Waiting in line and telling us how we should set up our tables. Yes, yes, you know who you are……
While waiting in line, some folks get really impatient because they can’t believe there’s a line in the first place, but on Saturdays, in the Summer, in the Ferry Building, outside, there will be a line folks.
Here’s a little side lesson about seating in a restaurant: Most restaurants, unless you are a really regular customer, who orders a lot of food, we don’t prefer (not that we won’t) to sit 2 people at a 4 person table, because each chair makes money. If there is no body in the chair, than it’s wasted space. Generally speaking, we will have you wait for a 2 person table.
So, a gentleman had 5 people and he wanted a table. 5 was a wee bit tricky, because we can’t fit 5 folks at a 4 person table it would be tight. If you want to sit together, which most folks do, we have to get a 2 top and a 4 top together, next to each other to create the table. In the end, he had to separate his children, 2 teenage girls from his son and he and his wife. So we did 3 and then 2. Since seating is not a very compelling topic, I will tell you how I got “dissed” by 2 teenage girls. So I greeted the girls, I am thinking 15 ish and they asked me for my all time favorite thing (not) clam chowder in a bread bowl. Now all of you out there that come to San Francisco, and you are on the hunt for soup in a bread bowl, I swear, I just DON”T GET IT!. Think about it, a gooey soup inside mushy bread. Now once you are done with your chunky monkey soup, what are going to do?, eat the that gooey bread bowl. I typically keep all of these thoughts to myself, because of course, I am a professional, but also because, I try to be pleasant.
“Hi there, what can I get you?”
“Yes, we would like to have 2 clam chowders in the bread bowl please.”
“ I’m sorry we have clam chowder and we have bread, but not the two together.”
Sigh, eye roll, oh, um……. (I so wanted to have one of them flip their hair to one side)
“Is that going to be ok or would you like something else (Secretly I was thinking I am a 41 year old woman who so just got dissed by 2 15 year old girls, It’s like I was just bashed by the “Mean girls!”)?”
“Um, well that’s ok then just the soup and bread then.”
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Wait are we at Craftsteak and no one told me?
Seriously, unless you are eating caviar or you are having Kobe beef at Craftsteak, who asks how many ounces of something a dish has in a simple restaurant like Ferry Plaza Seafood?
This week I really wasn’t sure what I was going blog about because all in all it was a very mellow, busy, but a mellow Friday and Saturday for me at Ferry Plaza. I have to write about something though so here’s a story.
There were two women who ordered our crab melt sandwich and while one of them seemed to be quite happy with the sandwich, not so much her companion, but her sandwich, the other one chose to pose a complaint. Typically when folks have a complaint, I will ask them what they need to have happen? Change the meal for another one?, cook something again? things like that. Our world is pretty simple at Ferry Plaza considering what we cook and how we cook it, so things don’t come back very often. In any case, the woman wanted to know if there was less crab in the crab melt sandwich than there used to be?
I said no, it’s pre portioned by weight in the morning and has never changed since we started especially since it’s a favorite around here. Now typically that’s when the average person will say, oh, it must be just me or oh, my memory is different of the sandwich or something like that because it seems less, but thanks for letting me know.
I think we even measured it and it’s something like over 2 ounces of crab almost 3 ounces.
So the woman said “ I really think there is less crab meat in the sandwich, I’ve had it before and I’m sure there is less.” At this point she had taken a bite out of the sandwich, so I asked her what she needed to have happen? Would she like another item from the menu?, is there anything else I could do for her?…. that sort of thing.
“No, I just want more crab in my crab melt sandwich.”
I said, “I am happy to do that for you, but we will charge you for the additional crab.”
She said, “Well I don’t want to pay for more crab.”
I said, “Well what can I do for you since you don’t want to pay for more crab, can I bring you something else?”
“No.”
So I excused myself and while I was serving other tables, she continued to discuss, and compare the amount of crab she should of had in her sandwich with every other crab centric item on the menu. So she compared her sandwich and would say “See I am sure this sandwich has less crab than the salad the woman over there has.”
In the mean time, her companion was eating away and letting her rant and be frustrated until the time came for them to depart. My Manager then dropped off the check and she went on about how the crab melt has less crab and she was unhappy and that she had been there before and was disappointed in us and why did we say there was the same amount of crab when clearly there wasn’t and then she said those “just shoot me words” yep, you guessed it, “I think I will write about it on YELP.”
I told you, people are sooooo silly. I think it’s so bizarre to me that you would go on and on about something you didn’t like rather than just switch it out for something else that would make you happy.
My Manager and she went toe to toe on the amount of ounces on the crab salad because she swore it had more crab than the sandwich, but of course it’s displayed differently and so it looks that way, but it’s not and in fact it has less. She still insisted that we were not fessing up to the fact that we have cut the amount of crab in that sandwich. Oh Lord!
The worst part of it was her poor friend had to listen to her the whole lunch. I would have said can you please either get something else or be quiet so I can enjoy my sandwich and this perfect weather!
Once my Manager heard the dread “YELP threat” she said, you know if you feel like you need to write a review on YELP, then get right on it.
Then, about 5 minutes later, my Manager remembered that the very same woman had come in maybe a year before and did the same thing! Can you believe that! She ordered the Crab melt and then complained she didn’t like it.
Some people!
This week I really wasn’t sure what I was going blog about because all in all it was a very mellow, busy, but a mellow Friday and Saturday for me at Ferry Plaza. I have to write about something though so here’s a story.
There were two women who ordered our crab melt sandwich and while one of them seemed to be quite happy with the sandwich, not so much her companion, but her sandwich, the other one chose to pose a complaint. Typically when folks have a complaint, I will ask them what they need to have happen? Change the meal for another one?, cook something again? things like that. Our world is pretty simple at Ferry Plaza considering what we cook and how we cook it, so things don’t come back very often. In any case, the woman wanted to know if there was less crab in the crab melt sandwich than there used to be?
I said no, it’s pre portioned by weight in the morning and has never changed since we started especially since it’s a favorite around here. Now typically that’s when the average person will say, oh, it must be just me or oh, my memory is different of the sandwich or something like that because it seems less, but thanks for letting me know.
I think we even measured it and it’s something like over 2 ounces of crab almost 3 ounces.
So the woman said “ I really think there is less crab meat in the sandwich, I’ve had it before and I’m sure there is less.” At this point she had taken a bite out of the sandwich, so I asked her what she needed to have happen? Would she like another item from the menu?, is there anything else I could do for her?…. that sort of thing.
“No, I just want more crab in my crab melt sandwich.”
I said, “I am happy to do that for you, but we will charge you for the additional crab.”
She said, “Well I don’t want to pay for more crab.”
I said, “Well what can I do for you since you don’t want to pay for more crab, can I bring you something else?”
“No.”
So I excused myself and while I was serving other tables, she continued to discuss, and compare the amount of crab she should of had in her sandwich with every other crab centric item on the menu. So she compared her sandwich and would say “See I am sure this sandwich has less crab than the salad the woman over there has.”
In the mean time, her companion was eating away and letting her rant and be frustrated until the time came for them to depart. My Manager then dropped off the check and she went on about how the crab melt has less crab and she was unhappy and that she had been there before and was disappointed in us and why did we say there was the same amount of crab when clearly there wasn’t and then she said those “just shoot me words” yep, you guessed it, “I think I will write about it on YELP.”
I told you, people are sooooo silly. I think it’s so bizarre to me that you would go on and on about something you didn’t like rather than just switch it out for something else that would make you happy.
My Manager and she went toe to toe on the amount of ounces on the crab salad because she swore it had more crab than the sandwich, but of course it’s displayed differently and so it looks that way, but it’s not and in fact it has less. She still insisted that we were not fessing up to the fact that we have cut the amount of crab in that sandwich. Oh Lord!
The worst part of it was her poor friend had to listen to her the whole lunch. I would have said can you please either get something else or be quiet so I can enjoy my sandwich and this perfect weather!
Once my Manager heard the dread “YELP threat” she said, you know if you feel like you need to write a review on YELP, then get right on it.
Then, about 5 minutes later, my Manager remembered that the very same woman had come in maybe a year before and did the same thing! Can you believe that! She ordered the Crab melt and then complained she didn’t like it.
Some people!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)