Showing posts with label bad service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bad service. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Update: Passport Photo Woes

Ok, so after I couldn't get my pictures retaken yesterday after work (see yesterday's post), I decided to try today. After work, I drove over to Sears. I walk in and once again the Portrait Studio was dark. This time, however, there was no sign, nobody there, nothing! I walked around to find anyone that might be able to help me. I found someone in the Electronics department who tried to call around, and eventually took me over to the Catalogue desk. Turns out that the Portrait Studio is contracted out, so they make their own hours, and just leave whenever they feel like it if they have no appointments. This is appalling!! The helpful electronics guy is going to make sure they stick around tomorrow, and I will also call in. When I go in there, I'm going to raise one hell of a fuss!! I wouldn't want to be the poor person working there tomorrow. They are going to refund my money AND retake the pictures, and I won't settle for anything less! I can't believe I have to go back three times because they just feel like closing up shop with no warning!
I've never heard of anything like that before!

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER go to Sears Portrait Studio in Lethbridge!!! (If they don't both retake my pictures AND refund my payment, I'm going to report them to the BBB!)

Friday, February 23, 2007

I feel sorta guilty, so I have to vent...

So I feel like I should be a restaurant reviewer today. This evening I went to dinner with some friends at East Side Mario's.

I arrive in the place at about 7:45pm and join my friends' table in the middle of the dinning room. I sit down and the waitress promptly asks me for my drink order. I ask for a ginger ale and continue my conversation with my friends. The drink arrives shortly and we ask for a couple minutes before we order food. I notice that the waitress seems to only be working two or three other tables, so we should be good for service. Boy was I wrong! So after sitting around for about 20 minutes, long enough for me to completely forget what the waitress even looked like, I finally noticed a waitress walk up to our table (again, in the middle of the dinning room), ready to take our order. I was really in the mood for a steak, and I figured I had brought lunch to work today, so I figured I could splurge. It just so happens that the steak (they only have one) is the most expensive thing on the menu. I order it anyway. Now those of you who have been to East Side Mario's should know that they give out free bread while you wait. Well, after the orders were finally taken, we waited a good 20 minutes and no bread. Finally one of the guys at our table knew one of the guys working there, and called him over to chat. While he was at the table, I asked him if we could have some bread. He brought it over quickly. We munched on the bread for about another 20 minutes. (Let's do some quick math here: 20 minutes to order + 20 minutes to get bread + 20 minutes eating bread = 1 hour of wasted time.) Anyway, it occurs to me, through all of this, that the soup for my meal still hasn't arrived. The waitress finally starts to bring out the food, and I mention that I still hadn't gotten my soup. Without a word of apology, she mentions that she forgot, and that she'd bring it right out. So here I am with my steak dinner, with pasta on the side, AND a bowl of soup in front of me at the same time. All this, remember, after ordering the most expensive dish on the menu. Needless to say, I was NOT impressed. If only that was the end of the bad service. However, after a few bites I realize that my ginger ale has been empty for the best part of an hour. I look around and can't see a waitress anywhere. I wait a minute, and see her walk by to help one of her other tables, I see her look at my empty glass and walk right back by. Maybe she didn't see that it was empty, so I move it to the corner of the table to make it obvious. Again I see her walk right by and look at the glass, yet nothing. A few more minutes and she's off in the corner talking with some co-workers. I look intently at her with my glass in my hand and wait for her to glance over. Finally she looks over and walks over, after first walking into the kitchen for a few seconds. She forgot what my drink was (no surprise after an hour), and I had to tell her that I had ginger ale. I think she thought I was drinking water, and so I could just refill with the pitcher at the table. Anyway, as you might be able to tell, I was NOT the happiest customer today. She brought our bills, and mine came out to $22.66. Not I should note that I'm generally a very generous tipper. With good service I might even leave $30 at the table for that bill. At least $26 or $27. I left $23 even, only because I didn't want to wait another 20 minutes to have her come by so I could get change. I don't expect to have someone pay more attention to me just because I ordered the highest price entree they offer, but I do expect decent service for everyone, and perhaps a little more awareness of the service offered when one DOES order the highest priced entree.

Anyway, I generally like to leave decent tips, and I feel a little guilty about leaving a mere 34 cents, and so I had to vent.