I am really conflicted. We are regulars at SMG - we drive 15 miles to go to this location. In almost 5 years of super-great service and food, we had our first not-so-great experience.
First - I'm disappointed with the remodel they did last year - they made the seats smaller (and less comfortable). The angle now makes it much more challenging to try to juggle drinks, popcorn and meal with your partner. That's just a minor issue though. It's still more comfortable than other theaters! Now, we are more comfortable at the counter.
I get that this is Beauty and the Beast weekend - but we've been there for other huge blockbusters, and have never had a service problem before. We arrived a few minutes before the previews, and the counters were sticky - very visible huge sticky mess. It took almost 5 minutes for the server to respond to our light (that was bad timing on our part) and she mentioned that apparently the cleaning crew must have missed that row, because they had that problem with a lot of seats in the area. We place our orders - and within a few minutes a staff member cleaned up the area for us. Okay - that could happen. Not a huge inconvenience.
Our favorite menu items are the coconut chicken tenders. They are crispy, not oily, plump and moist. They give you four huge pieces with your choice of dipping sauce. I give those an A+! I usually get the regular fries, and my hubby gets the sweet potato fries. We know to order them extra crispy, and we are willing to wait a few extra minutes to get them. We ordered popcorn, waters, and an adult milkshake.
Here's where I get disappointed - it took over 20 minutes to bring the water - long after the popcorn was delivered. Our meals came out and the fries were soggy and cold. Really? They even confirmed when they dropped them off that these were the orders with the "extra crispy" fries. After 45 minutes, we turned on the light to get a refill of the popcorn and ask where our adult milkshakes were. 10 minutes later, the light went off - no server, no popcorn refill and no milkshakes. When they were getting ready to drop off the bills, our original server came over to see if we ever got our shakes, apologized and asked us if we still wanted them - so we passed. They didn't drop off our bill until the credits. Cold soggy fries, no popcorn refill, no adult beverage. This was not normal for my SMG team.
Now - I know I could have done something about this - I could have gone out to the lobby to get a manager, or I could have kept turning my light on - but I was really enjoying the show. But that was three strikes for a venue that typically provides stellar service. But the movie was great!