My Parents and I have been coming to this place for years. Especially before they changed their location (near/on McKellips Rd. & Recker). Today was the first worst service that my friend and I have received. Maybe the girl/hostess didn't intentionally try to give me and attitude, but I feel like there's a certain way to greet and speak to people when they enter a restaurant.
First off, I arrived before my friend got there. Since My Parents and I have always went there to eat breakfast, I talked up the place; saying it was one of the best places to have brunch. I got excited for him to try the food (since he's always down to try new hole-in-the-wall restaurants. He took an Uber from Tempe to this location; I told him he would not be sorry.
So when I arrived, the hostess/waitress with a good sized tattoo on her arm didn't really greet me. Only said "One of you?" I responded with "Yeah, and there will be another person arriving." She said "Okay" and walked away. I saw a few empty tables and wondered if I should have sat myself down, but I really didn't want to disregard the "Please wait to be seated" sign. So I kept my eyes on her to see if she would wave me over.
She continued to assist customers that we already seated and I really didn't mind waiting. I just wished she would have said "Please wait a minute" or "I'll seat you in just a second." Then I wouldn't be left waiting or disappointed (I hate being brushed off). So I waited, watching her run herself around the restaurant.
She went back behind the counter and then walked out and rudely walked across in front of me with no "Excuse me." If we were vehicles and she ran a red light, I would have T-boned her. She was that close to me reaching for menus next to the counter that I was standing next to. I shook my head at her like "Geez. I could have moved if you said 'Excuse me.'"
So she grabbed the menus and walked to a table booth area without saying anything. So I stood there watching her put the menus on the table, with her looking back at me like 'Duh, follow me.' At this point, I'm wondering if it's that hard to politely ask the customer to follow you to the next available table? I sat down with her saying nothing to me of course.
I knew right then that if she was in fact going to be my waitress, I would request another one. So while I was waiting for my friend to arrive, I drank my first beverage brought by another waitress which I hoped would be better, but it seemed like she was being very forgetful. She forgot/lost the ticket that belong to the couple that were seated next to me. Then, I didn't pay it no mind.
When my friend arrived, we looked over the menu, and then our waitress arrived. She took down our beverages (including my second beverage) and order, we chatted for a good while until we both noticed that we never received our beverages. We would have flagged her down but she never came around our area until she brought our meals, including our missing beverages. It's not too big of a deal. We just noticed that we never got our beverages while we waited.
Overall, the food was good as always; my friend would agree. He didn't experience the rudeness upon my arrival, which is good because, he'd probably would never want to return if he got there before me.
If they were new waitresses, they'd get a pass. But if you've been in the restaurant business for a couple weeks or months, please be a lot more polite, aware and acknowledge your customers. And also, communicate. Don't just walk off and ignore, but at the same time expect us people to catch on. You have to speak up and let us know what's going on. We don't run the place.
Next time, I expect better.