SuzyM

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Rachel

well, they gotta pay for all those unused boxes somehow. tee hee :lol: :lol: :lol:

dglvr

Okay SuzyM I'm from the Seattle area and go there quite often so you'll have to tell me which restaurant it is. You don't want me going there do ya? Or atleast what town it was in ;)

Lisanne

1. They can charge that much because people are willing to pay that much.
2. There's also a cachet that high prices give anything you buy. You figure you're getting something special when you pay $22 for it rather than $8.99.
3. To be fair, they do have overhead. There's the cost of the building, booths, decor, dishes, etc. The food, even at wholesale, probably costs more than you would think. They have to pay their cooks. (They barely pay the waitstaff, who rely on tips.) There's insurance for all kinds of things. And of course there's all that advertising, so you'll eat there instead of at a competitor's steakhouse.
4. They have to make enough to impress their stockholders and attract more of them.

I don't think the waitress sitting down to take your order is all that terrible. If she sat down after you started eating, that would be an intrusion, and I'd simply give her a look to let her know that was unwelcome.

I had a young waiter sit to chat with me once. I was traveling and was dining alone, having lunch so late that it was catching the beginning of the restaurant's happy hour. He was very personable, and frankly, he kept me occupied while I was waiting for my order. After it came, he stayed attentive, but without sitting and without hovering. It was a good experience, and I tipped him well.

Sorry your experience was so unpleasant.

nativetexan

so sorry for your not so good meal out. having kids sit across from you or even kneel down is like having cashier's call you by your first name. i earned my white hair and don't mind being called Ma'am at all. oh well, society is a changin!!

MadQuilter

My friend's better half is the manager at one of those steak places. I know that he runs a really tight ship. They are actually franchises so there are a lot of hidden costs associated with the restaurant and they have to answer to a whole tier of higher-ups.

I am sure that the manager at that restaurant would be very interested in your story. What they don't know, they can't fix. Why don't you send them an email?

Olivia's Grammy

DH would have complained out the wazoo. We have so many places we not longer visit bc of poor service. I get tired of eating out. I can cook a meal faster and I know where the food came from and if anyone spit in it.

pookie ookie

I've had waitrons sit and squat down (not kneeling, frankly I'd prefer a kneel to a squat--eew) at two restaurants.

One was a kid friendly fifties style diner where the staff acts a bit like Flo from Alice. The other is the faux Aussie steak house chain.

It's fine at the diner but not at a restaurant with dim lighting which implies intimacy. The expectation of a polite upright stance stems from the ambiance. I'd rather they save the chummy charade for a peppier dining facility.

I've only been there twice because my dying gran wanted their salmon. Definitely not for me. I won't go back. You get better service at an IHOP and for the money you could have a nice sushi night.

amandasgramma

You are not wrong...I'd have been ticked, too. In fact, because I feel the managers have a right to know when something is wrong, before I left the restaurant, I would have asked to speak to the manager. And I would give them a 2nd chance (if the $22. doesn't stop me)...if the same thing happened again, I'd write it off and tell everyone I know. In fact, I did JUST that --- and the manager didn't care. That restaurant was the first to close down in this bad economy. To top it off, we had a small store/deli open not too far away from that restaurant and after one year, he's ADDING on!! And in this economy! But the manager listens and runs a GREAT store!

May in Jersey

Aw, come on, aren't you going to tell us the name of the place? I have never eaten in a steak house, or any other food establishment, where the servers knell down to take our order. May in Jersey