My husband and I went to this resort for our one year anniversary, so it was kinda a big deal. We wanted breakfast in the hotel and Sinclair's is the spot. We were seated by a friendly young man and left to enjoy the ambiance.
The server, Patty, eventually made her way over to our table and apologized for not seeing us, not big deal, but we were ready to order by then, so we did.
Both of us wanted eggs benedict with spinach, but I also wanted mushrooms and extra hollandaise on mine. He wanted the fruit cup and I wanted the potato casserole.
Some short time later, our food arrived and was missing the spinach as well as the mushrooms, and the extra hollandaise sauce. So, we told the young woman (not Patty) that our order was incorrect and she looked at the ticket and told us that it was just as ordered, but that she would fix it and tell our server. We don't like to waste food and my husband was really hungry, so he opted to eat it as it came, but she took mine back to add the other components.
Patty eventually made her way back to the table and told us how she asked the kitchen to remake my order and was sorry and that the reason it was wrong was that she was handling the bill for another client and that is why she had'nt had the time to ask the chef about if she should add an upcharge for the spinach and mushrooms. (poor form to discuss this with a client)
My husband ate and enjoyed his coffee, but accidentally spilled the cream on the table and floor. When Patty came over again and said that if it had been water, it was no big deal, but that it was cream...you know, that's an issue. WHAT!? Did she just reprimand my husband for spilling the milk??? Yes she did. Then he asked for more bread but she also told him that they probobly didn't have any more bread and if they did it was the last of what they had. Just tell us that you will bring the damn bread, and if you are out then tell us you are out. Finally she did bring more bread and told us that it really was the last of the bread. Who tells their clients that??
Finally my food came but by that time my husband was mostly finished with his meal, so we ended up eating separately. The food itself was a bit on the cool to luke warm side... The eggs were a little runny for me since I asked for poached medium, but still very enjoyable. The hollandaise was creamy but missing the bite of lemon. The spinach and mushroom added another level and I ate every bite!
Here's where it gets weird. Patty, brings the bill and even though she messed up on the order she added the upcharge to the bill. We paid for it, but we wanted to leave Patty with some constructive criticism. So we told her how our breakfast went for us. We were surpprised that for someone who had been working there for so long didn't know what to charge for an extra add on, botched both orders, and still charged extra for that, even after we ate separately. Then she said, "I'll be honest, I didn't ask them to remake your order, I just asked them to add what was missing so it could come out to you faster." I don't like to waste food, but why lie to me?
She argued with us that since we accepted my husband's food as it was, that it wasn't her fault, that the wrongness was because the kitchen was finished preparing the food before she had a chance to ask about the add ons. Then she said she went ahead and removed his coffee from the bill, but that the manager said she HAD to charge for the extras because of the food shortages and higher prices COVID had caused. WHAT?!?
I asked her about employee empowerment because something wasn't right here. She said that she didn't have the power to do that, (another lie,) because the had removed the coffee from the bill without asking the manager... So, we asked to speak to the manager, and that's when she said,"I'll be honest with you; I didn't speak to the manager about the upcharge, but let me go talk with her right now."
She admitted that she lied about talking to the manager and was just trying to pad the bill for a better tip. NOT COOL. We said that we still wanted to talk to the manager. Then she said that she would get in trouble if we did that. We didn't want her to get in trouble, but she vehemently said that she would if we persisted. Then she said that she would indeed go speak witht the manager at that time because she felt badly.
She came back and said again,"I'll be honest with you, I really wont get in trouble. I mean, I wont get fired or anything like that. I'll probably get a talking to, but I wont really be in TROUBLE."
Now I was getting pissed. All the stories, and manipulations, and lies over what...EGGS and Spinach?? WTF? So, yeah, I want to talk to your manager. So finally, the manager came over and we told her the story of our breakfast experience. Patty was the one element that made it so memorable and I don't mean that in a good way. read more