Thursday, December 29, 2011
Why you should never eat at Austin's Restaurant in Louisville KY.
Why you should never eat at Austin's Restaurant in Louisville KY.
Background
I managed restaurants for some nine years (Chi's Chi's, TGI Friday's O'Charley's). I was a General Manager and had profit and loss responsibility for a three million dollar a year operation. If anybody knows how hard the work and the hours are in the restaurant business it's me. For this reason I always give the restaurants I visit the benefit of the doubt when it comes to service and quality they offer, in short, it has to be pretty horrendous before I will complain. To me food is a blessing, we should be gald we have some, to complain about it is almost blasphemy when you consider that at this very moment others are dying not having any. To be able to afford food that you didn't have to prepare yourself is simply that much more of a blessing.
My step mom and I and eat out frequently, at least eight times a month. We go to different places to experience variety. We've seen a lot. If we like it and the service was good we go back, if not we don't complain we just don't go back, pretty simple stuff.
Christmas Eve Buffet at Austin's.
My step mom didn't want to cook Christmas Eve as she was already going to be cooking Christmas Day. She had seen an ad in the paper about a Christmas Eve Buffet at Austin's and suggested we go. I’m happy with a bologna sandwich or White Castles, I really don't care where we go so I said "sure, sounds nice, let's go there".
The following is the actual chain of events that transpired that evening, I promise you, you cannot make this stuff up.
We had made 5:30 reservations as we were coming from clear across the other side of town and wanted to allow ample time to get there as we were not sure about traffic etc. We arrived at 5:00 PM, so we were early. When we walked in the door, the hostess that was running the show looked at us like she wished we would just go away. I thought, "Well this isn't starting off so good, but whatever it's Christmas Eve and it's what my step mom wants, it will be okay". When my step mom told the not nearly as friendly as she should have been hostess that we had a 5:30 reservation was there any way we could go ahead and be seated she was told "there are people sitting at your table, you'll have to wait". Again I thought well that's a lil odd what guarantee is there that these people will be finished with their meal by 5:30? Its fine we will wait. We went and sat down in the lobby
While we were waiting I decided to walk around and check the place out. I went to the bar, The Dallas Cowboys football game was on. Hallelujah!! My refuge. Yeah, not so fast, a few minutes after walking into the bar the game was changed to ESPN's Sports center. I thought, "That would never happen anywhere I ever worked, changing from a live game to a highlights show?" Whatever. Despondent I walked back to the lobby to be with my step mom. After a few minutes I walked through the entire restaurant to check the rest of the place out. What I saw was disturbing. Four empty four tops (tables for four). I thought, "Why are we waiting when there are empty tables in the dining room? This doesn't make any sense to me". So I went back to the lobby, at this point I still wasn't going to complain about anything.
What transpired in the lobby shortly thereafter was simply the worse service related experience I have ever suffered through in my life, in a restaurant or any other service related industry.
Upon entering the lobby another party was walking in they approached the not nearly as friendly as she should have been hostess and informed her that they had a 5:30 reservation (it's now 5:15), they were told "right this way". My step mom just looked at me with a look of disbelief and said "Do you believe that?" I said "No I don't". I went to the hostess desk and explained that we also had a 5:30 reservation and were there before that party and that there were four empty four tops in the dining room and that we would like to be seated. She started in on her explanation about "There's someone at your table". (Side note: Would it have really been that hard to give us someone else’s table that's not there yet and give them ours, the one "with people still eating", is it really that complicated?) I politely told her that all I wanted to hear from her was "right this way please", again she started in on her reasoning, this was the third time now that I am hearing this, I got it the first time sweetheart, I just don't buy it and I don't wish to hear it anymore. I said "I am done speaking with you; I would like to speak to your manager please".
How to make a bad situation the worst you have ever experienced.
So here comes the manager who starts speaking to me from across the lobby and again he also starts with the explanation of there’s someone at your table, like it's a god given absolute that they will be done with their meal at 5:30? Again, why not just give us one of the tables that are empty and sit a party at our table that's currently occupied when they arrive? I told him in a polite tone basically the same thing I told the hostess, "The only way to solve this is to say, 'right this way please'". He told us we could leave, that we were not welcome to eat dinner at his establishment. Me and My step mom's jaws were both on the floor at this time. I simply could not believe it. I said, "What’s your name?" To which the manager replied "I don't have to tell you". Again I am just dumbfounded as his complete incompetence. I said "What's your General Managers name?" again the manager replies, "I don't have to tell you that either". My reaction? More dumbfoundedness. "Well who owns this place?" I ask. Take a guess what the manager’s response is? Yep, "I don't have to tell you". At this point in time I informed him that there was a little thing called the internet and that I would find the information that I needed, and that I would inform everyone I could of our experience. Now he states in a tone loud enough for others in the lobby to hear, "Your acting horrible! You’re a horrible person! Leave!" and then runs off to the dining room. I'm sorry but when I know I have done nothing wrong, I don't hide and not give out information that people are asking for, there's simply no need too. Most establishments have pictures of their owners, managing partners, regional directors etc. on their premises with phone numbers and other contact information. Do you think that was the case with this establishment? No, nothing anywhere to be found. Trust me, on my way out I was looking.
It's unfixable at this point; there is simply nothing that can be done to get us to revisit that place. My step mom and I are on a mission to post this on our facebook pages, Google plus pages and to encourage everyone to share it with as many people as possible. We have already told many friends and co-workers about our experience and all of them without hesitation have said they will not visit Austin's or KT's (Both places are owned by the same people). I am also going to email this to the restaurant critic at the Courier-Journal and CC the General Manager of Austin's.
When I was a general Manager I had a gift that sat on my desk that was from the CEO of our company it simply said "Rule #1 The customer is always right", Rule #2 "When in doubt, refer back to rule #1." It was simple, but it reminded me every day of who was paying my salary.
Pulled from Austin's website:
"Thanks again for visiting our website. Come see us soon and experience Contemporary Southern Cuisine with Old Fashioned Southern Hospitality."
and
"Management
We are currently accepting resumes for experienced Manager's"
I can certainly see why...
P.S.
Unlike their manager, in my correspondence with Austin’s I included my home address, home phone number, cell phone number, e-mail address and blog address.
Please repost and share...
*to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your own terms*
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