Villages without going to a franchise. So many great places to eat....and watch the paper for coupons. Someone is paying for all those television ads for Carabbas....and it must be their customers.:gc:

A nice list of these places from you would be helpful. Thanks.

[Russ_Boston]

Another thing in the original story I found weird was:

if you were going to not stiff the server then why did you not just give him the $50 and say keep the change? It would only be an 11% tip. Why did you want any change if you were going to tip anyway? The 11% would have sent a message if that's what you wanted.

[katezbox]

IMO, even an excellent restaurant is NOT at their best on special days like Mothers/Fathers Day or Valentine's day. For that reason, I avoid restaurants on those special days because I know they are going to be packed.

Totally agree!