"That's one place I will never go back to. Yesterday, I invited my wife and two of her friends for dinner. We arrived around 5:30 PM. At that time there were only two people ahead of me in line. We ordered the food and I paid. During the checkout process I was asked to leave a tip. Since I usually try to be generous, I left 18%, even though I was clear that it was self service we order, pick up our food and utensils, carry it out and when we are done, we bus our own table. One of the basics of food service is being ready for the meal servings, to be prepared for the rush. My guests wanted lemonade without sugar. No luck. We ordered a bottle of sparkling water instead. After I paid, I asked for 4 glasses. The counter clerk handed me one and said the others were coming. What? The dinner service was about to get rolling and they had no glasses? I waited and 6 minutes later I go the second glass. Seven minutes after that the last two glasses were finally cleaned. While my guest were chatting, I was waiting for glasses to drink out of for 13 minutes. Then we waited for our name to be called and the food came after another 15 minutes or so. Most dishes were solidly good. My steak sandwich tasted good but the meat was very well done, which was not my favorite. After we finished our meal, my guests were ready for coffee and deserts. We ventured back inside and picked 3 little cakes from the refrigerated section. Before I could count to three, the place had filled up with dinner customers. The line stretched to the entrance door with at least 10 people in line. There we were with the cakes in line. I showed the cakes to the check out clerk and told her we would take it out and I would get in line. My guests went out and I got in the back of the line. Each transaction took at least 3 5 minutes, with the clerk having to answer questions and take payment. At least 25 30 minutes passed before it was my turn. I ordered 3 cups of coffee and told the clerk that I had three cakes. Two for $5.25 and one for $7.25. She told me that I needed the names of the cakes. I had to go back out and get the names of each cake. When I came back in, the person behind me was getting served. I waited until he was done and paid. She gave me three cups for the coffee self help table. There were three coffee urns. Both of the regular coffee urns were completely empty. Yes, nobody filled the coffee before the evening rush. I told the counter clerk and she told me it would take some time. I waited 5 minutes and saw nobody work on it. I showed my face again, saying nothing but just making sure that they saw me. I am really busy right now, she said. It was true. I waited another 5 minutes. Finally she called for one of the kitchen staff to make the coffee. I waited another 10 minutes. By the time all was aid and done, I barely had any time with my guests. Overall, I spent an hour waiting, not counting the time it took for the food to come out. My evening was ruined. The reason I invited people out was to have the company, to converse and have fellowship. Instead I waited and for all that I paid 18% tip. This restaurant has its pluses. They are dog friendly, the food can be very good on a good day. But the operation is in serious need to build in efficiencies and to be ready for their services. What I experienced is due to poor management. Plain and simple."
