karoline's kitchen

3 weeks ago

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1 month ago

We are the mouth of the nation

I haven’t participated in a Restaurant Week promotion since my last experience at Brasserie 8 1/2 in NYC; The service had been great, the food had been awful - and I vowed never again to take advantage of a food “deal” (sorry, Groupon). But, last night, my best friend Dana (see first post ever) and I decided to take advantage of Hudson Valley Restaurant Week at the Crabtree Kittle House in Chappaqua, NY.

Let me start off with the good stuff: Beautiful decor, fucking classy bar (complete with a suited, serious-looking gentleman, internally enjoying a dry martini and shrimp cocktail), the hostesses are beyond professional, and the waitstaff sport silk vests over their uniforms. Nice.

Now, I work in the service industry - in a classy place, might I add. So forgive me if my opinion is biased - or actually, fuck it. This was a disappointing experience and I’m not sorry if it’s biased.

The waitress greeted us pleasantly and asked us if we would like to start with a drink, word-for-word, “…a glass of wine or champagne?” We were slightly celebrating something, so we said, “Two glasses of champagne, please!” Shortly thereafter, the bubbly arrived, we cheers-ed, sipped, and placed our order.

After the first course (which arrived promptly and tasted yummy - Caesar salad with parmesan crisps and butternut squash risotto with lamb pancetta), I asked our waitress for a list of wines by the glass.

She replied, “What would you like? Red? White?”

I said I wasn’t sure, maybe white.

“For white we have Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay…”

“Where is the Chardonnay from?”

“I think Chile.”

“… Can I just see a list?”

She came back with the list. I looked at the list. The glass of champagne we ordered was apparently $20/gl. (What!) Of course, I complained, and she took one glass off the bill. Fine.

Then our entrees took about 40 minutes to come out (no exaggeration). At no point did our waitress come over to ease our concern. A simple, “Your entrees will be out in just a moment, I apologize for the wait,” would have been great. (Biased comment: That’s what I would have done.) But no, nothing. And when they arrived, my friend’s dish was cold. But did our waitress come to check on us? Of course not. So she ate her cold food. Whatever. The dessert was good. The bathrooms were nice. All in all, I might go back again - but fo’ sho’ not during Restaurant Week.

Alright, you’ve heard my review, but let me get to the point I’m really trying to make: Why does good service go out the window when a few 20-somethings go out for a meal? Do we look like bad tippers? Inexperienced diners? Not worthy of a fantastic dining experience like your regular, older, wealthier-looking clientele?

Let me tell you, Crabtree Kittle House waitstaff: Us cheap-looking 20-somethings are your future repeat customers. We rely on word-of-mouth via online communities and social media channels to tell us where to spend all of this money we are making at our new and exciting jobs. We love to dine out and are often more in touch with what’s going on in the food and restaurant industry, and we should be treated with the same amount of attention that you would give an older diner. Don’t ignore us or offer poor service, because we have the potential to be your best vocal advocates. For example, this blog post will be viewed by a slew of potential customers, and it will make them not want to visit your restaurant. Sorry, but even the most amazing meal can’t save bad service. (And that’s the truth.)

So, to all waitstaff, serving at classy joints or not, whom, when given a table of young diners, think, “Oh, don’t worry about that table. They’re unimportant and don’t need good service. And they probably don’t know how to tip because they look inexperienced.” - Think again. You could be ruining it for yourself and the future business of your restaurant.