I was in the Reading, PA restaurant the other night and I received the WORST service I have ever had at a restaurant, let alone at a national chain such as Outback Steakhouse.
I order a Ribeye steak medium rare. What I go was a charred, burnt piece of meat that was bright red and cool in the center (can we say rare). Being rare I could have dealt with but the charred black exterior was more than I could stomach so I sent it back asking for a new steak that was cooked slower so that it would not be burnt on the outside yet be med-rare on the inside.
The story I was fed was that it is the seasoning that had blacked while cooking. (although I could clearly see that the burnt edge went deeper into the flesh)... So I asked them not to put the seasoning on the second steak and repeated my request to have it cooked slower (to avoid burning and drying out the outside).
So I patiently wait for the steak to arrive (another 15 minute wait) and it is brought out by a manger and I am asked to cut into the steak which I did even though the outside still looked a little too done I said everything was alright. BIG mistake on my part. After the manager left I tried cutting completely through the meat and could not. So I flipped the steak over and it was once again black (and they could not say it was the seasoning this time). I cut some of the blackened, dried out area off the steak and tried to eat the steak but I could not enjoy it and dining out should not entail dissecting your meal. The portion I had cut off the steak was at least an eighth of an inch think and as dried out and tough as beef jerky (same color and consistency).
It was very apparent that someone in the kitchen did not know how to properly cook a steak and therefore should not be employed by a steak house. To top it all off my server made the ridiculous comment that I should order the prime rib the next time (as if there will be a next time). If I had wanted prime rib I would have ordered it (but to be completely honest I would not have gone to an Outback Restaurant for prime rib. So in my eyes she was telling me to go somewhere else.)
I did not have the time nor the desire to wait for another steak so I asked the waitress to charge me for the salad and potato I had eaten and to remove the steak from my bill, which she did. But I am quite honestly astounded that a manager did not come out to find out what the problem was or even to look at the second steak I had returned. Which is odd since I assumed that the waitress was back talking to a manager since it took her another twenty minutes to bring me the check on a night that was not busy there was no reason to leave an unsatisfied customer sitting in that restaurant a minute longer unless they were going to do something about it. I don't know what I was expecting but I truly did not think a place of business would want a customer to leave feeling so poorly about their service.
I had been going into that particular Outback since it opened up almost every other week and nothing like this has ever happened (so again their story of that is how the seasonings look after cooking just didn't jive), but since this problem I don't know if I will ever be back. However, I do know I won't be so enthusiastic about telling my friends about how nice the Outback Steakhouse is in the future. My night was ruined, my dates night was ruined and I never even got so much as an apology.
My evening started out by going out to celebrate and turned into a total disaster thanks to my experience at Outback Steakhouse.
Doesn't anyone believe in making things right anymore? If this was a shirt improperly sewn I could return it and get my money back so why not food I am not satisfied with? The total lack of concern about losing a customer and getting bad recommendations doesn't seem to concern anyone these days! What happened to the customer always being right? What happened to simply apologizing for not being able to do the job right?
I worked in retail for over 15 years and in a restaurant for nearly 6 years before that and I am currently working for a mail order company in a position where I am dealing with customers everyday.in all of my work experiences we have always made sure the customer was satisfied no matter what needed to be done.
A positive experience for the customer is the best advertisement there can be and a negative one some of the worst. Word of mouth travels faster than any advertisement out there. Besides if it were not for the customers where would the service oriented businesses be?
When faced with a customer I also gently reminded myself that person across the counter is paying my paycheck, because if it weren't for them I would not have a job. Am I so out of touch that I still believe that these simply philosophies should still exist?
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