Mozz fails at service

I just had dinner at Mozz. Had reservations at 8:45. Showed up at 9:12. The host, a wait staff, noticed the time we had reserved, looked at his watch, not once, but 3 times with a look of disapproval for our being 28 minutes late. We walked into an almost empty dining room and decided by the waiters wishing we weren't there decided to eat at the bar,so we wouldn't put anyone out. At that point we were constantly asked if we were ready to order dinner. We could tell,they wanted to get the hell out of there, and they sure showed it. In all the times we have been there, it has been a great experience. I don't know whats going on, but Chef Matt wasn't there, nor was Michael. We love this place, but it has put a bad taste for service. I hope they can pull it together from their arrogant staff when they first opened. That was when I tried to reserve a table for 12 and after being put on hold for 10 minutes, was told they only reserve 30% of their dining room and therefore,sorry charlie!!GET IT TOGETHER GUYS....YOU GOT A GREAT PLACE!!!

Might want to edit the title to "Mozz fails at service." I opened the thread thinking the restaurant had closed.

John, sorry to hear of your bad experience tonight.

thanks Matthew

Said you had been "many" times -
1. Everybody has an off night
2. You were pretty late - did you call to let them know?
3. You said they gave you some attitude - but where was the "service" failure?
4. For a reservation of 12 on a busy night some places might request a deposit or credit card # in my experience.

Call someone tomorrow and explain your beef.

Said you had been "many" times -
1. Everybody has an off night
2. You were pretty late - did you call to let them know?
3. You said they gave you some attitude - but where was the "service" failure?
4. For a reservation of 12 on a busy night some places might request a deposit or credit card # in my experience.

Call someone tomorrow and explain your beef.

Mark makes some great points here. If you didn't call to let the restaurant know you'd be late, I would understand not honoring the reservation if it was a busy night. Even if it's NOT a busy night, not calling to say you're running late is pretty inconsiderate.

Also, pretty much every restaurant in town requires management approval a good deal in advance and confirmation for parties of 10 or more, and perhaps whomever you spoke to didn't know a better way of saying that the house was already full for the evening. That's not really a service issue.

I'm sorry....but I also have an issue with you stating they "failed" when in fact you started the night off horribly late which is extremely inconsiderate. I CAN understand them being upset that you showed up around 30 minutes late for a reservation. Did you show attitude back to them? Apologize for the lateness?
Other than attitude, I don't see where you said they did anything wrong. If the attitude was the only issue, I would accredit that to your lateness.

You were rude to them when you showed up half an hour late. But they seem to have taken care of you rather promptly since your post was 1h 18m later. I don't see any fail here on their part.

I don't know whether they failed or not because I wasn't there. But I'm not on board with the argument that the restaurant's attitude (if there was attitude) can be explained off by the customer's tardiness.

I read that as "John deserves what he got because he was late." That's awfully generous.

I just checked their website, and it shows their hours as being M-TR, 11:00 am to 11:00 pm. If I were most of you who have posted here turning the tables on John T for arriving a few minutes late, I would reconsider based upon these hours. Have we forgotten some of the basic prinicples of the service industry here?

The Clifton Kroger deli is open until 9:00 pm, and every time I arrive at 8:00 pm asking for some sliced cheese & lunch meat the lady gets really angry because she has already started cleaning the slicers & shutting down. Is this my fault or should they reconsider their hours?

I think John T could have chosen a better title for the posting, but based upon their stated hours he has every right to feel slighted by his rude treatment.

I just checked their website, and it shows their hours as being M-TR, 11:00 am to 11:00 pm. If I were most of you who have posted here turning the tables on John T for arriving a few minutes late, I would reconsider based upon these hours. Have we forgotten some of the basic prinicples of the service industry here?

The Clifton Kroger deli is open until 9:00 pm, and every time I arrive at 8:00 pm asking for some sliced cheese & lunch meat the lady gets really angry because she has already started cleaning the slicers & shutting down. Is this my fault or should they reconsider their hours?

I think John T could have chosen a better title for the posting, but based upon their stated hours he has every right to feel slighted by his rude treatment.

Agreed. If you are open then you better be happy to see customers. I tell my folks- if we are closing and a car pulls in, be prepared to server them with a smile on your face. That is why we are in business.

[Robin Garr]

I think John T could have chosen a better title for the posting, but based upon their stated hours he has every right to feel slighted by his rude treatment.

Agreed on both counts, absolutely, although I would also have to say that showing up a half-hour late for a reservation at a popular spot is taking a risk. Sounds like traffic was off this night, so it shouldn't have been an issue, but still. If we're going to be a half-hour late, we call and apologize and make sure the new time is okay with them.

I think John T could have chosen a better title for the posting, but based upon their stated hours he has every right to feel slighted by his rude treatment.

Agreed on both counts, absolutely, although I would also have to say that showing up a half-hour late for a reservation at a popular spot is taking a risk. Sounds like traffic was off this night, so it shouldn't have been an issue, but still. If we're going to be a half-hour late, we call and apologize and make sure the new time is okay with them.

A call is always appreciated but there should not have been an attitude, especially if the place is half empty. I mean, if there are no customers then there is no revenue. Staff gets paid from the revenue. Seems elementary but sometimes you have to remind folks.

I think John T could have chosen a better title for the posting, but based upon their stated hours he has every right to feel slighted by his rude treatment.

Agreed on both counts, absolutely, although I would also have to say that showing up a half-hour late for a reservation at a popular spot is taking a risk. Sounds like traffic was off this night, so it shouldn't have been an issue, but still. If we're going to be a half-hour late, we call and apologize and make sure the new time is okay with them.

A call is always appreciated but there should not have been an attitude, especially if the place is half empty. I mean, if there are no customers then there is no revenue. Staff gets paid from the revenue. Seems elementary but sometimes you have to remind folks.

When the dining room is mostly empty, there seem to be three options on the table based on this thread.

1. Show up (tardy) and be served as a "regular" customer. The reservation seems moot given the lack of demand on the evening.

2. Show up and get the service you deserve for being tardy and, therefore, rude.

3. Call and cancel so as not to end up in situation 2.

I know I'm being reductive. Given the circumstances, #1 is the only option that makes any sense. The situation would be different if demand for seating was great or it was actually closing time when the customer arrived.

Next time I'm late for a reservation and dining room attendance is sparse, I'm going to skip mentioning I even had a reservation. Just ask for a table and go from there. What somebody doesn't know can't get me poor service.

As for the poor thread title, I'm partially responsible for that.

Two scenarios:
On a busy night, you show up 30 mins late for your reservation. The restaurant says "Sorry, you were 30 mins. late, we only hold tables for 15 without notice, so we gave your table away, you are welcome to eat at the bar or wait for seating to come available, when and if that happens."

On a slow night, you show up 30 mins late for your reservation. The restaurant says, "We prefer notice if you are going to be more than 15 mins late as we cannot guarantee that we can hold your table longer than that, however, since you are here and there is seating available, let me show you to your table, we hope you have a great evening!"



Is it ok to be nearly 30 mins late for a reservation without a call ahead warning? No. It is rude.

Is it ok to be treated poorly (impatiently) when seating is clearly available and wanted? No.

Double Fault, serve again

Two scenarios:
On a busy night, you show up 30 mins late for your reservation. The restaurant says "Sorry, you were 30 mins. late, we only hold tables for 15 without notice, so we gave your table away, you are welcome to eat at the bar or wait for seating to come available, when and if that happens."

On a slow night, you show up 30 mins late for your reservation. The restaurant says, "We prefer notice if you are going to be more than 15 mins late as we cannot guarantee that we can hold your table longer than that, however, since you are here and there is seating available, let me show you to your table, we hope you have a great evening!"



Is it ok to be nearly 30 mins late for a reservation without a call ahead warning? No. It is rude.

Is it ok to be treated poorly (impatiently) when seating is clearly available and wanted? No.

Double Fault, serve again

I agree - attitude is not appropriate. But it's hard for me to be particularly sympathetic given the presentation of the OP. As noticed as that typed from the restaurant given the timing?