In the hospitality industry, service is the prime reason customers make their decision to return. If a restaurant patron receives mediocre food, but excellent service, he will, more than likely, revisit the eatery. But, if the service has been meager, the diner will not return — even if the food is spectacular.
Brio Tuscan Grille, which opened last June in SouthPark and is owned by the Columbus, Ohio-based Bravo! Development Inc., takes reservations for 40 percent of their tables. Other customers wait. Whenever I have to wait, like two months for a table at Per Se or 15 minutes for lunch at Price’s Chicken Coop, I assume I’m waiting because the experience is worth it. Not so at Brio.
At Brio, the server appeared and while giving her mechanical, scripted introduction, the word waitron popped into my head. She asked us a question and without pausing she continued, “Fantastic.” Not listening to customers is rule No. 1 of bad service.
Then the “waitron” returned to take the drink order. Even though we had not asked, she started a condescending monologue about wine. In the midst of her description she used the word “effervescent” Hard to get a word in, I interrupted, “Effervescent? A sparkling wine?” “No,” she curtly replied. “Effervescent does not mean sparkling. It’s means blah, blah, blah.”
Rule No. 2 of bad service: Argue with your customers. Not being able to judge what a customer needs or wants — including information — is unprofessional and a hallmark of inept service. A server is supposed to make diners feel fabulous — not the other way around.
All customers are created equal, right? Not here. At Brio if you are a local celebrity, a bevy of servers will end up at your table. Our server, in fact, left our entire section to talk to a local celebrity. While she was there our undercooked bread was delivered via runner. Then a dessert. Oops, wrong table. Yet, the waitron was still chatting up the celeb. The other people in my unfortunate section, including the man behind me who seemed to be continuously ordering 86ed items, were spending money. Brio is not inexpensive. My bill was $150. At that price point shouldn’t diners expect attentiveness or at least some service?
Rule No. 3: Treat some customers better than others and let other customers see this.
In Lessons in Service, author Edmund Lawler writes that good service should “create a single point of contact for the table.” Our waitron never poured the wine again after the first glass and on that rare occasion she did show up, she interrupted our conversation. After our entrées languished under the heat lamp for 15 minutes and 37 seconds, I was tempted to ask another server to rescue our food. Instead I watched as the expediter shuffled our entrées. When the entrees were finally brought by a runner, my salmon looked as if it had been cooked by the heat lamp, not a chef. Then the waitron appeared holding two black napkins. “Gimme your napkins,” she demanded. We offered the white napkins to her. “These should have been delivered with the entrées.” And then she turned and vanished into the cacophony of the dining room. I tried to call out for a fork, but she didn’t hear me.
The next time we saw her, she delivered the check — before she brought our desserts. Rule No. 4: Forget anticipating the customers’ needs; instead, schedule events at your own convenience.
By dinner’s end, an empty wine bottle, empty wine glasses, dirty bread plates, an unfinished appetizer, an empty water glass, and desserts were left on the table. Curious to see what another server thought, I stopped one and asked what was wrong with the table. She looked at it then back to me searching for a clue. Rule No. 5: Don’t bus the table. Allow your customers to exist in a plethora of plates.
“But if the kitchen understands the complications on the floor, and the service team understands the complications in the kitchen, it should all work — and it almost always does,” writes Lawler. But not at Brio on this night. At one point I counted 15 employees hovering around the expediting line. With so many employees, shouldn’t service be good or at least adequate? Not horrible and rude?
Reflecting upon my experience, I thought back to the customers waiting to be seated. Why were they waiting? The food was prescriptive, certainly nothing to write home — or a column — about. The bread was delivered undercooked, my salmon was overcooked, the fries were limp (admittedly the last two were casualties of the heat lamp — not the kitchen.) The cheesecake is imported. The interior is somewhat overwhelming as my dining companion noted, “It’s like a dressed up Chili’s.” Italian restaurants are popping up as fast as mushrooms after a rain in Charlotte. Dozens of establishments want your business. I have dined in restaurants — both locally owned and chains — in the SouthPark area that work extremely hard to create an unforgettable experience. And by that I mean a favorable unforgettable experience.
Even “average” dining service is well choreographed. Exceptional service goes well beyond this by not only being well-timed, but diners’ needs are met intuitively. Poor service shows itself in a chaotic dining room; however, when a well-intentioned dining room has a bad night — and this happens — the floor manager typically comps a few dinners. But not at Brio. The only person who asked about our dinner was the valet. We appreciated that.
To contact Tricia regarding tips, compliments or complaints or to send notice of a food or wine event (at least 12 days in advance, please), opening, closing or menu change, fax Eaters’ Digest at 704-944-3605, leave voice mail at 704-522-8334, ext. 136, or e-mail tricia.childress@creativeloafing.com.
This article appears in Sep 27 – Oct 3, 2006.
I’ve been to Brio three times, once for lunch, twice for dinner. I am not a celebrity. As I read your comments I kept think “this can’t be the same restaurant” On the three times I’ve been there the food was very good, the service flawless, bread basket and water glasses constantly refilled, and the experience noteworthy enough to make me look forward to the next meal. The first time I had dinner I brought in a group of 22 women. The table was set and waiting for us. Our waiter was courteous and professional. It is amazing to see 22 entrees arrive at the table and be set down at once. One error (wong dish) was substituted quickly and pleasantly. Next time come to dinner with me, I’ll guarantee you a much better time.
I think this review was ridiculously horrible. As a chef myself I know this place cannot be that bad. I truely believe the writer is beyond nieve and insecure about the true dinning experiece. One bad experience especially at a new place is not unheard of, and I truely dont believe it was that bad. I think the writer needs get another hobbie
BRIO ROCKS…thats all
It seems apparent that you are aware the pen is mightier then the sword and you have not hesitated to stab away, OUCH!
I have to wonder, after your less then stellar dining experience did you bring any of these situations to the attention of the management? I’m sure if they had been made aware they would have done everything possible to ensure that that you left the restaurant feeling that you made a difference in service standards and just maybe with a sincere invitation for a second chance.
Granted, it sounds like your “waitron” to be frank was a snot, however, I do not think this behavior by one person requires a full page assault that reflects on every “service professional” that is employed by Brio. I think what your “waitron” needed was a personal complaint via letter or phone call to a manager NOT a personal attack via Creative Loafing.
By the way, what did you and your guests eat? Good or bad the food should have been explained with equal attention and detail as your service. Perhaps then I would have taken your article seriously. The impression that your artical left with me was sour “effervescent” grapes.
I enjoyed reading your article because I think we are absolutely doomed if the “service economy” is all that our country is relying on. It seems as though service is just getting worse, and is especially frustrating since we are freakin’ PAYING for the service! Unfortunately I have lowered my expectations since I don’t count on much anymore. Not trying to bash everyone and I don’t think this is specific to the food industry.
You have every right to call out this restaurant, maybe it’ll encourage them to train their wait staff and make this employee think twice before treating their customers like a nuisance instead of who funds their paycheck.
This is “HOW” and “WHY” newspaper rags like Creative Loafing, the Enquirer, the Globe, the Sun and all other tabloid like magazines get lawsuits filed against them!! Your malicious, character assassination on these employees was severely unfair. “IF” your dining experience was so intensely dislikable, why on earth DID YOU NOT bring this to any one of the manager on duty that night before you left? It makes you as the writer look like you was looking and waiting for something to go wrong and as the old saying goes “when one is looking for something to go wrong it usually does because the person themselves see to it that it does!” To go to these lengths to permanently pen-to-paper an assault in a rag magazine, and put “YOUR OWN VERBAL” spin about your experience that maybe you had a hand in provoking issues and situations to happen is tawdry, sordid, ignoble, and indicates a very distasteful, showy and poor attempt to make oneself seem big in the public’s eye and at her place of employment. At these employees expense, you are trying to anchor yourself as a “Food Critic” any restaurant should be afraid of and when they see you coming all of the bells and whistles of royal status should come out in full regal form and give you anything you want for free. From my understand there were several employees at your table that night and that you had a bad attitude with everyone, even the food runner. MY DAUGHTER WAS ONE OF THE EMPLOYEES WHO GOT IN TROUBLE AND “FIRED” BECAUSE OF YOUR ARTICLE. She has been upset and crying every since. She was using this job to help pay her way through college. She was trying to save up for next semesters tuition. She wasn’t looking for hand outs she was trying to earn her way through. I am appalled about the damage your pen-to-paper has caused to everyone and in particular in this one individual’s life. What is ALSO so very wrong about it is that you didn’t even bother to speak to a manager about this that night or to bring it to the attention to any of the managers there that night. It appears to be an enhanced story that you could not wait to write and publish instead of being a “human” and speak to someone in real time, face-to-face. IF THINGS WERE REALLY THAT BAD AND HAPPENED “JUST THE WAY YOU SAID”!! Instead, you hide behind a pen to write an article and choose to leave the restaurant with your full intentions cheering and echoing in your head “I’ll show them, just wait until they read what I have to say — I’ll show them all!” Brio is only a little over 3 months old to Charlotte, the employees are very new as well. To have utter disrespect for the damage and destruction one can do to the livelihood of another’s human life is an attribute of inhuman characteristics, poisonous behavior, and venomous personality traits. AS THE MOTHER OF ONE OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED EMPLOYEES SLANDERED BY THIS ARTICLE, I WILL BE SEARCHING FOR WHAT ACTIONS CAN BE TAKEN FOR THE DAMAGE THIS ARTICLE HAS CAUSED HER. IF ANYONE READING THE TREADS REGARDING THIS ARTICLE KNOW THE WHAT(S) AND THE WHERE(S) OF WHAT MATTERS CAN BE TAKEN, PLEASE EMAIL ME AT PristineGyrl@aol.com
I think your article was great! Clearly, you are a food critic and if you have a bad experience- you are at liberty to tell in your columns. I would rather hear the truth.
Do the people who wrote these comments not know what a food critic is all about? It is about dining and telling… not speaking with managers.
I am glad the poor, celebrity loving waiters were fired! I doubt your article was the reason they were fired. I bet your article DID prompt a more watchful eye and that prompted firing.
The lady who has threated to sue. If you can find an attorney to take your “defamation” case- I would laugh so hard!!!
Please continue the good work, I have a buddy who’s a mgr. at a similar “overpriced resteraunt”.
This would never happen at that establishment. If your gonna overprice you food, presentation, and service should be supreme.
The precise and accurate word being–food critic. Not character assassination. There is always a tactful, humanistic way to get ones point across without being nasty and crass. Truthful yes….vicious and uncivil does not conform to any standards of social or professional behavior.
The precise and accurate word being–food critic. Seemingly, she is a food critic, not in the profession of business of character assassination. There is always a tactful, humanistic way to get ones point across without being nasty and crass. Truthful yes….vicious and uncivil does not conform to any standards of social or professional behavior.
I’m sorry that you had a bad incident at Brio. My boyfriend and I have dined at Brio several times. We love it. It’s my new favorite in South Park.
What’s wrong with you, commenters? The food at Brio sucks, there are so so so many better restaurants in this town. It’s EXACTLY like Maggiano’s, but a little worse and there’s not as much food. You have Il Posto AND Toscana practically within walking distance of this place, and in the same price range, and THIS is what you settle for, Charlote? And the wait staff may not all be as bad as the server in the story, but our waitress was indeed indeed a “waitron.” I can’t stand restaurants where they ask you if you’ve “been here before?” Why, do you do something that no other restaurant in the universe does??? Our appetizer wasn’t bussed by the time our entrees came out, either. And why are the water glasses so huge? And the booths? It’s got a very Outback-y, mass-produced feel, for the “price point.”
My wife and I have dined at Brio 5 times since it’s opening and we agree totally with Tricia’s perspective of the restaurant with one exception….Two times in a row we sat 15-20 minutes waiting for someone to approach our table…after asking for a manager we were given a bottle of wine…still service continued to be poor. The food is ok, not excellent, the service is always terrible (lack of waitstaff??), Time will tell if the restaurant service improves or they will not be open long, because there is too much to choose from in S. Chrlotte now. The lady who is upset about her daughter’s firing… I think we had a waitress one night just like the one Tricia had. I agree that a condescending, know-it-all attitude is not appropriate for this type of job. When you are the one paying the bill, you hope to be treated with respect and a feeling of “so glad you’re here”! Is that too much to ask?
Hey MOM!!! Shut up…..this is the real world where sons and daughters get fired everyday for being slack. You daughter got fired for not doing her job to meet expectations…..get over it…shooting the messenger isn’t going to reverse that.
I’m sorry your daughter is boo-hooing about getting fired, actually, forget that. I’m not. Welcome to the real world honey. And while you’re talking to your lawyers about the slander suit- how’z aboutcha send some of that money her way? Moron.
It’s about time that someone addresses the poor quality of service in this town!!!
Guests are paying a lot of money, often saved up for a secial occasion, to go out and dine. They should be treated with the same dignity and respect as the server expects to be treated with. It’s the Golden Rule — treat others how you expect to be treated.
Despite the obvious lack of attention paid to the details, servers basically get paid to be NICE to people and to bring them what they want, (without the guest having to ask!). They should have thourough job knowledge and enjoy both their guests and their jobs.
Why bring it to the managers attention? It should make no difference to a server if they are waiting on a food critic, a movie star, or a nice couple out to celebrate a birthday.
Unfortunaely, this server learned this lesson the hard way! Hopefully this will bring to light how important SERVICE is to a dining experience.
I garentee, that even if the food was bad, it could have been saved by a great waiter!
It’s about time this issue is addressed in this town. I am tired of spending hard earned, (and a lot), of money on a sub-standard meal — and it’s the service that will stick out the most in your mind. The server is the person with whom a guest has the most contact, and who is resposible for the pace of that meal.
The best meal in the world can taste bad if served by a rude server.
Tricia, this was a great article — keep up the good work!! I hope to see more articles related to service and hopefully it will bring change. Hopefully Charlotte will one day compete with some of the great food cities in this country.
And to the mom …. seems like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…