HendersonvilleRestaurant.com Blog

To all employees:
No one likes customer complaints. Like bad news, complaints tell us things are not right.Our feelings can be hurt. Dealing with them can be awkward and embarrassing. Handled incorrectly,a small inconvenience can become a full blown catastrophe, ruining an event for lots of folks and turning a great, fun occasion into a nightmare!

Complaints delivered in the restaurant by guests BEFORE THEY LEAVE also tell us we have a great chance to correct whatever the problem may be. In fact, we have an opportunity to gain good customers and make friends. Which is best? An upset customer walks out of the restaurant, vowing never to return or that same guest tells us of a problem which allows us to: 1-Fix whatever the problem is. 2-Apologize 3-Show how professional we are in dealing with blunders and goofs 4-Find out more about that guest and what he/she likes/dislikes and prefers. It offers us a GREAT OPPORTUNITY to learn and improve.

People go out to eat expecting a good time. As best we can, our job is to provide that enjoyable occasion. Sure, some complaints are off the wall and sometimes guests walk into the restaurant upset and looking for someone to blame. There are also those folks who expect the impossible.Thank goodness these are rare.
More often, the problem is a minor, but real irritation that truly needs attention.

The most common mistake in dealing with a complaint is getting defensive, trying to explain well, “it wasn’t my fault”. Guests in our restaurant ARE NOT CONCERNED about who is right or wrong. They just want things corrected.They expect no more/no less than you and I expect when we go out….and we can all be pretty picky sometimes!

Thanks for the great job all of you do! There will always be things we could have done better but 99.9% of the time you are FANTASTIC!

I recently organized a get together at xxxx restaurant for a group of us at work. Everything was OK until they brought the check, then everything went hey-wire. The manager came out and you would have thought we had committed a horrible crime! She shouted that the server was very upset and they would have to stop everything they were doing to figure out who owed what. She said the kitchen was backed up and they had other tables to take care of and were already “in the weeds”.She said we should have made arrangements BEFORE we booked the party. She said it would take a long time for the server to figure out everything and add the tip to each check.

When we called no one mentioned paying by one check. We are not wealthy people and had decided we would all order what we wanted and pay individually. We had no idea paying separately would cause chaos. Do your restaurants allow separate checks?

Management Response

Some restaurant people do go ballistic when a party of 6 or more requests separate checks…and when the restaurant is busy, yes, it can get hectic and yes, it takes more time, primarily because of the time required for each person or couple to pay.(40 folks eat, 21 pay by cash , the others by credit card. Of the 21 paying by cash, 6 have fifty’s, 3 have hundreds, the rest have various amounts.) It can get confusing and if you have an inexperienced server, well….try to be understanding and patient, please!

At our restaurants we learned long ago that separate checks are simply a way of life and we had better learn how to accomplish the transactions as fast and efficiently as possible. So when we book a party we ask how the check will be paid. If the person in charge mentions they will be in a hurry to leave after eating, we suggest one check but we don’t feel comfortable making it absolutely mandatory. If the party will be smack in the middle of a busy time, we try to staff appropriately. We also let quests know that it will take more time. BUT….Let’s face it, there are plenty of other places you could go. Secondly, we’re supposed to be the experts and make the party a nice, memorable event. How helpful are we if we make you feel guilty about your choice of paying or even refuse to accept separate payment?

In short, for faster, smoother service, it’s better to pay with one check. If everyone must pay separately, go to a restaurant that has experience with individual checks and doesn’t make you feel like you’ve asked for the impossible.

Hold the Lemon!

Next time you’re brought water or tea in a restaurant, it might be best to say “No Thanks” when offered a lemon wedge…unless you’re certain that restaurant is different than about 2/3’s of those tested a recent report…YUCK!

Like probably everybody else in the world, I’ve squeezed and dropped the harmless, yellow beauty in my tea/water for 50 years and it’s amazing I’m alive to talk about it…..at least, according to this Health Inspection Report.

I no longer ask for or use lemon. Seems I’ve lost my taste for it!

Our View:

For good service I tip well. When extra good service makes the experience much better, I tip more. For nonchalant service (AKA what you can expect at most restaurants), I still tip 15% or more because I appreciate the difficulties of the wait staff job and the fact that servers are dependant on tips for a livelihood…..but when a counter person grudgingly pours me a cup of coffee or hands me a donut, to me it not a tip worthy event. I find the tip jar demeaning….to me and the coffee/snack/counter service establishment. It makes me feel uncomfortable.It makes me want to say, “What the heck have you done to earn a tip?” or ” If you want to make tips, why not find a job where you EARN tips?”

Restaurant servers must train and most work hard for their tips. If they are to succeed, they must smile, be friendly and interact with guests. They often take complicated orders, bus tables, run food, and do side work before and after a shift. They make change. They make recommendations. They’re on the front line when somethings wrong. In short, they EARN their money!

When I buy a pair of shoes or pants at Belk’s or a hammer at Lowe’s, the sales person earning not much more than minimum wage, generally does his best to help me, handing me options, answering my stupid questions, putting stuff back up, etc. If I’m going to tip a clerk, these folks deserve it much more that the counter guy/gal who grudgingly pulls the lever on the coffee machine to fill a cardboard cup with coffee, sits the cup on the counter, mumbles “lids are over there”,then smirks at me when I don’t drop a dollar into a COLOSSAL jar by the register labeled “TIPS” (actually DONATIONS) and layered by the staff with a heaping handfull of bait bills!

Just an opinion. RHQ

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No virus found in this incoming message.

My husband and I patronized Binion’s on Wednesday evening around 6pm. There were two young women behind the hostess desk who did nothing to make us feel welcome-they seemed in a daze. When we entered the seating area, we noted there were empty tables , so we didn’t understand the wait, but assumed it was a lack of personnel.

Our waitress (I can’t remember her name, but she has waited on us before and has been very nice) was efficient in taking our order, but seemed disconnected from us. She just brought the food, asked the right questions, but was just doing her job with no personal connection. We have visited Binion’s many times and were surprised by the difference in attitude this time.

Management Response:

Thank you for contacting us.

Just when we think we’ve seen it all….On the evening you were there and around the same time, a server who had been with us only for a couple of weeks VANISHED! He had a regular section and was serving several tables at the time. WHAT HAPPENED?

A Bondsman (s) from A & A Bonding Agency in Hendersonville,N.C., owned by N.C. State Senator, Tom Apodaca, swooped in and hauled him off. They didn’t discuss this with us before it happened. They said nothing to us afterwards? He was handcuffed and removed.His tables were left unattended. We were caught completely by surprise and yes, everyone was shocked!

We try to check out prospective employees as best as we can. We would not knowingly hire someone running from the law, with a history of criminal activity or involved in any way with drugs, etc…and our record over the years is good.

We don’t know what this fellow is accused of or why he was picked up….but in our opinion A & A BONDING MISHANDLED the situation and we wonder how SENATOR APODACA would feel if we rushed his office unannounced and stole his bookkeeper in front of his customers and colleagues.We run a business too and made every effort to be considerate of others.Maybe those guys have been watching too many DOG the BOUNTY HUNTER episodes!

We regret what occurred and ask that you please accept our apology.

A local steakhouse sells cards for $60 that gets you 24 meals for the price of 12. They also have an early bird special. Some fast food places give out coupons. Have you thought about doing any of this?

Restaurant Response:

Each of our restaurants have several items on the menu which represent “Good Buys” if you mean reduced pricing. They are not always called “Specials” because that word means different things to different people. (I think my wife is Special) Also, we try to run in-house “Features”/”Specials” on a regular basis. However……..

I’ve been at this since 1975 and have learned some valuable lessons along the way. Here’s some thoughts I’ll share with you:

1-Restaurants come & go. Here’s the typical scenario: Open with good business. Business soon drops. To regain business, run give-aways. Advertise heavily. Business still drops. Close.
2-As the above is taking place, business at existing restaurants drops, so many of them turn to #2 above, run give-aways. Later some of them close also. Meanwhile, a new kid on the block pops up.
3-Restaurants selling food cheaply cannot survive for long for many reasons, one of which includes the inability to also hire people cheap (and if you could?).…but many struggling owners think, “well, I’ll grow the business with these coupons, two-for-ones, early birds, etc, then I’ll raise prices”. That plan doesn’t work because you attract people looking for bargains. They leave immediately when you increase prices to where they need to be-not a lot of loyalty with many of these folks.
4-Often the “Specials” are a GIMMICK to attract those extremely price conscious. What’s really happening is the restaurant reduces quality, portion size, raises the price, then lowers it to a “Special” price, etc. TWO- FOR-ONES are a favorite GIMMICK.(If it’s worth 1/2 of your selling price, why not cut your prices by 50%?) Here’s the TFO plan: a-Set prices of individual entrees very high. b-Purchase really cheap products c-Require tips based on the full amount before the deduction. d-Only allow the TFO on the over priced entries, not beverages, apps and desserts. e-Only allow $60 card holders the “deal”. If some unsuspecting DUMMY walks in without that $60 card ($5 per visit you must pay up front) then you’ve hit a home run because he’ll pay through the nose. When it’s all said and done, you’ve “SAVED” a few dollars at most to “ENJOY” a second rate experience. If the GOAL IS TO SAVE $1-3, why not order a good piece of chicken somewhere else instead of poor quality beef?
A guy offers to paint your house for 1/2 of the estimate of a good painter..Let Him???
5-I went into a local restaurant a while back and the server said the 10-oz Ribeye was on “Special”. How can they do that, I wondered? When the steak was served, it was obvious. The piece of beef was a cheap grade, they left a lot of fat and grizzle on it that should have been trimmed and they charged about $3 extra for a salad that most restaurants include with steak entrees.

We try not to play games. While others increase prices on certain special days, like Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve we don’t. We try to build long term relationships with customers who expect certain things from us, one of which is HONESTY and fair play. It seems to work!

Today, February 4th,Kelsey’s introduced some exciting changes to the menu. Some will say it’s about time, I know. We now have separate LUNCH, DINNER & LOUNGE menus. A few of the changes:
1-Appetizers-Several new items plus a large/regular size Sampler Platter.
2-Salads-Two new salad entrees.
3-Sandwiches-A new Chicken Parmesan sandwich at lunch for $6.99.
4-Lunch Features-New are Fish’n Chips,Baked Spaghetti,Lasagna, and a Lunch Trio for $6.49 -(Choose any 3 side items on the menu).Features run from $5.99-$7.99
5-Side Items-Added are Broccole & Rice Casserole, Sweet Potato and Baked Macaroni.
6-Dinner prices were lowered overall, in some cases because we slightly reduced the gigantic portions we had been serving. Pasta entrees run from $9.99-$10.99, Chicken dishes, $9.99-$10.99. Seafood $12.99-$13.99
7-A new COMBO platter for $13.99 is available after 4PM. Choose any two: Beef Tips, Broiled Salmon, Fried Shrimp,Carolina Chicken, Fried Alaskan Whitefish, 1/2 rack Baby Back Ribs, and Grilled Shrimp. Platter includes choice of side item and Salad.

The LOUNGE menu will offer several snack/app type items for a reduced price for lounge customers only everyday after 2PM.

We believe restaurant prices have gotten too high.This is just the beginning of an effort to revitalize the entire menu and offer more affordable prices-New so called Fine Dining
Restaurants in town sure have Fine Dining Prices if nothing else!

Bob Quattlebaum

My husband and I visited the Poplar Lodge for supper this past Friday. The drive up to the Lodge was beautiful and the Lodge itself was great. We had 8:00 reservations and had to wait a few minutes for a table. We sat at the bar and enjoyed looking around and soaking up the atmosphere.
We normally share a meal so we can enjoy a dessert and not be miserable. We ordered the Lodge portion of the prime rib. The waitress told us that we could only have one salad bar with the meal and we said that was fine. I made one trip to the salad bar and my husband shared some of the food from my salad plate. The waitress came by our table and told us that the manager said she was going to have to charge us for an extra salad since we were sharing from my plate. We were not upset – just did not understand why we could not share the salad by making only one trip to the salad bar which is the norm everywhere we have ever eaten and split a meal. I could understand if I had made multiple trips to the salad bar but I only made one trip.
We come to this area often. It seems like a shame to lose customers over such a small issue when you have such a wonderful place.

Restaurant response:
You may find it strange that the owner of the restaurant dislikes salad bars,but I’m not a fan and would love to replace it with a great salad that we make and deliver to the table. One of the problems with the bar is that we owe it to guests to hold down costs, otherwise it would get out of control and our guests would pay an even higher price. Our primary control, therefore, is a policy that the purchaser of the Salad Bar needs to be the guest who uses it and only that guest.

To enforce that policy can present a problem. It sets up a situation that nobody likes. I agree with you that what you describe is “no big deal” but we are only trying to do the best we can to maintain a poicy we can live with. I can honestly say that your complaint is one of very few over the years. Most folks understand and if a salad or a few bites are that important to them, they simply pay for another.

If I could do so without affecting business and guest satisfaction, I would cease the use of a salad bar. It’s expensive,labor intensive and if we are not extremely careful it alienates good folks like you and your husband…..but I would be lynched and I hear that’s no fun. Please give us another opportunity to serve you and accept my apology for any misunderstanding.

Hello! We are coming to Poplar Lodge for dinner with a large group. My son will be along and has an allergy to peanuts and tree nuts. Are there any menu items we need to be aware of? Also, are any items cooked in the same area as nut products and is any peanut oil used in cooking? We are looking forward to our visit but must be very careful with his allergy. Thanks.

Restaurant Response:

Thank you for your inquiry.Poplar Lodge’s salad bar contains peanuts and walnuts. Additionally, several entrees contain almonds and other nuts,seeds, etc. Our small kitchen & prep area at busy times are constantly being worked by a very few employees who perform multiple tasks in several areas. We believe it would be virtually impossible to avoid or guarantee that no cross-contamination would occur in the close quarters of our busy kitchen where numerous items are being prepared, some of which contain nuts.

I do appreciate your contacting us about this matter.