On a rampage ...

I took my godson to a local restaurant on Hurstbourne Lane today for lunch (not fast food). Their summer "special" is a combo meal. When I ordered, I used the word "combo", not "special". However, upon paying, I was charged for a true combo meal and not the "special" combo meal. I was never asked if the combo being ordered was the special; the cashier charged for the full combo. When I questioned the total, she said I ordered two combos. I said I ordered two of the combos that were on special. You would have thought that I had just spat in her face and called her every name in the book. She called the manager over and said, in a very whiny voice, that I ordered combos, not specials. The manager said it wasn't a problem; then said, and I am not kidding here, "what do we owe you ... just $1.40-something??? Really?!" No, jerk, you owe me $6.00-something. It was his ATTITUDE that just about sent me into orbit. If my godson had not been with me, I would have said something far worse than I did. I asked him for my ticket and told him to forget it and that they needed to fix the wording they used in their ads. He laughed and said, "yeah, it is confusing."

OH-OH-OH ... when they called my number, it was the cashier handing me my food ... she never looked at me and didn't speak one word. I said, very sweetly, "Thank you". She TURNED and walked away from me and didn't acknowledge me at all. I said again, not nearly as kindly, "THANK YOU!", to which she responded, without looking, "you're welcome".

About 10 minutes into our meal, one of the young guys working came over with $1.40-something in change and said, "the manager told me to bring this to you." I told him in as a controlled voice as I could that I didn't want it, take it back, I wasn't going to take it. What I really wanted to tell him had to be stifled as I had a 10-year old impressionable young man sitting right in front of me. Plus, it wasn't this kid's fault.

I KNOW what the correct total is because we went there on Monday (his favorite place) and it was $8.48. Didn't have a bit of problem on Monday ... the young lady taking the order was very kind and asked if we wanted the special. Today's young lady needed an attitude adjustment as did her manager. I felt, by questioning the amount, that I was the one at fault for not making it plain what I was ordering. I THOUGHT I was making it plain. Am I being overly sensitive here or was this handled as poorly as I think it was? Do I need to develop a thicker skin? I'm still steaming and it is four hours later ...

"what do we owe you ... just $1.40-something??? Really?!"

This would have made me verrrrry angry. The whole condescending tone was completely out of line. And it seems like he was trying to make you skulk away. Not cool. And if he'd sent a buck forty to my table after-the-fact, I probably would have hurled something at him. It's all made worse by the fact that they knew you had a youngster in tow.

1) Let the management up the line know.
2) Don't go back.
3) Send a letter re-stating why you won't be back.

It's certainly sounds like you were treated very unfairly by everyone including the manager. I hope you will take up the suggestion and send them a letter stating your dissatisfaction.

Please let us know what restaurant this is so we can be careful in the future.

Can you please name the restaurant?

I know people here don't like to badmouth places, but when you're merely relaying a true story I don't see the problem. Plus it would be helpful for other....us!

Thanks

(I believe in full disclosure and accountablity, and will accept it for my shop also!)

[Robin Garr]

I agree ... also, I've been assuming it was a chain operation, and if I'm being unfair in this stereotypical judgment, I really need to recognize that.

Can you please name the restaurant?

I know people here don't like to badmouth places, but when you're merely relaying a true story I don't see the problem. Plus it would be helpful for other....us!

Becky, I think you should name the restaurant. You and I are friends, so I hope I'm not stepping out of line, but still...

Look, I understand and appreciate Hotbytes posters' reluctance to name and blame. I sincerely believe you should try to handle problems like this at the restaurant, through a manager. But sometimes that just doesn't happen. Maybe you're with a big family group or a special date and you don't want things to get ugly. The next step after that should be a call or an email to management in a timely manner.

But if they're obstinate and rude to you during the actual event, you owe it to all the forum regulars to say so, and you have no obligation to prolong the pain by waiting endlessly for some manager to address your complaint. If you've told it to even one employee, and no one's offered you even a "please wait while I get a manager to answer your question", just name the restaurant. These are hard economic times. We don't owe our loyalty to any restaurant that keeps people on the payroll who are obviously anti-customer service. There are plenty of locally owned places that DO conscientiously address your concerns immediately - if they're well managed.

There, I said it. Of course, it's easy for me to say, since I don't work for any restaurant right now. And of course, any restaurant owner or manager is welcome to weigh in, but - come on! Let's don't tippy-toe about service or other missteps. Let's discuss them and clear the ones that are actual mistakes, and condemn the ones that are systemic problems. First, if possible and convenient, please try and report the problem to a manager. But if that option's not immediately available, or you get any pushback, well - you've done your part, and your part is now over.

Just my two cents, of course.

I rarely post on this sort of thing but I just gotta say. Up the minimum wage to servers and please, please, please patrons give at least 20% for a job well done. They are handling your food for goodness sake!
The reason workers don't care is because there is no incentive. My daughter worked for chains all thru her high school years and while I wasn't a big fan of the chains still to this day the folks who served us then when she was working there still treat us very well because they know it will be paid back in kind.
My husband likes chains..it's a food flaw I'm willing to overcook....oh...I meant look.

And, happy holiday to all!

Best,
Sarita

I've been out of town for a few days with no internet access ...

OK, I'll name names and have no bones about this one: HOME RUN BURGERS.

I am going to write a letter to them. I've just had bigger fish to fry at the moment, but now that I'm back, it will be done. I appreciate everyone's feedback. First, I thought I was being overly sensitive. I did think it was funny that my godson made the comment, "I guess we won't be coming back here anymore." Poor, little fella. His quest for the perfect cheeseburger continues ...

[Robin Garr]

OK, I'll name names and have no bones about this one: HOME RUN BURGERS.

Is that the same outfit that sells a fairly pricey burger from a stand in left field (in the middle of the smoking section) at Slugger Field? Mary tried one of their burgers at a game the other night and was very disappointed. It was overcooked, then allowed to get cold. Not a great advertisement for their restaurant presence.

Poor, little fella. His quest for the perfect cheeseburger continues ...

I know this has been discussed ad infinitum, but the plight of a cheeseburger-less child can't be ignored.

Cumberland Brews has the best burger in town in my opinion, but it might be more than a 10 year old can eat.

If you find yourself around Old Louisville, you should definitely check out Juanita's Burger Boy. The new management has vastly improved the quality of the food and service, it's inexpensive, and I'm sure a 10 year old would enjoy it.

I'll leave off there, but you could check out some of the old threads on the best burgers in Louisville.

Rebecca, thank you for naming the place. Their counter people are going to put them out of business. I was in there yesterday (for the last time, I'm sure) and a lady came in with 2 kids, asking about the lunch special (burger, fries and drink). She wanted to know if it included cheese. Instead of giving her a lousy slice of cheese, or telling her she could add cheese for an extra charge, the counter-idiot says it did not include cheese, and if you want a cheeseburger you have to buy one at full price (same price as the combo) and then add fries and a drink to it, taking the lunch special from $4.99 to a combo for about $6.99. Lady with the kids just shook her head and turned around and left.

They weren't doing much business at lunch "rush" yesterday. Not hard to see why.

I just emailed the website with a link to this thread. The boss's bosses need to be alerted about this. I hate the thought of employees and managers getting away with abusing the customers.

Dear Rebeca, Jackie, and all who participated in this discussion: You cannot imagine how distressing these posts are to the "bosses boss", as you put it. We are a family owned business, definitely not a chain, and our biggest concern of course, is that the customer leaves completely satisfied. There is never an excuse for counter personnel or management to be rude or flippant to a customer. You are our life-blood and how ignorant we would be not to do our best to make you happy. That being said, I hope I can explain what might have happened.
Rebecca, you said that you ordered the "special combo". There is actually no item like that on the menu and the girl should have explained that to you and offered the different choices when you ordered.
We have a Lunch Special that is offered from 11:00 to 4:00 (Mon thru Fri), which is a burger with a 1/2 size portion (lunch portion) of french fries. This is $3.99 for the Li'l League and $4.99 for the Big League burger. We offer 24 free toppings but adding cheese is .40 for one slice on the L'il League Burger and .75 for two slices of cheese on the Big League burger. A drink is not included in the Lunch Special.
Then we have the Combo, which is adding French Fries and a Drink to any sandwch at a cost of $3.19.
We also have a Kids Plate, the "Bat Boy", which is available to all children 12 and under. The Bat Boy includes choice of Burger, Cheeseburger, Chicken strips, Hot dog, French Fries and a Drink for $3.99.
By the way, the hamburgers sold at Slugger Field have nothing to do with us. One wonders how such rumors get started.
I am so sorry about what happened to you. We try so hard to teach our personnel to be the best they can be, but it looks as if we need to do as better job of overseeing the counter personnel. The employees have been spoken to, and it is our dearest hope that events of this kind never happen again. We hope you can forgive us and give us another chance.
We are tryings to serve the best burger in town with a Fresh Angus hand-pattied burger, a better bun, and Fresh Cut Idaho potatoes cooked in peanut oil. Please give us another chance.
Please visit our web site at homerunburger.com to see the menu and to get the $1.00 off Combos.
Most sincerely, Robert S. Kiper

I think that's a stand up reply and I'm patting myself on the back for bringing it to your attn. My bet is that you're serious about an intent to apply closer attn to representative detail.

When Rebecca said something about "still searching for the best burger..." I figured that you have a good product. And furthermore, to denote that you're not a chain, well that speaks volumes to a lot of us. I guess it took a moment to establish an account on Hotbytes to respond, but I'm glad you did. I can't get comfortable with bad counter attitude, and it bugs me to think that this behavior earns a wage at the expense of exacting a volatile image on it's owners who've a lack of aquaintance with the junk that made it so. Welcome to the forum, Mr. Kiper.

First off, welcome to the forum, Mr. Kiper.

Thank you for taking the time to reply. I do think your counter help needs better training, and I am glad to hear that you are doing something about that. I took my godson out to dinner tonight and your restaurant was his choice ... I told him "no" for tonight; I hadn't forgiven you yet. Your response has prompted me to give you another shot. Thank you.

Jackie ... YOU ARE MY HERO! And I owe you a drink!