I was at the Victoria Point Hogs Breath restaurant Sunday night with 18 guests to celebrate a family get together before I deploy to Afghanistan. I am not from the Redlands area, although most of my family are and I drove over an hour to be very disappointed with your food quality and service.
For your reference, my docket number was 07AF1 20/05/12 and the table number was 30.
We all ordered at the same time and most meals were brought out together. My daughter's meal, a nachos and mine (steak Diane) were not presented. After about 15 minutes we asked told our waitress that some meals were missing and that one other meal, my sister's (chicken Caesar salad) was presented without the chicken. She went away and came back about 15 minutes later with my daughter's meal and the chicken for my sister's meal. My meal was brought out AFTER the children in our group had been served dessert and AFTER the table had been cleared of dishes of my guests, who by this time had finished their meals. When I cut into my steak, it was undercooked and not well done.
When the waitress returned to clear more dishes, I informed her that the meal was undercooked and she took it away. She returned with another meal about 15 minutes later, by which time my guests were ready to leave. I felt embarrassed for them having to wait for me and we discussed the quality of service at your restaurant. We have all been guests at your restaurant for some years now and this level of service was disappointing, as we have usually had good meals and good service. My guests also let me know that I could doggy bag the meal, which I agreed would be a good solution to me actually getting to eat a steak that night and for all of us being able to finish up and leave as a group.
I had not touched my meal, when the waitress returned about 10 minutes later and asked me if I was going to eat the meal. I replied, "Clearly everyone else has finished and is ready to go". Before I could ask for the meal to be doggy bagged, she cleared the remaining dishes and piled them on top of my meal and said, "I will have it taken off your bill" and she left. I was quite prepared to pay for the meal and take it with me, however she gave me no option. I felt humiliated in front of my guests and we decided to pay the bill and leave immediately.
So at the end of a night that was supposed to celebrate my last decent steak before leaving for overseas, I was left disappointed, hungry and embarrassed. I drove another hour to home to eat a piece of toast and enjoy a cup of tea.
Although I am not a restaurateur, I have eaten at many establishments throughout the world and the two essential things from the point of view of a customer, are the ability of the establishment to provide quality food and good service to ensure repeat business and goodwill. Sadly it appears in my experience on Sunday night, as though you have failed on both accounts, and that, combined with word of mouth will be a consequence upon which you may endeavour to remedy by perhaps looking at some skills for your staff such as time management, food preparation and customer service skills. read more
