To give you a little bit of a background, we order from Maggiano's catering department quite often. We had our annual year end party there a few years back. The food is generally excellent and I cannot find any fault with the back of the house. But let me tell you over the past three years I have observed the front of the house in a deplorable state. How can one restaurant deliver a consistently bad customer experience over 5 or more visits? The entire front of the house from the manager down to the wait staff need to be retrained.
Today was the last straw. I came to pick up a phone order and there were already one party waiting to be seated. Another lady was waiting for her to go order as well. So in all 3 parties all day. I approached the MaƮtre D and informed him that I had an order to pick up. He checked with the kitchen to see if the order was fired. Mind you it was a simple order of chocolate zucotto balls that needed little to no prep at all. At this stage the Maitre D was on the phone to make a reservation. I observed 2 managers on the floor at this time as well as numerous wait staff doing their pre-shift side work. The bartender returns with a cash register and engages in a lengthy conversation with the previous guest who was waiting for her to go order. One of the managers brought out the zucotto balls and placed them on the bar area. I continue to wait. At this point I was only acknowledged by the Maitre D who was still engaged on the phone. The bartender leaves and returns with the other lady's order. I then approach him to ask if that is indeed my order and if it was ready. He starts apologizing profusely albeit halfheartedly.
Having worked in fine dining myself before, I hold myself and other servers to a higher standard. This gentleman and his management and coworkers had zero awareness to meet the customer's needs and I will make it my personal crusade to never have myself or my family or friends patronize this establishment again.