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Biggest Restaurant Killer

Bad service does it for me too. There is a restaurant with excellent Mexican food in my community, and it's done so well that it's opened a second restaurant. Whether either one is crowded or empty, the service is lousy, so I've given up.

And I also read the weekly restaurant reports on local news sites. Eventually, you see patterns. One is that Asian restaurant proprietors really, really, really don't understand that hot/cold temps and cross-contamination matter.

The other issue for me is noise level. No matter how good the food, if you have to shout to attempt a conversation, it's not worth it.
There was an Asian high-end buffet here that was very tasty, but the food was barely lukewarm. I went three times, always the same, I stopped going because of that.

I'm with you on noise. That's something where I will give up on a place after only one try.
 
i guess i just don't see how they make more money than they lose by not reducing extreme wait times. they could even keep most of the gimmick if they expanded dining space by even twenty five percent. i mean, what do they gain in making people wait 5 hours instead of 3.75? seems like you could seriously increase profits by increasing the number tables a bit.

either way, i checked their ratings, and they are doing pretty well, and more people like the experience than don't. maybe that's the part that i don't understand.
The pizza place near me that I was talking about is "famous" locally. And it is very good, I'll grant that. Most people rate it #1 in town, though I personally rate it #2. It's a small-ish place, seats maybe 50 people. They don't have room to expand (without moving altogether). The "waiting area" is a small-ish area right beside the door which makes exiting difficult when there's a line.

Their specialy is a huge Chicago-type pizza that takes almost half an hour to bake. They refuse to take an order while you are waiting for a table to get you started. Per their policy you must be seated before they'll take your order. And while I get that they may fear people having a pizza and no place to sit, I think that'd be fairly rare and only exacerbates the problem.

I do think that they actually like it this way. I think that they see it as an appearance of "in demand" that helps fuel their "We're so great people line up out the door for our pizza!" image.

Doesn't work for me, though. I do like their pizza, but it's been almost two years since I've been there. I'm not willing to wait like that anymore. I live in the first world where good options are abundant.
 
What one thing, to you, is the most frustrating things a restaurant can do... or not do?

For me it's inconsistency. Food is great one time, and sucks another, then back to great three times, then meh. Even if it's great most of the time, I will stop going. I think why I get so frustrated is that they've shown they *can be* great, so I want to go there, but it just isn't happening.

Bad food, bad service, high prices, all will make me not go, too, but I'll just stopping going and never give it a second thought. Inconsistency will cause me to dish out some negative 'word of mouth'.


Atmosphere is important for me as is noise levels, I think decent service and quality food goes without saying, well, for me it does.

I have a go to place just up the street from me, Its high end Asian food, almost fine dinning if not so. The service is impeccable,there is one bus/table person for every two or three tables, they fill the water glasses and get you refills of soft drinks, tea or condiments, these folks have their own station and are pretty independent from the wait staff for alcohol and food.This particular restaurant separates the staff that takes food and alcohol orders. Their system works very well, as soon as you are seated the table staff will come over and fill the water glasses and ask if you would like tea or a soft drink, if you request an alcohol drink the table person just glances over at the bar staff and they show up, typically before the table staff finish filling the water glasses and placing condiments. I don’t think once over the many years of going there I ever had to ask to have a drink refilled, I refer to one particular staff member as ghost-dog the tea guy, you never really notice him but he’s always there.
 
The pizza place near me that I was talking about is "famous" locally. And it is very good, I'll grant that. Most people rate it #1 in town, though I personally rate it #2. It's a small-ish place, seats maybe 50 people. They don't have room to expand (without moving altogether). The "waiting area" is a small-ish area right beside the door which makes exiting difficult when there's a line.

Their specialy is a huge Chicago-type pizza that takes almost half an hour to bake. They refuse to take an order while you are waiting for a table to get you started. Per their policy you must be seated before they'll take your order. And while I get that they may fear people having a pizza and no place to sit, I think that'd be fairly rare and only exacerbates the problem.

I do think that they actually like it this way. I think that they see it as an appearance of "in demand" that helps fuel their "We're so great people line up out the door for our pizza!" image.

Doesn't work for me, though. I do like their pizza, but it's been almost two years since I've been there. I'm not willing to wait like that anymore. I live in the first world where good options are abundant.

yeah, that's the kind of thing that's fun once for some people. i suppose if they've found a niche, then good for them.

the place i went to is in a rural area, though, and could expand. if i remember correctly, they even had a fire a few years back, so that would have been a good opportunity. maybe they were worried that not making people wait five hours would hurt the ambiance somehow, though.
 
we've got a place near me that's supposed to be pretty good, but you have to wait forever to actually get in, and you can't make reservations unless your party is huge. tried to go there with some friends, and then we gave up and went somewhere else. they said that they could seat us at ten PM and this was at around five on a work night. place is located in a somewhat isolated rural area, too. i looked at my GF and said "why don't they just add on to the dining room and make more money?" hanging out in the parking lot waiting for them to finally let you in is actually part of their gimmick. every time we pass the place, i always joke that the people who were in front of us are just now getting seated. :lol:

Yes, I've got a number of stories that go along similar lines. I think they're playing for an optimum balance of being the "hot hard to get ticket", and actually maximizing earnings. I think they'd rather turn a few away every night than pay rent for tables that are unseated 90% of the time.

This varies, I'm sure. I have a very short fuse for that stuff. 45 minute wait is about all I'll stand for. My wife will opt for worse, but then when the low blood sugar hits her, I pay.:doh
 
Way back in my younger days I had a lot of experience at family cafe type places, and even owned one for a short while. So, I still observe to this day and pick out things they are doing. Many places... and I mean small family-type restaurants, not higher end places where the chef IS the reason people go... allow the cook to do it their way, and that is a HUGE mistake, IMO. The owner/manager should set the tone for the food, not the cook. Cooks change, patrons don't, hence the food should remain consistent.

I would agree with one caveat that being, the owner utilizing the chefs talents and creativity with various specials some of which will likely end up on the menu permanently. Give the chef a bit of latitude. It keeps them happy or at least satisfied and is reflected in their cooking.
 
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