I Am The Customer, For Crying Out Loud!!!

For those of you that read my ramblings on Facebook about getting kicked out of Top O' The River, let me clarify: We in fact did not get kicked out. We left on own free will. It just sounded more fun to say we got kicked out. We were invited to leave though. Here's the story.

Every time we ever go there, I feel bad because I don't eat half of my food. At any other place, I'd just get a box, but I don't really like left over shrimp, and I certainly don't like left over fries or baked potatoes. I don't eat the potato because I pig out on the pickled onions (which I've yet to find anywhere else), cornbread, and slaw. The last time we went, I ordered the 1/2 pound of boiled shrimp off the appetizer menu. It's $4 cheaper than the meal I usually get, which really isn't a big deal, but I don't feel so bad about throwing away the potato. If you were around a few years ago, you know how hard I worked to loose the weight, and despite the 15 or so pounds that have crept back in, I do still make an effort to make good choices. Anyhow... I ordered that again, and Hubby ordered a steak with a potato, a salad, and a side of greens. Mother-in-law (MNL) and Father-in-law (FNL) ordered the same. Friends were sharing a plate because she can't eat a lot. The waitress informs us that she won't be able to bring us anymore slaw and cornbread besides what she's already put on the table. That's when things started going down hill.

Don't get me wrong. I don't go there expecting to eat their food for free. Heck, 1/2 pound of shrimp is $10! That's not free. What's the harm in throwing a plateful of cornbread and slaw with that? Hubby's meal was close to $20, and add another $5 for the greens. Even with the salad, what's the harm in him partaking of the slaw and cornbread? Same thing for MNL and FNL. We hadn't even asked for seconds on these things yet and here we are having this conversation. However, Hubby and I ordered the same thing about a month ago and were not informed of this rule at the time. In fact, that night we asked for and received extras. Our waitress Sunday was trying to be nice, I think, but she came across as crass. Of course, she did what anyone in confrontation would do; she blamed it on her manager. OK. Well, let's talk to him then.

So here he comes. He must have been in a really bad mood, because the way he acted from the moment he arrived at the table was uncalled for. The rule: cornbread and slaw are served only with entrees and not if a salad is ordered. And I think there's a sub-rule about how many refills are afforded per entree, but I don't know that part of it. Anyhow, this guys shows up at our table spouting off this rule. FNL begins searching the menu for documentation. Hey, if it's listed in the menu, there's no arguing the point right? Hubby's point is that in considering that we have ordered $40 of product from his store, what's the harm in an extra skillet of cornbread? Because the greens and shrimp are sides, he contorts. "The shrimp is s$10, and you won't let me eat the cornbread?" I asked. "Shrimp is expensive Ma'am," he rebutted. No crap... but it ain't King Crab either. "How much is an extra skillet of cornbread," I asked, thinking I'll just buy it to shut this guy up. $2.95. So we're arguing over $3. Then the principal of the matter hits me. I could just change my order to the entree, and get more cornbread if I please. Which I do please to do, but I'm still gonna throw away the potato. I refuse. I also refuse to buy another skillet of cornbread at this point. On principle of course. I tried explaining to this guy that I try to watch what I eat and make good choices. His portion sizes don't exactly make that easy for me, and the plates are too expensive to just throw away uneaten food at the end of the meal.

He went on a rant about he's not in the business of giving away free food and when he catches his employees doing so, he considers that stealing and they get fired. Do we want our waitress to get fired? HELLOOO Crazy Man, what is your problem? Then he says, "I don't go to McDonald's, order my son a Happy Meal, and me a cheeseburger, then ask them to throw in extra fries on the Happy Meal so I can have some too." Well, no you don't Sir, but McDonald's doesn't set your table with a heaping pile of fries before you place your order either. At that point, I decided I needed to be quiet.

MNL explained to him that she was put off b/c we found all this out before we even asked for more. FNL is still reading over the menu trying to find this rule. It's not there. Manager says, "You won't find it printed in the menu." HUH? Why not? "There are a lot of reasons 'why not' and it's my restaurant so I don't have to explain them to you." What a jerk. FNL was trying to make a point, that if we had read this rule then we wouldn't be arguing over it. Also, we've all been patronizing this place since it opened years ago, and this if the first time any of us were ever told this. Thus our confusion and complaint. We were not complaining just b/c we weren't getting something for free. Friend realizes that we're all so upset now, and she told Manager he needed to leave our table. He goes off the deep end at this! What she meant was, we're tired of dealing with you and we'd like to try and enjoy our meal now. He is most unpleasant, "OK, I'll leave you alone now, or you can just leave my restaurant. I don't care! I'm mad that I came over here to straighten this out and everyone at this table has been screaming at me since I got here." No sir, we were NOT screaming. We were blunt, and we are in total disagreement with you and your attitude, but we have do so quietly. If you want screaming, you can have screaming, Mister, but this is not screaming. He finally left the table and we were all kind of shell-shocked that management of any establishment would speak to customers that way. So we asked our waitress for our tickets for the drinks and what slaw and cornbread we already had and got up to leave. The manager hears this, and says, "No, don't worry about it. It's on me," and sends us on our way. Of course, the irony in that is that we consumed two skillets of cornbread at $3 each, two cups of slaw, I'm guessing another $3 each. Seven drinks at $2.50, the cup of greens at %5, and the three salads for the steak dinners, which we'll say was $4 of the the $20 for the steak dinner. Add it up and that's right at $40. That he gave us. Because he didn't want to give us a $3 skillet of cornbread. Not to mention that $100 or more just walked out the door, and chances are the kitchen had already started on the food and now there was no one to buy it. Ouch. Plus, in a crowd like ours, someone is bound to blog about a bad experience, so now it's all over the web. You are so welcome. And someone else (FNL) is bound to track down your business partner to let him know how you run off your customers.

My point is this. I have been going to this restaurant for years. I've never asked for anything I wasn't paying for, I feel like. Nor was I this time. If this rule of his was printed in the menu, I would have not been surprised when the waitress informed us of it. I said it before and I'll say it again, there's no arguing a point that written in black and white. I don't have to like it, but I'll be more than happy to comply. I can't comply with a rule of who's existence I am unaware. And furthermore, I do NOT appreciate being treated like a beggar, or a piece of trash. Everyone at that table works hard for their money, and shouldn't be made to feel like a cheater for choosing to spend it there with certain expectations in mind, especially expectation that the restaurant has been upholding without complaint for the past 10 years. I am the customer! The customer may not always be right, but they are always the customer. And this girl is a customer that Top O' The River will probably never see again.