How Not to Win Customers

After working a long hard day outside in 90 degree weather, we decided to try a brand new bar and grill for dinner. We pulled in to the parking lot and had to "make" a space for ourselves because the lot was full. We thought this was a good sign. We walked in and the decor was lovely. Lots of polished wood, beautiful tile floor, classy nautical theme. The bar and about half the tables were full, but we found a nice place to sit. Someone brought us our menus and told us our waiter would be there shortly. We perused the menu and liked what we saw. It is mostly a seafood place but had chicken and salads as well. The prices were terrific and there was even a note on the menu that "the price you see is the price you pay". They don't add sales tax, they pay it themselves. "Cool," we thought.

The waiter came and took our drink order. There was nice music coming from a DJ booth in the back. A couple of girls got up to dance. The chef came over and glad-handed a bit and asked if we had been helped. It was a really nice vibe.

Twenty minutes later, when we still hadn't received our drinks or had our food order taken, we walked out. On the way out, we told the chef why we were leaving and he got a kind of shocked look on his face. It was a shame. We don't have many nice places to get a decent bite at around here and we REALLY wanted to like the place. I hope they get the message. No matter how wonderful a place is, bad service will kill your business every time.

So now we are home waiting on pizza. Whoopie.