The Salmon Wasn't the Problem. The Manager Was…read more
I took my father to Overtime Pizzeria for Father's Day along with family and friends. The disappointing part of our experience wasn't the food--it was the manager.
First, I want to recognize our waitress, Shyann. She was absolutely wonderful. Sweet, attentive, professional, and genuinely pleasant throughout our entire visit. She did everything right.
The issue began when my mother's salmon arrived with a strong fishy odor. We politely brought it to the attention of the manager, Jerry. He came to our table, agreed there was an issue, and personally told us he would remove the salmon from the bill.
What is important to understand is that Shyann was NOT standing there when Jerry made that promise. She had absolutely no knowledge that he had agreed to comp the meal.
Approximately 45 minutes later, our checks arrived and the salmon was still on the bill. We simply informed Shyann that Jerry had said it would be removed. She immediately apologized and went to get him.
What happened next was completely unacceptable.
Instead of taking responsibility for forgetting to remove the charge himself, Jerry publicly scolded Shyann for bringing us the check and processing the payment before the correction had been made.
Let me be very clear: this was not her mistake. It was his.
He had approximately 45 minutes to remove a single item from a bill and failed to do so. Yet somehow the young waitress became the target of his frustration.
The entire dining room witnessed it.
Shyann walked away visibly shaken and fighting back tears. Later she passed our table with tears in her eyes, still trying to do her job professionally. When I asked if she was okay, she replied, "It's okay, really." I told her, "No, it's not okay." Because it wasn't.
What made it even more obvious was that a woman from a neighboring table stopped Shyann and told her she was doing a fantastic job. Complete strangers saw what happened and felt compelled to encourage her because they could see how unfairly she had been treated.
At that point, our issue was no longer the salmon. Bad meals happen. Mistakes happen. We were not upset about that.
What upset us was watching a manager humiliate a young employee in front of an entire dining room for a mistake that was ultimately his own.
When we spoke to Jerry afterward, my friend calmly explained exactly that. We told him we weren't upset about the food. We were upset about how he treated Shyann.
His response was dismissive and arrogant.
He told us we were "entitled to our opinion."
My friend then told him she would be leaving a Google review. His response?
"Go ahead."
When I asked for his name from across the table, he didn't simply answer. With an attitude that perfectly matched the entire interaction, he slowly spelled it out:
"J-E-R-R-Y."
As if he was daring us to write this review.
We suggested that he apologize to Shyann for embarrassing her in front of customers. He flatly refused.
Instead, he repeatedly said, "Okay, bye. Okay, bye," dismissed our concerns entirely, and walked away before disappearing into the kitchen.
A manager's job is to lead, take responsibility, support their staff, and represent the business professionally.
Jerry failed on every level.
The salmon wasn't the problem.
The problem was watching a young waitress be reduced to tears because a manager couldn't take responsibility for his own mistake.
Overtime Pizzeria is fortunate to have employees like Shyann.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Jerry.