"I made a reservation for 6:15. Arrived 6:00 and they seated my friend and I, who were early immediately, took 10 min. to order my glass of bubbles, but figured they were waiting for more people to arrive. 6:30 roles around and my two friends say there is no parking so making loops (5 times . They say we should order something and that they have a reservation right after us so if we want dessert we should order it and sit in the speakeasy. They come by again and say something again about ordering. I ask to be seated elsewhere because I’m feeling the pressure of being rushed and that is not how I want my dinner. She says they can’t because there are stacked reservations. I point to other tables as an option. When we begin to order a different waitress says it’s family style so shareables so we quickly just order a couple items feeling flustered trying to order fast for them and change our idea of dinner. Elote pasta wasn’t great. We eat and it’s so odd no refills on drinks until almost done or we request it. I feel like I am being a pain so we say we just want the check. The waitress tells us she reserved the speakeasy. Surprised! Great! We go to speakeasy and they show up with dessert and we feel bad because we didn’t order dessert. The waitress looks annoyed and doesn’t smile. She comes back and says they heard there was a birthday so we take it. But our friend is gluten free so others have to eat it. I share this as feedback because I train customer service at my company. One helpful tool is asking at seating if everyone is present (just to get a feel at first , secondly it’s respectful to inform the customers of the busy night, offer solutions ahead of time. Also, you can use the open time to give info on the restaurant, offer favorite dishes (not say “any proteins??” , more drinks to increase the final tab. Also, empathize about parking. Communication between a shared staff is key. If we are going to drop dessert add a note on the ticket or state what it is! I think I am in the mindset, if I get great service I’ll buy more and give a great tip."
