IL FORNELLO at Hwy7 and Yonge,Richmond Hill,ON

Location: Ontario, Richmond Hill
Industry: Restaurant mv

I recently had dinner at Il Fornello located at Yonge & Hwy 7. I have previously been to their other locations many times and have found their food & service pretty decent.

However, this time I went, I had a very different experience. It was a party of 3 where we ordered appetizers and main courses, no drinks except for 2 glasses of regular water, and 1 glass of hot water. When the bill came, I was very surprised to see a charge of $1.25 for hot water...(now before everyone goes off on a tangent here, yes, I DO realize that we are talking about only $1.25 and trust me, I have no issues with paying that and that's not the point of this thread). However, of all the restaurants I've been to in N. America, Asia, Europe, Australia, etc.. never have I been charged for hot water.

When I asked the waitress and restaurant manager about this charge, I was provided with a meaningless explanation of "it's our restaurant's policy to charge for hot water". I challenged their response some more by asking them to explain to me why a customer needs to pay for something that is FREE (hot water) and why then wasn't I charged for the other 2 glasses of cold water. Their response became even more incredulous. The restaurant manager said (verbatim) "Ma'am, we are in the business of making money. It costs me money to serve the hot water in a cup and saucer. We are also finding that patrons are bringing their own teabags, and therefore, we need to charge them for the hot water."
So I then asked whether this "restaurant policy" would still apply if I had asked him to serve the hot water in a glass instead of a cup/saucer. He shrugged his shoulders and continued to regurgitate the "it's restaurant policy" chant.

I could relate to his argument around people bringing in their own teabags and consequently having to charge them for the hot water to "make their tea". But in this case, the individual ordered hot water because they don't drink cold water (for health reasons). We never asked for the hot water to be served in a cup/saucer, nor do we care how it is served.

Again, I have no problems with paying the $1.25, which I did. I was just appalled by the blatant disregard for customer service, coupled with a rather feable justification of their restaurant policy to charge for hot water. This is awful restaurant practice, and very happy to see that it's not a widespread practice. Who knows, maybe they'll start charging customers for extra salad dressing or a slice of lemon soon.

I welcome everyone else's input, feedback, or similar experiences.

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=491678

Please read the thread.

Dairy Queen workers' hijinks on web shock owner: The mooning video

Location: Newfoundland and Labrador, St John's
Industry: Restaurant

Source: CBC News

Check out the video here:

http://www.cbc.ca/clips/mov/nl-pitts-dairy-20080117.mov

The owner of a St. John's Dairy Queen franchise reacted with disgust when informed of an internet video that showed his employees goofing off on the premises — in one case mooning through the drive-thru window.


A worker at a St. John's Dairy Queen dropped his pants at a drive-thru window, in a phone video posted to a Facebook group. (CBC News)

A camera phone video posted in December to a Facebook group involving employees of the Topsail Road Dairy Queen shows some of them cavorting in the empty restaurant.

In one scene, an employee drops his pants and bares his bottom outside the takeout window. Then, he does the same before the camera.

"Oh man, you gotta wipe that now," a co-worker advises him, apparently in vain. The employee continues about his work, without — at least immediately — washing his hands.

The video also shows a snowball fight behind the counter, where food orders are prepared and served. Christmas decorations are visible in the video.

Messages posted by former and current employees also made comments about the questionable handling of food at the restaurant.

Franchise owner Albert Buott reacted angrily to the video when informed of it by CBC News.

"Good God almighty," he said. "Where's my managers? Who's allowing this to happen?"

He described the employee hanging a moon outside a drive-thru window as "disgusting," and said he would investigate.

Shortly afterward on Thursday, the video was removed from the Facebook group.

A provincial food inspection official said dropping one's pants behind a restaurant counter is a health-code violation.

Inspectors, as well, will be contacting management at the Dairy Queen restaurant.

Avoid Yang's Kitchen Sushi Bar in Markham! Police involved!

Location: Markham, Ontario
Industry: Restaurant
Annoyed By: Yang's Kitchen mv md

The below thread is one of the "life long" thread in RedFlagDeals.com back in 2007 and it is still under hot discussions !

Hey RFD,

I just had the worst dining experience at Yang's Kitchen Sushi Bar tonight, which is on the plaza in front of the Volvo dealership in Markham.

It wasn't about the food, but was the management/ownership in question (as well as customer service). Basically, we had a brief and civilized talk with the owner in regards of a mandatory service charge attached to the bill. While we agreed to the mandatory charge (as it was clearly noted in the menu), we didn't agree to the tip being added on top of the taxes. I gave her my reasoning, and she simply said that there was nothing she could do - as it was hardwired into the computer (as they've been doing the same thing for years, without complaints). I asked politely, if she could waive the 3 dollar difference between tip on subtotal, and tip on after taxes - by just not paying the three dollars. She rudely declined.

I realized that there wasn't a point in further arguments, and simply told her that I'd pay the three dollars, but would not be returning again (in a polite manner). She left at this point.

When we were digging up money from everyone.. she came back - looking to argue some more! WOW, so I told you that I was going to pay your stupid three dollars - you're going to argue with me and further piss me off? She repeats the same thing over and over - that this was hardwired in the system, and that I had gone overboard by calling them "cheats". I never had said they cheated their customers, but only said that it was "unethical". I tell her that I had no intentions of resisting the charge anymore and insisted that the argument should end - with us never returning again.

She calls us cheap, and then continues to stand there, waiting for the money. After a bit, I told her that we're still waiting for someone to come back, as they left midway throughout the dinner and didn't leave their money. She informs us that "we're lucky that she hasn't kicked us out of her restaurant, as tables are limited to 1.5 hours seating time, as specified in the menu". I flipped to the menu, and informed her that it was "dining time" that was limited to 1.5 hours - and we weren't dining, but paying the bill. I told her, if you're going to force us out of the restaurant - we'll leave, but we don't have enough money at the moment - and this is all you'll be getting from us. Basically, I told her "either you wait for the money, or take it as it is". A few employees come over to see what's happening, and the owner is talking smack about us (such as "our mothers not properly teaching us", and how "we were troublemakers"). This was all spoken in front of us, so that we could hear everything (deliberately, perhaps?).

So since the other person was taking awhile, I decide to foot the bill with my credit card and get the money from the person later.. They tell me that their machine is down - and that I'll have to run to the bank for money. The owner informs us that only I'm allowed to leave - and the rest will have to stay (because she said we were going to run with the bill unpaid - basically calling us thieves). I do this, and take a charge of $1.50 from the bank.. come back and pay them.

At this point, I proceed to take my receipt - and they told me that we had already received one. I asked them if they could print off another one, and they told me that they were not going to - in the rudest tone of voice. I insisted that I was going to take it, as I needed proof that I paid them. She starts yelling and swearing at me as I proceeded to the door.. and actually told one of her employees to chase after me (who informed me to "watch my back, and just give back the receipt"). I continued to insist that I was going to leave with my receipt simply because they were obligated to give me one after payment. I grabbed my girlfriend and walked out the door.

Doing that, she goes completely insane. She starts screaming off her lungs - and told me if I left - I would be committing theft (of a receipt?), and she would be calling the police. This was probably the only time I raised my voice, to which I responded by yelling back "Go ahead! Call the police, we'll see what they say about everything! Call them, but I'm leaving!".

She runs out the door, and literally jumps on me.. and tries to grab at the receipt from my hands. I proceed to put the receipt in my pocket, and she continues to assault me - by punching me, and continuing to grab the receipt.

I walk away from her, and everyone is pretty much at disbelief at her actions.. I try to leave, but she tells me that I'm not leaving until I give back the receipt. She tells us that "we shouldn't eat outside, if we can't afford to pay for it" - after we paid in full ($250.36)! Because we're being held against our will, I take my phone out, and start dialing 911 - but hung up, as I didn't want to block up the emergency lines and wanted to actually call the non-emergency.

We have more arguments, and she's still yelling her head off.

Police calls back, and I informed them of the situation. Two cops come over, gave the owners a lecture on assault and holding people against their wills and they end up (forcibly) surrendering the receipt to me. Police ask if I want to press charges, but I said no - simply that I didn't want a measly three dollars to escalate into criminal charges being laid - and the potential ruin of an entire restaurant. I simply told the police that I wanted the owners to understand the magnitude of their actions, and that it won't happen again (to other customers).

They never even said sorry!

That said, I will never return - and I'm sure none of the people who were with me today would as well. I'm posting this story here, so that you're aware of the people running that restaurant.

Summary Notes:

* Yangs Kitchen Sushi Bar (4261 Highway 7, in Markham)
* Charged a mandatory tip on top of taxes, rather than on the subtotal
* Heated argument, and owner decided to talk personal smack about us
* Smack includes things like "our mothers not teaching us well"
* Absolutely rude, when we were being reasonable
* Failed to provide us with a receipt after payment
* After taking the receipt, owner swears and yells at us
* Owner continues to chase us out the door for the receipt and assaults me
* Owner holds us against our wills until the receipt is returned in the cold (at night)
* I call the police, and everything is sorted
* Do not visit this restaurant.

Yang's sushi bar (markham)

Location: Ontario, toronto
Industry: Restaurant
Annoyed By: The entire staff

mv md

It's 7:30pm, April 2 good Friday, me and 2 friends decided to try Yang's sushi bar on hwy 7 for the sake of convenience. It was our first time there because one of my friend was here for a visit from Latin Americas. Busy night, no one really spoke English but we didn't mind because it was just a casual dinning out. The waitress seated us and we ordered 10 dishes on the spot while waiting for 3 more friends to come in. I just wanted my friends(some are Canadian and some are from England) to have a good experience trying Japanese all you can eat and get a good impression on Markham . The waitress wasn't really informative and kind of rude but what do you expect on a Friday night right? Only 5 dishes came after 25 min and it wasn't that good. My other friends arrived at 8pm and we ordered 17 more dishes. After 8:30 only 3 more plates arrived and my friend was desperately waiting on the sea food because of the Catholic holiday code. We politely called over the waitress a few times because all the tables around us were getting tempura and everything while we waited more than an hour to receive 8 tiny plates of meat and sushi. The staff mostly brushed us off while the six of us sits there hungry and anxious because there is an 1.5 hour eating limit printed on the menu. My friend asked for clean water and the waitress was like "I don't know, try it".

I mean what kind of a response is that? I felt so embarrassed because my Spanish friend asked me if this a representation of Canadian service or just just Chinese community? I said maybe it's just the restaurant and the whole management tonight. Lucky they didn't kick us out but it was getting overwhelming after "2 hours" without much food while we placed at least 27 orders by now. They should have came over to apologize or check on us. But no, they didn't even care to bring over any napkins or forks on request and was extremely impatient with us when we pointed out that all the other tables are getting food and we had to wait 2 hours for a tempura.

The whole objective of "all you can eat" style is to serve up the food within reasonable time and allow the customers to indulge. It was a clear strategy to make you wait and then tell you time is up where you can't eat as much or even get full. We made plans to head else where after this and did not want to extend our eating time to 3 hours. My three friends that came in a bit late only shared a plate of scallop and cali roll (it's $24 per person .......same as Mandarin). We decided to leave and refuse to pay 6 heads because it was barely 2 of us who really ate or had any food in our stomach after 3 whooping hours (9:30pm). Being still partially hungry and completely disappointed, we remained cool and simply said we are only paying for 3 parties. The waitress was very rude and accused my friends for eating and was determined to charge us 6 heads. Just when things couldn't get any worst, all the food that we ordered came at once and overloaded our table which we refuse to touch at this point (no one's hunger can extend to three hours of wait). She accused us of wasting food which was not of my responsibility where they should have printed on the menu "warning, you do have to wait up to 3 hours" as part of the agreement. I'm sure they'll serve it to some other table because I use to work in a restaurant like that. I bluffed and told her I'm lawyer and I think this is absolutely unacceptable. She then went back and forth to talk to her manager and bickered with my friends some more. It was getting so ugly and all the other waiters were talking smack about us in Chinese. We wanted to speak to the manager but got declined with some stupid reason of her being too.

I didn't expect much from a restaurant like this but the people who run this place does not have a clue how Canadian business operates. We finally settled to pay $18 for 2 plates of tiny portion for 3 people(still ridiculous! ) and a $85 for 3 of us who ate. Did I mention they are not paying tax because I know how they run their business due to the cash or debt option on the menu. They had the audacity to charge us tips which was placed on the bill automatically. I refused to pay tips and only left the right amount. As I was walking out the door, the manager who was supposedly "too" busy suddenly ran after me like a mad person and grabbed me violently. My boyfriend told her to back off and she continued on to blab about her tip. We told her in plain English that we are not oblige to pay any tip if our service was dissatisfy according to the Canadian law. She called us stupid and continued to cuss in an uncivilized manner.I was so close to calling the police on her. My boyfriend finally dropped a few more dollars on her and told her in Spanish you "I don't even know how you qualify to run a restaurant and someone of authority will look into this."

Yeah.......long story but I have never ever experienced anything like this my entire life in Canada. I normally eat throughout Toronto or chains like Pickle Barrel, Moxie's, and the Keg. This wasn't cheap either but I seriously hope someone do something about this because it's so unfair for the costumers and it gives Markham such a bad name. I know they have plenty costumers and maybe they got treated differently, but please if you ever been there and got the same experience, post it!

BATON ROUGE RESTAURANT

Location: Quebec, Montreal
Industry: Restaurant
Annoyed By: THE WAITER

Not to long ago, my husband and myself dined at this very restaurant. Baton Rouge. Now, this particular eatery is supposed to charm and relax you as well as feed and satisfy our culinary senses , it being such a pricey place....ha!!!!! The waiter engaged with us in conversation and I mentioned the garlic bread being rich...well! He quickly snatched the bread out of my husbands hand and commented (under his breath) and that was that!!!!!!! Wow! And how much did we spend? And for what? I wonder if there is anyone out there who has any complaints for this assembly line restaurant.

Sansei Sushi Restaurant = Abusive Staff!

Location: Other, Kihei
Industry: Restaurant
Annoyed By: The managers & Karaoke man

I went with a group of friends to Sansei late night sushi & karaoke in Kihei, HI. A friend & I decided to sing a song together. People started yelling that they could not hear me so we quit singing. And tried to figure out the problem. I said "wtf?" - not loud or anything, I was just trying to figure out the problem. Right as I said the last word, my friend clicked my mic on. It was obviously an accident, but the karaoke guy kicked us off stage anyway. A lot of the patrons booed the karaoke guy. My friend and I were upset, so we walked out. I came back to the restaurant in less than 10 minutes to pay my tab and asked to speak with a manager to voice my complaint. We were in the middle of the restaurant and a lot of customers so I asked to go somewhere more private. The manager was angry and was not interested in listening to me, he ended up storming off. I then went to the podium to ask for another manager's or the owners contact information, because at this point I was also upset with the manager's behavior. The male manager returned and refused to give me any contact information.

At this point they brought out our tables tab, minus what one party had already paid. I gave them cash for what I had paid plus $4 extra, even though a gratituity of 18% had already been added. I intended to leave after paying my part but then they started insisting that I pay for the rest of the tab, because the friend I had left with had not returned. I said no. For one, I had terrible service, and two, I had hardly any money left in my account. Another manager came out. They were threatening to call the police on me if I didn't pay the rest of the tab, which was around $40. I said I couldn't pay it, I had paid my part, plus extra for tip. At this point I was getting very upset and frustrated. The woman manager grabbed my arms and was talking really close to my face about how I needed to pay the rest of the tab. I told her to not touch me. I offered to come in the next day and pay the remaining portion of the tab, but they would not allow this. I offered to leave my driver's license as collateral, but the male manager said it was too easy to just get another one. All over $40!!!

There were still 2 of my friends at our table and one of them came over and paid an additional $20. He could not pay more, because he didn't get paid until the next day either. They still would not let me leave and were threatening to call the police.

I later found out that some of my other friends at the table had also paid an additional $20. This should have covered the tab, right?

I do not understand why I was treated this way.

Ste KT116
1881 S Kihei Rd, Kihei, HI 96753
(808) 879-0004‎
sanseihawaii.com

Food Order-taking issue becomes the customer's issue

Location: Ontario, Toronto
Industry: Restaurant
Annoyed By: How rude the waitress was

Aji Sai restaurant (All your can eat japanese food) on Queen West.

While the AYCE food there is not bad, they have absolutely terrible service.
I was there on yesterday, a Thursday after work hours.
I was sitting towards the back of the restaurant. The waiters/waitresses do not come by often. I had to constantly wave frantically for them to see us. As a result, we do not get water/tea refills as often as we do at other restaurants.
The waitress that took our order had issues hearing we wanted one of the dishes canceled (upon ordering said sesame chicken, then told her, cancel that one and replace with terriyaki steak instead), to be replaced by something else. So when the food came and we asked her to take the chicken back as we do not want to waste food, she gave up a nasty glare. Then, the steak that was suppose to replaced her by-mistake taken order never came (and so did all the remaining ones that got missed and never came as well) So we followed up again. She then proceeded to say, "you want BIG or SMALL dish, you know, if you order and you don't finish, you have to PAY for it.". Her tone was extremely rude!

I'd been to the other Aji Sai and had had much better service than what I'd experienced last night. I do not think I'd like to come back to this restaurant anymore.

I was sure a Tip was a gratuity for Good service??!

Location: Ontario, Kitchener-Waterloo
Industry: Restaurant
Annoyed by: Irratated Sushi Boy!! Kitchener

The Food at Ye's All-You-Can-Eat Sushi and Japanese Restaurant is Awsome!!!

What is not awsome is there service, it is to say the least borderline apathetic! Order sheets picked up from the table in a snatching motion(like why are you people here?) and food tossed at the table in a similar fashion without barely looking.... half the time it belongs to another table and we have to call the servers back to say "I think this belongs to someone else?!" at which point they grab it back... making faces, and take it somewhere else?! Then only part of what we did order arrives .... and we wait.... and we wait... then the rest arrives tossed at the table, no apology for delay..... I say again the Food itself is awsome and the Chef's are to be comended for a stellar job! BUT they need to train their servers on how to properly serve a table in a restaurant!! And this is the part that really frosts my windows.... they automatically charge everyone a 10% service charge on the bill!!! I thought this was illegal? and to top it off... they have a tip jar by the cash register!!!! The nerve. I am also going to put a bug in the ear of the taxman... as I am quite sure they are not declaring that extra income that they are charging people!?

EGG SMART-NOT SO SMART(OR FAST)

Location: Ontario, richmond hill
Industry: Restaurant
Annoyed By: waitress

Recently I took my daughter to the new eggsmart location at Elgin mills/Bayiew.We had to wait So long to be seated,also there WAS an empty table in the corner(when I asked this waitress about it,she said she had "forgotten"about that one).

We sat down,and I realized that there was a very powerful breeze coming through a door length 1 inch wide space between the door,and the frame.I asked the waitress if we could move seats,we changed ,and there was no issue.However,the fact that we ordered the simplest meal,two orders of scrambled eggs ONLY,and toast...thats it.It took us 45 minutes and..I had had one coffee,and two refills...We finally got our order,they screwed up the order,gave us scrambled eggs with homefries,and instead of my daughters eggs(the smaller order)having cheese,the larger order had cheese on it).I sent back the homefries,and just dealt with the white toast instead of brown.

When I got the bill,I finally had enough,I was waiting to pay,and was being ignored.I then asked the waitress why the meal had taken SO long,to which she replied"It's Busy!!)I then told her that waiting almost one hour for two orders of scrambled eggs and two orders of toast was rediculous,she very rudly explained to me that the kitchen will not give orders out of turn,even though we had ordered something relatively simple,that would have taken simply 3 or 4 minutes.I have worked in kitchens before,and i know that one needs to multitask to get the orders out,If asimple order that is quick comes in,get it out.

I have been to ALLENCOURT restaurant many times,and had extremly fast ,happy friendly service EVERY time,it is ALWAYS busy there,and I get my food in a timley fashion every time.
Anyway I told the lady that the service was terrible,and that It should't ever have taken that long for that order,she was very rude,and started arguing with me quite loudly,with no appoligy at all.

I told her just let me pay so i can leave,and I told her that we would never come back.As I left I could see the waitress talking about us with all the employees,and kitchen staff,and other restaurant patrons looking at us through the window.
Little did they know that others around me were nodding their heads in agreement while I was complaining about the service,and the man infront of me said "Yeah,really"

There are LOTS of resaurants around that serve beakfast hot,and FAST,don't waist your time there...

The Works

Location: Ontario, Ottawa

Industry: Restaurant

Annoyed By: Servers

One day, my spouse and I went with a friend to a local burger joint. We had been before and while the service wasn't stellar by any means, but it was very very busy, they were competent and we enjoyed ourselves. This time was a COMPLETELY different story...
\Upon arriving, we were promptly seated. It wasn't terribly busy but was still somewhat loud, not really a big deal. Our server showed up and we ordered drinks. It took longer than we thought it should, but they showed up eventually. She then took our order. We started with some apps and then, of course, burgers. When our apps FINALLY arrived, they were wrong. We thought she had just misheard and since they were almost the same and we were starving, we ate them anyway. Our burgers weren't any faster, but at least the orders were correct.
When it came time to leave, she showed up with our bills and had charged us for the original app we had ordered, which was more expensive than the one we had actually gotten, and mixed up our bills. We advised of the issue and she went to fix the problem. When she came back the second time, she couldn't remember where we were seated EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE ONLY 2 OTHER PEOPLE IN THAT SECTION OF THE RESTAURANT. I burst out laughing, but at the same time was incredibly frustrated. Needless to say, it was our last time visiting that particular restaurant.

Wazema Ethiopian Restaurant

Location: Ontario, Toronto

Industry: Restaurant

Annoyed By: Service, Food and Price

Wazema is an Ethiopian restaurant on the danforth at the east end of Toronto. The waiters are very solw to attend to the customer, the food take forever to be served, and the meals tast horrible. Moreover, the waiters try to cheat you by over charging on little items like drinks. It is a horrible place to go to. Aviod it at all cost.

It had better come with an apple tree

Location: British Columbia, Maple Ridge

Industry: Restaurant

Annoyed By: The restaurant

While at a restaurant in Austria, I ordered a glass of apple juice. It cost the equivalent of $4.

Theiving, lying restaurant

Location: Quebec, Hull
Industry: Restaurant
Annoyed By: Cafe Jean Sebastien Bar


Used to love this place (49 Saint Jacques in downtown Hull) but not any more, not since they changed ownership/management over a year ago. Subjective things such as lower quality menu are one thing, but not getting stiffed when came time to pay.

We tried to pay with one of their gift certificates, but, in spite of the amount on the certificate being several dollars more than what was on the bill, they refused to give us change, saying they never did (lie, the place used to) and that this was the industry standard (again, major lie.)

You have been warned. Pity, used to be such a great place ...

Its Fun To Slide On Greasy Floors!

Location: British Columbia, Sooke

Industry: Restaurant

Annoyed By: McDonalds Dirty Staff

While waiting in line at the Sooke, BC McDonalds I noticed the employees "sliding around" in the food preparation area. Then I noticed they were coming out into the "waiting line" area, tracking all the grease out of the kitchen. I started "sliding around" while waiting as well and couldn't believe they would not take the time to clean up this obvious safety hazard. When it came my time to order, I showed them the hazard and they said they didn't have time to clean it. At the same time he was saying this, one staff member fell onto her back while trying to manovre around the fry station. I immediately called the head office in Victoria (which I found in the white pages) and explained the situation to the lady. The fact that the grease was being tracked into the restaurant and right by the Kids play area as well could definately be a big liability to them. She was very happy I called. In a week, I received 5 coupons for Big Macs, 5 coupons for ice cream, 5 coupons for fries and 5 coupons for fountain drinks. But I wasn't satisfied with that really. I wanted to see if they actually cleaned the place up and that it didn't happen again. So with my free coupons I basically hung out in McDonalds to see what would happen. The next day I saw an older new person there, which turned out to be an area manager who was sent down to see the issues for themselves. The next day I saw all the staff really cleaning! I casually asked one "wow, you guys are cleaning..." and the staff member said "yeah, apparently someone complained and now we have to do this...." The next day I saw two older area managers holding a meeting with staff about cleanliness. Then finally the next day I actually saw a Workers Compensation Board worker and a Health and Safety guy from the government meeting with the area manager. So the situation was actually dealt with and hopefully the grease will stay in the food and not on the floor!

Rosewater Supper Club

Location: Ontario, Toronto

Industry: Restaurant

Annoyed By: Rosewater Supper Club

My wife and I went out for a nice dinner to the Rosewater Supper Club. We had a reservation for 7:30PM and  we had arrived 15 minutes early. We were informed by the hostess that  the restaurant was at capacity and we would have to possibly wait a few minutes. After waiting 1 hour after our reservation, I approached the hostess again to find out what the status was. She said no one had left  yet from the early seating and we would still have to wait. I told her that was not acceptable and she would need to find us a table within 5
minutes or we would complain to the manager. Little did I know that the  manager was actually standing right there. The manager actually whispered to the hostess "then just tell them anything to get rid of  them". I told her I heard that and we stormed out of there. My wife called the Liberty Group the next day and they called back to say sorry and they offered us a $100 gift certificate off of our next dining  experience.

"The customer is never right!"

Location: Ontario, Mississauga
Industry: Restaurant
Company: Montana's Cookhouse
md
After coming from a late event, my family and I decided to go for some good food at Montana's Cookhouse in Mississauga at Courtney Park. We have gone to this location since it opened and thought to be pretty loyal customers. The past year, they have disappointed us more and more, but we thought we would go back because the food is usually pretty good.

We got into the restaurant and weren't even greeted. We stood there like idiots for about five minutes. Then, somebody finally seated us (8:00pm). Because we were really hungry, we all knew what we were going to order in the car, so we closed the menu right away and waited for our server. I waived my hand at the hostess and asked, "Hi, would you be able to get a server for me?". She immediately responded, "I'm not your server". The server came, greeted us politely, and wrote our order down (At this point, I could tell that this server was a trainee because they usually memorize our orders). At 8:15, our drinks were brought to the table. We sat and talked, and as my mother just finished saying "I'm getting hungry, where's our food?", I looked at the clock only to realize it was 8:45pm. I looked for anybody who worked there just to ask the status of my meal.

Here's where it gets interesting. I found the Manager on Duty and asked "Hi, I was just wondering if you could just check the status of my food.". And he said, "Sir, it won't be ready because you just sat down". I replied, "Uhmm, no, I got here at 8:00. We ordered at 8:05.". He said, "No, you didn't. You just sat down five minutes ago". I said "Excuse me, I was here at 8:00. Do not try to second guess me. All I want is to know that my food is coming. Why is it that people who have arrived here after my family have their food first?". He said, "Ok sir, I will check for you. But just know that I think you sat down only a few minutes ago". - HE IS A MANAGER! WHY ALL THE TALKING? It seems like his philosophy of the customer service business is, "The customer is never right".

He returned only to tell me that my order was only submitted five minutes ago. At this point, I was ready to pay for the drinks and leave. He assured me that it was coming soon. In ten minutes, our order was out. He came to our table and said, "Thanks for your cooperation" - might I add, it was extremely condescending.

Our original server came by and apologized. She was extremely sincere so I said, "It's ok, thank-you for your sincerity. You're doing a good job". She was the only sincere personnel we encountered since we arrived.

I'm not trying to say, "Don't eat at Montana's!". But I have been in the customer service industry for 5 years. I have also been in the hospitality industry for 3 years, plus 1 year of chef school. And what I learned was, even if the customer is wrong, you have to treat them like they are right. And moreover, "The customer IS always right". If you want business, this should be your prayer.

My family and I have NOT returned to ANY Montana's since and we don't plan to ever go back.

"MANAGER GIVES BOGUS INFO"

Location: Other, Toledo, OH, US
Industry: Restaurant
Annoyed By: RALLYS fast food

Myself and I'm sure the others in drive through had a horrible experience at Rallys in Toledo Oh, on Airport hwy and Byrne rd., waited 20-25 mins for food at a fast food place only to be told have the employee tell me they have two people working and have the drive thru window slammed in my face after complaining about wait time, after blowing the horn like a maniac finally getting the manager at the window asking what the problem and deliberately giving me the wrong restaurant number to file complaint

WORST Service Ever on a Soon-To-Be Bride's Stagette Night - Yianni's on Whyte

Location: Alberta, Edmonton
Industry: Restaurant
md mv
Being a bridesmaid and planning the stagette, I had made reservations for about 15 people at one of the best Greek restaurants in town. Myself, the soon-to-be bride, and a couple other people were running late for the reservation, but some people in our party had already shown up. When we arrived, the hostess informed us that we were late, walked to the bottom of the staircase leading up to where our table was, pointed, and said "you're up there". Our server then rarely came back to check on us, but I have to admit, the food was great. After a night of partying on the town, I return home to find my message light blinking. One of the bride's friends didn't pay her share and since my phone number was put down for the reservation, they had called me. I let them know that we would figure it out and then pay them the next morning (since by now they were closing and we wouldn't have gotten there in time since it was past 2am). The girl informed me that if we didn't pay, she would send the police to my house and charge me. The girls never did pay their portion (since even though the bride promised to talk with them, she didn't because she somehow blamed it on her wedding party that we hadn't paid enough for her share) and since I had to work the next day, my sister had to go down and put the $96 onto her credit card, and the hostess even gave her the third degree when she went there, stating that we shouldn't have invited people we didn't know to the stagette...though they were good friends of the bride. They then told her "that will teach you" with their manager standing right beside them SAYING NOTHING AT ALL. Even though the food at this restaurant is amazing, I will NEVER go back since some stupid 18 year old bimbos run the joint and the managers couldn't give a s**t about customer issues.

Shiki Sushi head waitress blows

Location: British Columbia, Victoria
Industry: Restaurant

She is rude, snappy, she will push you if you are in her way, and I will not return to that restaurant because of her. She is an example of THE WORST server possible.

Alleycatz owner doesn't deserve your business

Location: Ontario, Toronto
Industry: Restaurant

Visited Alleycatz on March 1, 2008 to celebrate a friend's marriage. Reservations were made for 7:30 but a group of us arrived late...around 8:30. Our entire group was 22 people, in total, 6 of us arrived late. They didn't hold the 6 seats for the late-comers, (understandably...they gave away the table) however, (and luckily) there was still an empty table in the dining area when we arrived. BTW, this place is located near Yonge & Eglinton in Toronto.

Upon arrival we ("the late ones") were accosted at the door by a slimy-looking middle-aged man and his henchman. He rudely told us that we had to pay a $10 cover charge (did I mention it was 8:30?). We happened to be ahead of a group of other strangers who tried to bypass us. He screamed at them to step back while he kept snapping his fingers at us for $10 each.

We explained we were with the "wedding group." He asked if we intended to order dinner. We said, "yes." He said, "too late, dinner is almost over and kitchen will be closed. Pay me $10 each." Reluctantly, we paid him the $10 cover each.

We sat down at the open table in the dining area and subsequently watched the rude man leave his post the front door allowing new customers to walk in without having to pay the $10 cover (we counted 8 before the fumes coming out of our heads started to obstruct our view).

A waitress came to our table to ask if we wanted to order. We told her that we were advised that dinner service was over and also had to pay $10 cover at the door. She advised that we could still order dinner if we wanted and that their policy was to charge $10 cover after 9pm. We complained, again, about having to pay cover especially since we arrived before 9pm (at 8:30), and about the man at the door who spoke to us extremely rudely. She sympathized with us and told us that she's tried numerous times to reason with the man but it "doesn't do any good." When we probed more about the man, she advised that he is the owner of Alleycatz.

We told her we wanted to speak with the owner and she said she would let him know. She later returned to our table stating that he was "tied up" and would come out when he had time. We were still angry about the situation and although we ordered a few drinks, we refused to order food until we spoke with him.

Still waiting for the owner to come to our table, the hostess (a blonde woman) came to us and asked if we had ordered or had been served. We told her we had not ordered any food and that we were dissatisfied with the fact that we were forced to pay $10 cover and also told that dinner service was over. The hostess advised that their policy was to charge cover after 8:30 and tried to convince us that everyone is charged if they arrive after 8:30.

The hostess also told us that we had to order food in order to continue sitting in the dining area, if we weren't ordering food, she would have to ask us to move to the standing room around the bar.

Our waitress returned shortly after our exchange with the hostess and asked what she said to us. The waitress apologized for how "they" were treating us and gave us some more time to think about what we wanted to order. I'm not sure if this was a intricate charade between the owner, hostess and waitress…but I prefer to think that our waitress was being sincere. But…in the end…who really knows *shrug*

At this point we realized that we weren't going to win this battle. The owner doesn't care about customer service and the staff is feeding us lines about the time at which cover charge comes into effect. If it weren't for our friends, who were celebrating their marriage, we would have left. But, at this point, we really had no choice. We ordered a few appetizer dishes and an entrée: spring rolls, grilled calamari, artichoke & cheese dip, and steak & frites. The food was average; nothing amazing.

The owner never came to our table to address our concern. An act of an coward, if you ask me. Thinking back, he probably sent the hostess do his dirty work.

On Saturday nights, the place features a live band and around 10:30 or so the band came on to do their first set. The dinner service was ending and the bar crowd was filing into the space. I'll have to admit, the live music was great. Set a great atmosphere and, frankly, it's always great to hear a good, live band. The place got busy...more and more crowded…to the point of being extremely uncomfortable.

The latter part of the evening was better for us. We didn't focus too much on the treatment we received at the door and the night did end on a good note for us. But looking back, I have to say that overall the service was horrible. Never been treated so rudely at the door of an establishment. The owner obviously has no respect for his patrons and has no understanding of "customer service." If it wasn't because we were there to celebrate our friends' marriage we would have walked out. Food was average; overpriced for the quality. Owner and hostess were rude, unwelcoming and pretentious.

The policy about charging $10 cover is fair, but when it's communicated inconsistently and in a rude tone…it just leaves you feeling ripped off. Our group ended up spending upwards of $1000 at Alleycatz that night…something that I don't feel the establishment deserved based on how it treats its customers.

I'll acknowledge the live band was awesome...but kind of wished someone would've called the fire marshall because the place was packed with so many people it would've been way beyond what any fire code would allow.

On principle, I would not want to visit this establishment again in the future and would discourage others to do the same. The shame is that the same owner also owns the pool hall/restaurant across the alley and the 2 places basically have the Yonge/Eglinton area cornered. Hmm….anyone thinking about opening a bar/lounge in this area? If you are considering it and you're committed to top-notch customer service; let me know---I'd love to give you my business.