Dear sweet Paolo, I believe I am in love with you! Whether you hate us or love us your comments about our blog are just what I needed. Thank you!
So this week I have all kinds of things to comment on, some of which are inspired by the comments on sf.eater.com. Many of you seem to think our blog is about posting a list of complaints about our customers. Actually, I started the blog because I really didn’t believe half of the stories I had heard about customers until I lived them myself. You see, I’ve only worked in this one restaurant and yes, as if that wasn’t odd enough, it’s not even my primary profession. What I am is an absolute food lover and honestly, if my pocket book could afford it, I would eat out 5 days a week. I’m the kind of person that sets up whole vacations around food.
Having said all that, I want to address the servers in the world and support you for all that you do. I can’t speak for all jobs, because anyone who has to deal with people on a daily level, has their own set of stories, but I think there’s this thing that happens when one is serving food.
I don’t think I have ever thought of this before, but a restaurant serves food and that’s something personal, something important, something that can change, alter or destroy or improve your mood. People get engaged at restaurants, break up at restaurants, celebrate, birthdays, anniversaries and even deaths at restaurants. So yes, I believe that serving food and working in a restaurant is in fact different than any other profession.
Additionally, whole families can come to a restaurant and trust me, some of those families don’t get on well with each other and guess what, servers often bare the brunt of their discontent.
Our blog is a highlight of the most challenged serving experiences because it is my personal crusade to have people relax and understand that honestly we care a lot that you are having a good time and when you don’t we want to work on it, but some people just need to read about their own messed up patterns of inappropriate behavior to really “get” how offensive they are for all our sakes (regardless of what side of the table you are on).
Love us or hate us, come in to visit us. If your experience was fun and yummy then you will really see how irrational the folks we mention are. Or, you may find out we are totally annoying and our food and our attitude are just what you thought, inappropriate.
If you’ve read the blog before, you may recall my entry where I mention the comment cards we have. This weekend the same server had what I would call a “hate card” and a “love card.” I was just laughing and laughing about this. It’s actually turned into a game I play with myself to see how many good comments I can accumulate in a day.
This day, my co worker got a hideous review and even one that said she ignored them because “they didn’t order any wine, forgot her tomatoes and didn’t bring the bread they wanted.”
By the time I got to them, they seemed to be less frustrated, but I assured them it had nothing to do with whether or not they ordered wine. About 2 hours later however, she got a review that said she was basically “the most kind, thoughtful server the family had ever had and that they had a great time during their meal and didn’t want to leave.”
Oh, but wait a minute, it was a pretty manic Saturday now that I think about it. I remember two other polar opinions about her…..
One table said that she was rude, short and inattentive while yet another table said they come for raw clams to our restaurant and loved them so much that whenever they are in town, they come by as much as possible.
So, thank you again sf.eater.com, Paolo Lucchesi, and all that have read our blog and commented on it. We appreciate you and hopefully you can’t wait to read our next blog since we can’t read to hear your next round of comments.
Oh and remember, EAT FISH!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
You Know there are Rules to Eating Out
This weekend started off a bit bumpy, but ended up sorting itself out as it usually does.
This story strikes me because it calls to question so many different things about people.
Some people move through the world trying to get something for free. They can’t help it, It’s in their fundamental character. Here are a couple of examples of what I am talking about:
We have all seen people comb the aisles of Costco who bring their friends and family and hit all the tasting stands to get a free meal. It never really matters what it is as long as it’s free. So they will have some kind of yogurt drink and a chicken sausage, a dried blueberry, a cracker and a hot chocolate.
How about friends who have a closet full of odd clothes because they got it “for free” or someone gave it to them and instead of turning it down graciously since it’s not their style or they don’t like it, they accept it and then never wear it.
Or there are people who will buy something just to get the rebate or the coupon. These are the folks that don’t care what it is it’s just a sport or a game to them.
I myself am all about the 2 for one or buy one get one free, but this is when I am at Safeway which is something we all are used to seeing. I am not looking for it at Whole Foods, because it’s not one of their marketing strategies. It’s kind of like there’s a time and a place to be price savvy and driven and then there’s the time to relax and just shop for what you need or like.
Having said all of this here’s the latest:
A woman came in with friends and ordered a series of oysters and clams on the half shell, some wine, some chowder and a crab cake. All of these items are cold and the soup is ready in a hot pot all day long to go out immediately. The crab cake on the other hand needs to cook, so it takes a bit longer. The table got all of their food with the exception of the crab cake which came 10 minutes later. The woman got very upset and said it took too long. So as a gesture, we didn’t charge her for the crab cake. Without the crab cake the bill came to appx. $68.00. She looked at the bill and wanted more taken off because she repeated that the crab cake took too long! We said we felt that 10 minutes was reasonable to cook it, we already took it off the bill and truly this was asking too much. Please, take care and have a good day.
Here’s the oddest part, remember when I said to some people getting something for free is just a game. One would think that after she appeared so upset, she wouldn’t tip……. well, she did, she actually even tipped.
I don’t understand why, if you were so upset, why you would tip at all. If I was at the table, I would be embarrassed and I can say, I don’t think I would go out to eat for a while with that individual. Oh my gosh, here’s my other pet peeve when I go out to eat with people or if I am the server who has to split this all up.
New story……………….
When folks go out to eat, why can’t people do their own math and simply divide a check into 6 and pay for the bill. Quite frequently we get people saying “we want separate checks” so each time you come to the table, you need to add the next item on the proper person’s bill. Trust me, it’s always on a table of like 5 or 6 people or more. What is that?
Why can’t people get the bill and just divide it by the number of people and pay it. Why do people have to nit pick over which person had the Mimosa vs. the glass of Vin Gris? 99% of the time, if we don’t split it up individually into separate checks the price difference is typically 1 or 2 dollars tops. Can’t people just get that when you are in a large group of people, it’s not the time to work your server over or work over your guests to try and divide everything up exactly down to yes, you’ve guessed it, who had 3 pieces of bread not 5 pieces of bread. Who had a 5.00 dessert vs. a 7.00 dessert. It’s just so tacky! I am pretty sure when they developed the saying “we are going Dutch treat” the term referred to 2 people not 5 or 6 or more. Good Lord! To top it off you don’t necessarily know if you are sitting at a table with these kind of people or not until the end of the meal when some says….. Um, excuse me, “Sorry, can we please have separate checks?” That’s when I’m like wait, I wasn’t keeping track of how many bites of so and so and so’s dessert I took or how many glasses of wine I had.
I do have a personal story about this. One night many years ago, I went for a lovely holiday dinner with two alcoholics one of which had a double addiction to food and all of us knew each other because we were all working on our addiction to spending money. We went to Zuni as a celebratory special dinner. I love! Zuni. So when I go, I always have a lot of cocktails and a lot of food because it’s so yummy. So the conversation went something like this to my best recollection:
“Isn’t this nice to finally have time to visit and during the Holidays? What a lovely idea.”
“What are you going to have to drink? Oh, I’ll just have water, I don’t drink.”
“Yeah, I um I’ll just have water as well. I don’t drink either.”
“Ok, well, I’m going to have a Bloody Mary.”
The drink comes………
“So, what looks good to eat to you two?”
“Um, well I can’t have anything with gluten.”
“I can’t have anything with sugar.”
“I can’t have anything with carbs.”
“I don’t eat meat.”
“I don’t eat chicken.”
“Actually, I am really trying to focus on being vegan.”
I’m thinking to myself, oh God, this is going to be some night! I want the anchovies appetizer, then the Caesar salad, then the roasted chicken, then the flourless chocolate cake and by the way if anyone will share, I’d love to have some oysters as well to start. Then, with each of those, I think I will have a glass of Riesling with my anchovies, a nice buttery Chardonnay with my Chicken and glorious Sauterne with my chocolate cake.
They looked at me like I had four heads and 6 arms….. I swear it.
Let’s just say that I don’t know what the heck they ate. I am sure that it was like a Caesar salad with no dressing, croutons or cheese and 6 oysters. ……By the end of the meal, when “the separate checks were requested,” I want to get out of there so fast! I might as well of dined alone with a fantastic book it would have been way more fun! Oh and by the way, our conversation was all about how maybe I have some issues with drinking and over eating. I’ll tell you more about that another time……..I’m telling you, I have never had a bad time at Zuni, but this one, Lord I barely escaped with my left over chicken alive!
So here are my rules when eating out with friends:
Go out with people who can afford to go out to the restaurant you choose. Don’t bring your friends to Quince if they can only afford McDonalds it’s going to be uncomfortable.
Go to places where there will be something to eat for everyone: Don’t go to House of Prime Rib with some vegans or vegetarians, they are going to flip out and the salmon is going to suck!
Narrow down what your friends like to do, if your friends don’t drink, then Absinthe is probably not a great choice of restaurant.
If you eat everything, let the friends with the most special needs choose the restaurant so that you don’t get the blame should they not be able to find something to eat.
Lastly, don’t try to convince your non foodie friends of your foodie ways, they just won’t get it. If every time you want to visit a friend and they suggest a hike and you would rather have a lovely dinner, maybe go on a walk and through a power bar in your back pack, because trust me, dinner will not be fun!
This story strikes me because it calls to question so many different things about people.
Some people move through the world trying to get something for free. They can’t help it, It’s in their fundamental character. Here are a couple of examples of what I am talking about:
We have all seen people comb the aisles of Costco who bring their friends and family and hit all the tasting stands to get a free meal. It never really matters what it is as long as it’s free. So they will have some kind of yogurt drink and a chicken sausage, a dried blueberry, a cracker and a hot chocolate.
How about friends who have a closet full of odd clothes because they got it “for free” or someone gave it to them and instead of turning it down graciously since it’s not their style or they don’t like it, they accept it and then never wear it.
Or there are people who will buy something just to get the rebate or the coupon. These are the folks that don’t care what it is it’s just a sport or a game to them.
I myself am all about the 2 for one or buy one get one free, but this is when I am at Safeway which is something we all are used to seeing. I am not looking for it at Whole Foods, because it’s not one of their marketing strategies. It’s kind of like there’s a time and a place to be price savvy and driven and then there’s the time to relax and just shop for what you need or like.
Having said all of this here’s the latest:
A woman came in with friends and ordered a series of oysters and clams on the half shell, some wine, some chowder and a crab cake. All of these items are cold and the soup is ready in a hot pot all day long to go out immediately. The crab cake on the other hand needs to cook, so it takes a bit longer. The table got all of their food with the exception of the crab cake which came 10 minutes later. The woman got very upset and said it took too long. So as a gesture, we didn’t charge her for the crab cake. Without the crab cake the bill came to appx. $68.00. She looked at the bill and wanted more taken off because she repeated that the crab cake took too long! We said we felt that 10 minutes was reasonable to cook it, we already took it off the bill and truly this was asking too much. Please, take care and have a good day.
Here’s the oddest part, remember when I said to some people getting something for free is just a game. One would think that after she appeared so upset, she wouldn’t tip……. well, she did, she actually even tipped.
I don’t understand why, if you were so upset, why you would tip at all. If I was at the table, I would be embarrassed and I can say, I don’t think I would go out to eat for a while with that individual. Oh my gosh, here’s my other pet peeve when I go out to eat with people or if I am the server who has to split this all up.
New story……………….
When folks go out to eat, why can’t people do their own math and simply divide a check into 6 and pay for the bill. Quite frequently we get people saying “we want separate checks” so each time you come to the table, you need to add the next item on the proper person’s bill. Trust me, it’s always on a table of like 5 or 6 people or more. What is that?
Why can’t people get the bill and just divide it by the number of people and pay it. Why do people have to nit pick over which person had the Mimosa vs. the glass of Vin Gris? 99% of the time, if we don’t split it up individually into separate checks the price difference is typically 1 or 2 dollars tops. Can’t people just get that when you are in a large group of people, it’s not the time to work your server over or work over your guests to try and divide everything up exactly down to yes, you’ve guessed it, who had 3 pieces of bread not 5 pieces of bread. Who had a 5.00 dessert vs. a 7.00 dessert. It’s just so tacky! I am pretty sure when they developed the saying “we are going Dutch treat” the term referred to 2 people not 5 or 6 or more. Good Lord! To top it off you don’t necessarily know if you are sitting at a table with these kind of people or not until the end of the meal when some says….. Um, excuse me, “Sorry, can we please have separate checks?” That’s when I’m like wait, I wasn’t keeping track of how many bites of so and so and so’s dessert I took or how many glasses of wine I had.
I do have a personal story about this. One night many years ago, I went for a lovely holiday dinner with two alcoholics one of which had a double addiction to food and all of us knew each other because we were all working on our addiction to spending money. We went to Zuni as a celebratory special dinner. I love! Zuni. So when I go, I always have a lot of cocktails and a lot of food because it’s so yummy. So the conversation went something like this to my best recollection:
“Isn’t this nice to finally have time to visit and during the Holidays? What a lovely idea.”
“What are you going to have to drink? Oh, I’ll just have water, I don’t drink.”
“Yeah, I um I’ll just have water as well. I don’t drink either.”
“Ok, well, I’m going to have a Bloody Mary.”
The drink comes………
“So, what looks good to eat to you two?”
“Um, well I can’t have anything with gluten.”
“I can’t have anything with sugar.”
“I can’t have anything with carbs.”
“I don’t eat meat.”
“I don’t eat chicken.”
“Actually, I am really trying to focus on being vegan.”
I’m thinking to myself, oh God, this is going to be some night! I want the anchovies appetizer, then the Caesar salad, then the roasted chicken, then the flourless chocolate cake and by the way if anyone will share, I’d love to have some oysters as well to start. Then, with each of those, I think I will have a glass of Riesling with my anchovies, a nice buttery Chardonnay with my Chicken and glorious Sauterne with my chocolate cake.
They looked at me like I had four heads and 6 arms….. I swear it.
Let’s just say that I don’t know what the heck they ate. I am sure that it was like a Caesar salad with no dressing, croutons or cheese and 6 oysters. ……By the end of the meal, when “the separate checks were requested,” I want to get out of there so fast! I might as well of dined alone with a fantastic book it would have been way more fun! Oh and by the way, our conversation was all about how maybe I have some issues with drinking and over eating. I’ll tell you more about that another time……..I’m telling you, I have never had a bad time at Zuni, but this one, Lord I barely escaped with my left over chicken alive!
So here are my rules when eating out with friends:
Go out with people who can afford to go out to the restaurant you choose. Don’t bring your friends to Quince if they can only afford McDonalds it’s going to be uncomfortable.
Go to places where there will be something to eat for everyone: Don’t go to House of Prime Rib with some vegans or vegetarians, they are going to flip out and the salmon is going to suck!
Narrow down what your friends like to do, if your friends don’t drink, then Absinthe is probably not a great choice of restaurant.
If you eat everything, let the friends with the most special needs choose the restaurant so that you don’t get the blame should they not be able to find something to eat.
Lastly, don’t try to convince your non foodie friends of your foodie ways, they just won’t get it. If every time you want to visit a friend and they suggest a hike and you would rather have a lovely dinner, maybe go on a walk and through a power bar in your back pack, because trust me, dinner will not be fun!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Watch out Low Flying Ducks!
Some days, we end up being some kind of wharped dumping ground for people who have had a bad day or simply woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I have to say, that until I worked here, I never knew how many odd ducks are wondering the streets of San Francisco.
I have to believe this is not exclusive to our town, I’m sure even in well, Omaha, yea, yea Omaha, they even have their fare share of odd ducks….
So, with that, here’s an odd duck story. By the way, I swear, I don’t make this stuff up:
A patron ordered a Crab Sandwich. The Sandwich arrived and she said that’s not what I ordered….. The server said you said you wanted a Crab Sandwich….
I do, but I want a Crab Sandwich with cheese.
Oh… So you want a Crabmelt (She shows her the menu).
Yes she says.
The Crabmelt arrives. I want it open face…..
The Server says, Ok…. you want it open face.
Yes, I want it open face.
So our Manager overheard the conversation:
Would you like me to remove the top for you?
She said no…. I don’t want it anymore.
Our Manager said, Alrightly then.
So she just gave her the bill.
Seriously, how can a sandwich get soooooo complicated!
I have to believe this is not exclusive to our town, I’m sure even in well, Omaha, yea, yea Omaha, they even have their fare share of odd ducks….
So, with that, here’s an odd duck story. By the way, I swear, I don’t make this stuff up:
A patron ordered a Crab Sandwich. The Sandwich arrived and she said that’s not what I ordered….. The server said you said you wanted a Crab Sandwich….
I do, but I want a Crab Sandwich with cheese.
Oh… So you want a Crabmelt (She shows her the menu).
Yes she says.
The Crabmelt arrives. I want it open face…..
The Server says, Ok…. you want it open face.
Yes, I want it open face.
So our Manager overheard the conversation:
Would you like me to remove the top for you?
She said no…. I don’t want it anymore.
Our Manager said, Alrightly then.
So she just gave her the bill.
Seriously, how can a sandwich get soooooo complicated!
That’s it, I’m moving!
I think I may have to move out of California since people’s senses of humor have just gone and left!
We wanted to get more feedback from folks who have visited the restaurant after they ate. So we came up with a short and sweet comment card. Now who doesn’t hate a comment card, but honestly it’s been really helpful, and important for us to review.
When we developed the comment card, we wanted to at least make it sort of cute and funny to encourage people to fill it out.
Here are the multiple answer questions we asked.
Was your server pleasant and helpful in describing the menu?
Very Helpful Sort of Helpful Not Helpful at All
Was your server pleasant and helpful in describing the wine list?
Very Helpful Sort of Helpful Not Helpful at All
Was the service timely?
Very Fast Ok I was starving by the time it came
How did you enjoy the food?
Super Yummy It was alright definitely not my favorite
Did the fact that we have heated outdoor seating play a part in
why you chose to dine with us? (circle one of the options below)
Very Important Somewhat important Unimportant
How likely are you to return to our restaurant?
Very Likely Possibly Unlikely
A few weeks ago we got a comment card back that said the patron was totally offended by the language we used when we said “I was starving by the time it came.” He said he
doesn’t believe this generation has faced starvation in their lives. He went on to say I have been there..... and starvation is not a funny subject and I am offended by statement.
My Manager came to me and mentioned the comment and we both were quite taken back to say the least. I just don’t know what has happened to everyone’s sense of humor. Are we really truly becoming a society of people that can’t take a light hearted approach to life. Life is serious as it is, but when a comment card becomes offensive I think we need to take a deep breath and relax. RELAX……………RELAX…………..RELAX……..
We wanted to get more feedback from folks who have visited the restaurant after they ate. So we came up with a short and sweet comment card. Now who doesn’t hate a comment card, but honestly it’s been really helpful, and important for us to review.
When we developed the comment card, we wanted to at least make it sort of cute and funny to encourage people to fill it out.
Here are the multiple answer questions we asked.
Was your server pleasant and helpful in describing the menu?
Very Helpful Sort of Helpful Not Helpful at All
Was your server pleasant and helpful in describing the wine list?
Very Helpful Sort of Helpful Not Helpful at All
Was the service timely?
Very Fast Ok I was starving by the time it came
How did you enjoy the food?
Super Yummy It was alright definitely not my favorite
Did the fact that we have heated outdoor seating play a part in
why you chose to dine with us? (circle one of the options below)
Very Important Somewhat important Unimportant
How likely are you to return to our restaurant?
Very Likely Possibly Unlikely
A few weeks ago we got a comment card back that said the patron was totally offended by the language we used when we said “I was starving by the time it came.” He said he
doesn’t believe this generation has faced starvation in their lives. He went on to say I have been there..... and starvation is not a funny subject and I am offended by statement.
My Manager came to me and mentioned the comment and we both were quite taken back to say the least. I just don’t know what has happened to everyone’s sense of humor. Are we really truly becoming a society of people that can’t take a light hearted approach to life. Life is serious as it is, but when a comment card becomes offensive I think we need to take a deep breath and relax. RELAX……………RELAX…………..RELAX……..
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Are we really talking about the 50 cent bread charge again? Seriously?
From 07/13/09
Just when you thought it was safe to poke your head out and see what Yelpers are saying, BLAM, another odd comment I’ve got to address.
Here’s what the Yelper said:
Get ready for shockingly small $16 portions.
$5 for a cup of chowda. $0.50 for a piece of bread?
I don't get it.A little too gimmicky.
I know the rent there must be outrageous, so I understand.
In these hard times, it's tough sell.
Here are my thoughts: $5.00 for a cup of chowder is pretty reasonable for a daily soup with fresh clams in it. Have you been to a movie lately sir, you can barely get a soda for $5.00 which comes out of soda machine, no one made it!
Ah yes, fish is expensive and I have honestly not heard anyone ever complain about our portion size. I was trying to figure out what this gentleman had for $16.00, but alas, I can’t. I feel as though our portion sizes are appropriate for the average eater, but maybe he should have had a crab melt or something heavier. His comments seem to be driven primarily by portion and price. Anyone who has been to the Ferry Building knows, that’s not the scene at the Ferry Building.You have to pay $10.00 for two fish tacos and a drink at Mejita. That’s not a mission price, it’s a quality price.
Who lives in San Francisco and hasn’t heard of the City’s healthcare initiative? Even my beloved Zuni finally started charging 4% of the overall bill to cover healthcare. Our restaurant charges for bread which I am sooooo tired of talking about, which is the least expensive approach to assist the restaurant in covering this overhead. Plus…… it’s a choice to eat bread not a flat rate like most restaurants attached to your bill. My kind Sir, healthcare is not a gimmick and neither is our 50 cent charge for it.
Having said all that I shall move on from my rant with the following closing thoughts, before you write a review of a restaurant, identify what you look for in a great dining experience before you take cheap shots like complaining about bread being 50 cents. Just say, when I ate at “blank” I went in looking for a cheap quick meal…… Or, when I ate at “blank” I went in looking for some really great clean fish with good flavors…..
No one owns a restaurant and doesn’t care about the product they put out and yet, we are a business and we need to tow the line between the product and the price every day.
Think before you write a review, think about the surroundings, the kind of people, that go there, the type of food you are looking and the staff that serves you. From there, take time to write an accurate, thoughtful review.
Thank you Yelpers. As usual, whether I am either pleased, or frustrated I am provoked to respond and think about what you all have to say.
Just when you thought it was safe to poke your head out and see what Yelpers are saying, BLAM, another odd comment I’ve got to address.
Here’s what the Yelper said:
Get ready for shockingly small $16 portions.
$5 for a cup of chowda. $0.50 for a piece of bread?
I don't get it.A little too gimmicky.
I know the rent there must be outrageous, so I understand.
In these hard times, it's tough sell.
Here are my thoughts: $5.00 for a cup of chowder is pretty reasonable for a daily soup with fresh clams in it. Have you been to a movie lately sir, you can barely get a soda for $5.00 which comes out of soda machine, no one made it!
Ah yes, fish is expensive and I have honestly not heard anyone ever complain about our portion size. I was trying to figure out what this gentleman had for $16.00, but alas, I can’t. I feel as though our portion sizes are appropriate for the average eater, but maybe he should have had a crab melt or something heavier. His comments seem to be driven primarily by portion and price. Anyone who has been to the Ferry Building knows, that’s not the scene at the Ferry Building.You have to pay $10.00 for two fish tacos and a drink at Mejita. That’s not a mission price, it’s a quality price.
Who lives in San Francisco and hasn’t heard of the City’s healthcare initiative? Even my beloved Zuni finally started charging 4% of the overall bill to cover healthcare. Our restaurant charges for bread which I am sooooo tired of talking about, which is the least expensive approach to assist the restaurant in covering this overhead. Plus…… it’s a choice to eat bread not a flat rate like most restaurants attached to your bill. My kind Sir, healthcare is not a gimmick and neither is our 50 cent charge for it.
Having said all that I shall move on from my rant with the following closing thoughts, before you write a review of a restaurant, identify what you look for in a great dining experience before you take cheap shots like complaining about bread being 50 cents. Just say, when I ate at “blank” I went in looking for a cheap quick meal…… Or, when I ate at “blank” I went in looking for some really great clean fish with good flavors…..
No one owns a restaurant and doesn’t care about the product they put out and yet, we are a business and we need to tow the line between the product and the price every day.
Think before you write a review, think about the surroundings, the kind of people, that go there, the type of food you are looking and the staff that serves you. From there, take time to write an accurate, thoughtful review.
Thank you Yelpers. As usual, whether I am either pleased, or frustrated I am provoked to respond and think about what you all have to say.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Dissed By Mean Girls
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.”
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.”
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!
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