AWFUL Service overshadows decent...

thank you Skates123 for your comment.

i think what you don't understand is the context in which the comment was made and the tone. i thought the server had left and i was asking my friend what happened. and when she told me that apparently the pork was sold out 3 hours ago, i said "that's dumb" but i wasn't even loud about it. i said it more to myself as i was thinking aloud about how we ordered at least 2 hours ago and we were all very hungry. my friends who were sitting next to me and in front of me didn't even hear me say it - nor did my other friend - the one whose order got botched.

it just so happened that the server was directly behind me at the time so i guess she heard but heard wrong. and i didn't realize this until the manager was accusing us but when i tried to explain, i was repeatedly told to stay out of it. in any case, there was no reason for them to become so defensive and no reason for the manager to come and put us on the spot without first inquiring what happened. she was accusatory from the start without even giving us a chance to explain and that is why i believe the service was unprofessional.

if we had intended to insult the server, i would have had no reason to approach her prior to going to the manager to clear up the misunderstanding before confronting them on the issue of their poor management style.

by the way, i should note that i have personally worked in the service industry long enough to know what is warranted and what is not. as i recall, the rule of thumb is that the customer is always right.

the issue here is management style. you should never accuse your customers before first finding out what happened. and even then they deserve benefit of doubt.

whether or not you are busy is of no concern to us. if you want to stay busy, that should be more your concern, if you are a restaurant owner! you should remember that people dine out not just for food and atmosphere but for customer service as well.

Hi there,

I was definitely at the table that night and can vouch that the manager came to our table with an accusatory tone. I understand it's partly their responsibility to defend their staff since they work with them every day, but not in a way where this is done at the customer's expense.

The manager wouldn't have had to go through any of this if the waitress in question simply did as she was supposed to - take the order properly and bring the order as requested... NOT ARGUE WITH THE PATRON as to what she ordered.

The waitress was generally friendly to me, but she did know very well that the "Pork for the night, yet she kept offering it as an option to guests, which partly triggered the drama at our table.

Besides all of this, I had to wait like an hour for a burger and the staff didn't have enough sense to offer some bread or whatever in the meantime.

The waitress also kept upselling me on adding fixings (i.e. brie) to my burger which weren't on the menu. The fixings came out to $8.00 more. I wasn't impressed.

Anyway, I don't think I'll be back.

Hi there, I was definitely at the table that night and can vouch that the manager came to our table with an accusatory tone. I understand it's partly their responsibility to defend their staff since they work with them every day, but not in a way where this is done at the customer's expense. The manager wouldn't have had to go through any of this if the waitress in question simply did as she was supposed to - take the order properly and bring the order as requested... NOT ARGUE WITH THE PATRON as to what she ordered. The waitress was generally friendly to me, but she did know very well that the Pork Tenderloin, which was the dish in question, was sold out for the night, yet she kept offering it as an option to guests. This partly triggered the drama at our table. Besides all of this, I had to wait like an hour for a burger and the staff didn't have enough sense to offer some bread or whatever in the meantime. The waitress also kept upselling me on adding fixings (i.e. brie) to my burger which weren't on the menu. The fixings came out to $8.00 more. I wasn't impressed. Anyway, I don't think I'll be back

BYYC: As a member or former member of the service industry, you know (despite that ancient "rule of thumb") that the customer is not always right.
Willariah: That's great you were at the table and that the server was nice to you. One question though, did you truly expect to get brie on our burger for free? lol. most places don't even offer french specialty cheese for hamburgers!

Due to your ardent one-sided reviews, I can't wait to try this restaurant out, perhaps this weekend. And report back immediately, of course.

Skates123 - I have no qualms about you going to the restaurant. Good for you. That is your right and freedom to do so. Perhaps you will have a better experience than we did. Perhaps you will love the overly salty foods. Try the duck confit. Another one of my friends really enjoyed the calamari appetizer. I did say it had decent food/value.

In any case, you obviously do not understand my reason for posting this account. This was our experience and I'm just telling it as it was. Isn't that the point of a public review board?

Nothing takes away from the fact the entire situation was handled extremely poorly. All the manager needed to do was be a more courteous during the inquiry instead of treating us like we were children. Think of how we felt when we were trying to enjoy a night out on town and suddenly we're confronted with all these unjustified accusations? We work hard for our money too. Why should we have to pay to be treated like that?

Where to begin with this night?

I guess I'll start at the beginning. The plan for the evening was that everyone would make their own way to the restaurant for an 8:30pm dinner reservation made in our friend's name. We walked to the restaurant and when greeted said that we were here for the 8:30 reservation under our friend's name. The Hostess, who was later also identified as the owner, looked at her watch and grunted and then said for us to follow her. I assumed that the reaction was because we were late. When we got to our table, I found that it was ready and waiting for our group, however, we were the first two people there. I checked the time on my phone and it was 8:28. Apparently the manager was annoyed that we arrived 2 minutes early, at 8:28 not 8:30 as was the time of the reservation.

The waitress quickly came to our table and took our drink order. Right away there was something off about her, as if she seemed preoccupied by something. However she was trying to be polite and friendly despite the obvious distraction in her mind. A hard thing to do. As more people from our group arrived, and the night went on, she seemed more and more agitated.

When the original order that was placed that resulted in the incorrectly served meal, as the order was placed, the woman placing the order pointed to the item on the menu as she said what she wanted, as she always does, to ensure that the waitress would get the correct order. "Pork Tenderloin" and "Duck Confit" do not sound that similar, and with the visual cue of her pointing to the item on the menu, I don't see how there could have been any confusion.

As the waitress made her rounds taking the orders, one woman had not decided yet, and asked that she be given another minute. There was still another person who had not yet ordered. Rather than skipping and coming back to her, the waitress got rather upset and said, in a rude voice, that she would cancel the order and everyone will have to wait for her to decided. That everyone is waiting just for you. Rather than making everyone wait, the woman quickly decided on something. The waitress had a smug/triumphant look on her face, as if she had accomplished something by exerting her power over the customer.

Just after the main group placed their orders, "Willariah" arrived, and quickly scanned the menu and tried to order the pork tenderloin. At that point he was informed that they were out of pork. I clearly remember thinking that my friend must have ordered the last piece.

When the entres finally arrived, the first two item to come out were two orders of duck confit. One was placed in front of the woman who had ordered the tenderloin and the other was given to someone else who had actually ordered the duck. I mentioned to the first woman that the wasn't the pork and asked if she had changed her order at some point. She had not changed, and told the waitress that this was not what she had ordered, thinking that the waitress had simply given it to the wrong person at the table. The waitress, still standing behind her, immediately went on the defensive, saying that the person at seat 2 (or she could have said C2) had ordered the Duck Confit. The woman insisted that she had ordered the tenderloin. The waitress informed the woman that they had been out of pork tenderloin for 3 hours so she couldn't have ordered the pork. She then asked if the woman knew what else she wanted or of she would like to see the menu again. The woman asked for a menu and the waitress left with the plate, typed something into her computer and came back with a menu. when she cam e back she right away asked in a very accusing tone "What did you say?" No one had said anything directed to her so we were all confused. I can see how she could have thought we were covering up. She shoved the menu at the woman who had received the wrong order and left.

Moments later the manager came to the table, starting right into her accusation that the woman who had received the incorrect meal had insulted her server. Having said nothing at all, we were all shocked. The manager did not try to diffuse the situation by finding out what happened, she actually made things worse by "attacking" us. She had no interest in hearing our side of the situation and when someone who actually had something constructive to say spoke up, she told them to mind their own business. This was the person who had actually used the words "that's dumb". The manager then left the table, with us all in awe over how rudely we had just been treated.

The waitress returned, saying that the kitchen will make the woman anything she wanted from the menu on the house. At this point the woman was so upset that she didn't feel like eating. The only reason she remained was to not spoil our friend's birthday party. Unfortunately, every one was so offended by the whole situation, that it took over the conversations for the remainder of the evening. I even overheard people from other tables in the section who were also appauled by the treatment we received.

As for the comment "that's dumb". When does a group of friends ever sit at a table and not talk. I would guess that nearly every time a waitress comes to take your order that someone in your group would be talking about something. Conversations stop while the waitress takes the orders, but then once they have left the table, conversations naturally start up again. Someone saying "that's dumb" could be about anything. If the waitress was having an off day, something we can all relate to, it is understandable that she would be on edge. However, having worked in service industries for more than 15 years, there's one thing that is universal, you leave your problems at the door. If the customer is not the true and direct casue of your stress and worries, do not let little things they do get blown out of proportions by allowing you personal life, or even other aspects of your professional life, get lumped onto the first easy target you find.

Hi,

I'm BYYC's friend who the server and manager/owner of Fat Belgium were awfully rude to.

Until now, I tried to let this very unpleasant incident go without making any fuss about it because I know if I bring up what happened to me at that restaurant and how upsetting the whole thing was, BYYC is gonna feel guilty for choosing that restaurant, and the last thing I want is to make BYYC feel guilty and have a bad memory of her birthday.

But now I think that I've got to voice what I went through that night:

it was the worst service I've ever experience.
Here're a few facts to vouch why I think this restaurant has the worst service I've experienced.

1. I didn't get the food I ordered after waiting close to two hours: There are people who can vouch that I ordered "stuffed pork tenderloin", not that "duck thing" - sorry. I'm not familiar with the names of western food so I didn't know the name of food the waitress insisted I ordered.

2. The server was very rude and awfully bossy:
When I told the waitress I didn't order the food she said I ordered, she became very bossy and asked me over and over whether I'm sure about the food I ordered. I know what I ordered and even now I remember the name and price of the food I ordered. "Stuffed Pork Tenderloin: 20".

Then after two hours waiting, I was told my order ran out three hours ago. The waitress didn't apologize at all and she just simply asked me if I want to order something else. I was upset a little bit but mistakes happens so I read the menu again and trying to figure out what to order. Then, the manager/owner showed up and stopped me from reading my menu. She said I couldn't expect good service from her server when I called her dumb. I was speechless. I literally had no idea what she was talking about and why she's so rude.

3. I NEVER called the server dumb. Period.
I told the manager/owner over and over I never said that and people around me all said they didn't hear me saying anything like that at all but she was still unbelievably rude and bossy toward me. And even after she found out I didn't say anything at all, she refused to apologize to me. She later told my Friend that if I want to starve, it's my choice.

So, here's my question, skates123, and I hope you to think this through as well. When those in the service industry have a right to be treated as a human being, don't you think I, who is a human being and paying customer, have a right to be treated as a human being and a paying customer? I didn't do anything and I didn't say anything but still I treated like a piece of garbage by the server and the manager/owner of Fat Belgian. The only thing I did is go to that restaurant to celebrate BYYC's birthday. What part of that behavior deserve this kind of treatment from the server and owner of Fat Belgium?

Wow. I am sorry to hear you had such an awful experience at this restaurant. I am a firm believer in the customer always being right, even when wrong. If you want a business to succeed you have to be accomodating. This is something business' have/had to adopt in order to stay afloat. There is always a line or boundary that shouldn't be crossed on both sides, and it seems as though the manager was the one to pull that straw.

I have worked in service positions in the past, and when I was faced with conflicting situations I had to grin and bare it - that was part of my job...that's what kept customers coming back. Everyone can be miserable, everyone can have something to complain about, but if you let it out of the bag at an inappropriate time or way, you can lose your audience. It's proper etiquette - common sense.

I was there too, and I was appalled. That's the only way to describe it. The waitress was very defensive in anything that was said. Our meals did take a fair bit of time to come out, and when I mentioned to the person in front of me that I was hungry and couldn't wait to eat, she overheard and then went on the defensive about the appetizers stalling. I was not looking for an explanation frankly. Just chatting casually with my friends. Then when the whole other fiasco started, the majority of the table didn't know what was going on. Fine, there was a mix up with the dishes. Happens all the time doesn't it? Terrible the way it was handled though. Very accusatory. No one felt like talking after that. God forbid we said something that would throw them off again. The dishes were literally handed out in silence, the birthday girl was told repeatedly to "butt out" and given the hand - it was just sour. The food was good, that I'll say. But there are plenty of other places in town with good food and much better service. They should just be thankful we behaved as respectful Canadians and didn't walk out.

I would think complimentary appetizers would have been offered seeing that you waited 2 hours for your meal, forget that it was incorrect, the fact that you sat there patiently for that long is wild in itself...That should have been the first issue addressed...They are lucky that you stayed still giving them a chance...

I can understand frustration, and things not going the same way as planned. It was clearly on both sides however the aggitation weighed more on them. Both sides had justified reasons to be annoyed, disappointed, upset - whichever...but your group handled it as though they were offering THEM care and customer service, that's insane!

I was among the group there and can also comment on that evening.First of all, speaking for myself, I had no problem with the server, even after the incident, as she reacted to an insult she thought she received.The server, prior to the incident even explained to those on my side of the table that the appeteizers held up the other orders, and was very professional, even after the incident.

My problem is with the subsequent actions of the owner/manager who rudely cut my friend off several times when my friend could have explained the whole miscommunication error in the first place. Thus would have taken 10 seconds and cleared everything up, however she was dismissed and not allowed to do so.

Having read the manager's version of events, I must disagree with her assumptions and allegations.Our party tried not to make a bad scene worse, as it would further spoil the mood at our friend's birthday dinner.Any "thank you's" or "goodbye's" at the end of the evening were likely directed at the server, whom many of us felt reacted well under the circumstances.Ms.Gagnon's attitude was disturbing, first accusatory (we had no idea the server was even upset), then dismissive, then self-righteous. She did nothing but escalate the hostility, ignore any type of explanation, and offered nothing in the way of an apology.I understand defending your staff/friends but he subsuquent actions were immature and belligerent.

However, when the group was faced with this situation: "There was still another person who had not yet ordered. Rather than skipping and coming back to her, the waitress got rather upset and said, in a rude voice, that she would cancel the order and everyone will have to wait for her to decided. That everyone is waiting just for you." That would have been my cue to leave. Is she your mom? Who the hell is she?

Sadly, I too have a history in food service from a management and entry-level standpoint. Even with that background I have found myself being sheepish and overly-polite in circumstances such as those noted in the above comments. I have since learned that my time and presence is valuable and would not tolerate any bullshit, especially when it comes to spending my money.

Simply stated, I would have left as soon as I received any hint of an abrupt/rude tone from service staff. Consider this: you are leaving your house to pay ten-times what the food would cost to prepare yourself!

I am in no way attempting to be dismissive of the difficulty that was experienced at the Fat Belgian by those above, but this was all dealt with in the wrong way.

The only reason I didn't leave that restaurant when the server and the manger were rude to me was because it was BYYC's birthday. Now, the manager/owner denies everything and she's making things up. It's a joke!