Kitchen nightmares
WARNING!!! The following post is a rant! If you don't want to see my negative side and wish to continue thinking that I'm the most positive, smiley and hopeful person you know...I'm good with that. Just don't read this post because you're hopes and dreams of who I am are about to get crushed!
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So a few months ago I was given some giftcards to restaurant in town (which will remain nameless. Those who've been here before will know where I'm talking about!). The manager (owner?) gave her 4 - $10 gift cards to give out and a whole bunch of flyers to promote a "deal" they are having. Well as time went on, we kept forgetting to give out these cards and today we decided to use them, seeing they expire on Monday. We figured maybe we should test the place out before we promote it :) Good thing we did.
We arrived and it was very cool. Funky waterfall. The decor was dark and rich. Had a cool vibe. We got seated and began to notice things right away without even trying to pick it apart - they just started happening and we had to notice!
The waitresses were all younger girls...young adult age. The only problem is that they all were acting like they had just got out of bed or were up all night partying. I don't know. The place was very cool but it needed some life...that's where the waitresses could have made it happen. They didn't.
We ordered our food. Bek ordered a vanilla milkshake, Riley got chocolate milk, Emma got apple juice and I got diet pepsi. When the milk shake arrived...the whip cream on top was sour. It was disgusting. Riley's chocolate milk was regular milk with, what looked and tasted like, a tiny squeeze of chocolate sauce added into it. My first pop was alright...my refill was flat. I never finished it.
While waiting for our food, the waitress brought out crackers for the kids, just in case they were starving from having to wait for so long to get our food. This is almost laughable as I type this...just ridiculous. So the kids ate the crackers...and we waited for our food. And waited.
I should add that there were about 6 tables with people at them. As we waited, we watched people return garlic toast, flat pop, etc. I was like "What's going on here?"
The food showed up. The kids pizza looked like it had been microwaved. It was supposed to be cheeze pizza. It was flat bread, burnt in the oven, with what seemed like 5 cups of sauce on each little piece of flat bread and a few pieces of unmelted cheese scattered overtop. It was messy and just gross. The only good thing about their meal was the fries were seasoned and actually good. Our food then showed up - potato skins and artichoke dip in a bread bowl. It looked delicious. The artichoke dip actually tasted really good. The issue was that in a very deep and big bread bowl, 1/4 of the bread had been dug out! So we were excited until we each ate two chips and the dip was all gone! The potato wedges looked good but were deep fried and had no flavor whatsoever.
In the end, the best part was the chocolate they brought us after we paid. It really was a joke. I just couldn't believe it. And I know it was free for us but come on - even if something is free- if it sucks, are you really going to go back? You'd have to pay me to go back there. My conclusion is that there is a serious management issue going on. Either that cook was making stuff the way that his manager told him to or he just flat out sucked. Either way, the manager/owner needs Chef Ramsay to come in there and kick some bullocks. I'm convinced if this place was in England, it'd be making Ramsay some money by being on his show.
I learned something today. Maybe I'm a freak but I compare almost everything that has to do with customer service to TXC. I just believe with all my heart that a guests' first impression is what will determine if they come back or not. And by first impression, I mean as soon as they get onto the theatre patio. If they walk into the theatre and there is no one that is genuinely excited to see them, even an incredible gathering won't bring them back. I've been to churches where I've walked in, sat down for the service and left at the end and had not one person say a single word to me. Maybe some people like that...but I'd argue not very many. I think that is lazy and just not called for. At the same time, you could have a terrible gathering and the best front end team ever and people aren't going to come back. It's the whole thing. If the food was amazing today and the servers were still lackluster, I would still be leary of going back. The servers make the whole experience that much more enjoyable.
Sundays are one part of what we do at TXC. I think we do an incredible job of welcoming guests. I think our music is bar none the best I've experienced in the churches that I've been a part of. Our communication of biblical truth is getting better as the weeks go by. Our kids stuff is just going to get better in the future. But we can't let this stop us from learning and growing and changing and taking risks to connect with people in new and fresh ways.
So in the end, our kitchen nightmare turned out to be a positive learning experience. It's just too bad that a cool place like this is going to go broke because of the management. Let's not find ourselves in the same situation and stay focused on doing whatever it takes, short of sin, to reconnect people to Jesus!
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End of rant! So how does it feel to know who I "really" am? :) See you tomorrow!
*********************************
So a few months ago I was given some giftcards to restaurant in town (which will remain nameless. Those who've been here before will know where I'm talking about!). The manager (owner?) gave her 4 - $10 gift cards to give out and a whole bunch of flyers to promote a "deal" they are having. Well as time went on, we kept forgetting to give out these cards and today we decided to use them, seeing they expire on Monday. We figured maybe we should test the place out before we promote it :) Good thing we did.
We arrived and it was very cool. Funky waterfall. The decor was dark and rich. Had a cool vibe. We got seated and began to notice things right away without even trying to pick it apart - they just started happening and we had to notice!
The waitresses were all younger girls...young adult age. The only problem is that they all were acting like they had just got out of bed or were up all night partying. I don't know. The place was very cool but it needed some life...that's where the waitresses could have made it happen. They didn't.
We ordered our food. Bek ordered a vanilla milkshake, Riley got chocolate milk, Emma got apple juice and I got diet pepsi. When the milk shake arrived...the whip cream on top was sour. It was disgusting. Riley's chocolate milk was regular milk with, what looked and tasted like, a tiny squeeze of chocolate sauce added into it. My first pop was alright...my refill was flat. I never finished it.
While waiting for our food, the waitress brought out crackers for the kids, just in case they were starving from having to wait for so long to get our food. This is almost laughable as I type this...just ridiculous. So the kids ate the crackers...and we waited for our food. And waited.
I should add that there were about 6 tables with people at them. As we waited, we watched people return garlic toast, flat pop, etc. I was like "What's going on here?"
The food showed up. The kids pizza looked like it had been microwaved. It was supposed to be cheeze pizza. It was flat bread, burnt in the oven, with what seemed like 5 cups of sauce on each little piece of flat bread and a few pieces of unmelted cheese scattered overtop. It was messy and just gross. The only good thing about their meal was the fries were seasoned and actually good. Our food then showed up - potato skins and artichoke dip in a bread bowl. It looked delicious. The artichoke dip actually tasted really good. The issue was that in a very deep and big bread bowl, 1/4 of the bread had been dug out! So we were excited until we each ate two chips and the dip was all gone! The potato wedges looked good but were deep fried and had no flavor whatsoever.
In the end, the best part was the chocolate they brought us after we paid. It really was a joke. I just couldn't believe it. And I know it was free for us but come on - even if something is free- if it sucks, are you really going to go back? You'd have to pay me to go back there. My conclusion is that there is a serious management issue going on. Either that cook was making stuff the way that his manager told him to or he just flat out sucked. Either way, the manager/owner needs Chef Ramsay to come in there and kick some bullocks. I'm convinced if this place was in England, it'd be making Ramsay some money by being on his show.
I learned something today. Maybe I'm a freak but I compare almost everything that has to do with customer service to TXC. I just believe with all my heart that a guests' first impression is what will determine if they come back or not. And by first impression, I mean as soon as they get onto the theatre patio. If they walk into the theatre and there is no one that is genuinely excited to see them, even an incredible gathering won't bring them back. I've been to churches where I've walked in, sat down for the service and left at the end and had not one person say a single word to me. Maybe some people like that...but I'd argue not very many. I think that is lazy and just not called for. At the same time, you could have a terrible gathering and the best front end team ever and people aren't going to come back. It's the whole thing. If the food was amazing today and the servers were still lackluster, I would still be leary of going back. The servers make the whole experience that much more enjoyable.
Sundays are one part of what we do at TXC. I think we do an incredible job of welcoming guests. I think our music is bar none the best I've experienced in the churches that I've been a part of. Our communication of biblical truth is getting better as the weeks go by. Our kids stuff is just going to get better in the future. But we can't let this stop us from learning and growing and changing and taking risks to connect with people in new and fresh ways.
So in the end, our kitchen nightmare turned out to be a positive learning experience. It's just too bad that a cool place like this is going to go broke because of the management. Let's not find ourselves in the same situation and stay focused on doing whatever it takes, short of sin, to reconnect people to Jesus!
*****************************************
End of rant! So how does it feel to know who I "really" am? :) See you tomorrow!
