Originally Posted by Koapaka (Post 2063041)

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...

Originally Posted by Mrprez (Post 2063857)

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.

Originally Posted by JMintzer (Post 2063069)

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...

Originally Posted by DAVES (Post 2064252)

People are people. There are people who must complain.

Originally Posted by Boomer (Post 2063855)

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.)

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby (Post 2064251)

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.