Sorry. LongHorn Restaurants are NOT franchises in the US. They are all operated by Darden Restaurants Inc. being purchased just six years ago. There's about 400 locations now.

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One of my favorite restaurants and always will be. Never had an issue and I have no reason to avoid them.

I know that one season runs into the other here in Florida... we have a group of 14 that goes out to lunch once a month...never have a problem but we were disappointed when a Country Club that we visit often and love had to break up our group into 2 tables this month at lunch...as they were telling us the light went on and we laughed and said Tis the season...we all kind of forgot that this is the time of the year that we need to go out of The Villages or we have to do lunch at 2 or 3 pm instead of noon. Hang in there...just 3 months and then we are back to normal...they spend a lot of money and we really need them so embrace them and make some small changes or it will be a long season for you.

I love Longhorn !! Yay, 8 people less that I have to wait for !!
We all know when it's snowbird and renter season, it gets very busy. I love it cause everyone gets to make lots of money. Especially those that have families to support. We usually go to eat dinner at 4:00. Not quite so crowded.

If the manager seemed to think there was something funny about it I would contact their corporate headquarter and register a complaint.

I would find that offensive. If I were their manager I would consider that sort of behavior unprofessional and question if he or she were management material.

You can bet their management would want to know about it!

I would just do a emotional check to make sure I was not being overly sensitive about it. No need to put someone in the hot seat unnecessarily.

Sorry to hear you had such a bad experience. We've eaten there a couple of times and it was great. The food was awesome and the service was about what we've gotten used to around here.
It is a bit pricey, but the quality of the food makes it well worth it. I can't afford to go there often, but it's nice for a special treat.

It is not that pricey if you do lunch there. They have a great rib eye and the Renegade steak is great. And if you take advantage of the coupons in the coupon section of the Sunday paper you get an additional $3 off for lunch AND if you join the Longhorn club you get free desserts and free appetizers on your birthday, etc. Well worth it.

Z

Unfortunately, not all managers of Darden or another Chain restaurants are competent. OP you just apparently experienced one. When eight in our group go out to eat where they do not have reservations, we often break up into two groups in order to be seated in a reasonable time. We agree to do that up front. Just a suggestion for next time,

I would write the restaurant chain a letter too---right thing to do.

You may not know that there is a difference between "reservations" and " call ahead". Call ahead allows the management to be assured there will be room for a sizable party but not necessarily at a given time. I know the answer" push the tables together" seems to be logical. But in the food service industry that means the 8 people would be taking up turn over time for much longer than say a party of two to four. More turn over equals more items and drinks sold. The party of 8 that sat there jabbering was eating into not only the number of items sold but also the number of customers the food server would have during their shift. Also many people believe food servers ( usually referred to as waiters and waitresses) don't necessarily make minimum wage. They usually make enough to purchase the companies health insurance. That's it. Any income comes from tips. BUt those tips have a tip share attached. X percentage goes to the hostess, the bar tender,the bussing person. (Table cleaner) So when a cook screws up the way a steak is grilled you can bet the head cook hears about it. Bad food means the food server gets the penny left on the table. The food service business is interesting but I could't do it! I'd want to dump a glass of ice water on some people. And don't think there aren't jerk customers making snarky remarks about a female servers breast size, hair or teeth. How about the fool that shows a gun to a server and says the food better be good. Yea there are some pretty awful food servers, but that means that management is lacking. Most are good decent hard working moms and college students just trying to get by.

Here is an article about the hedge fund manager that wants the company broken into pieces.


Hedge Fund Presses Case for Breakup of Darden Restaurants