My latest and last visit to Friendly's...

Don't you have anything better to do with your time than to complain.
People who don't have a valid complaint always use the race card. You
are so pathetic.

I am not surprised by your letter, and I am surprised Friendly's is
still in business. The first few times I ate at a Friendly's was in
MA, the last time, which was about 12 years ago, was in NJ. The
service was consistently bad, as was the food. I thought eating in a
Friendly's in a different state would make a difference, it didn't. I
have not stepped into a Friendly's since.

Seems the resturant needs to be renamed to Rudely's! It also sounded
like a good place to start a resturant! It is unimaginable that they
ran out of all those types of foods. The manager must not be doing his
job in keeping the stock order. So get off this person's back and take
a deep breath. The writer was very polite with the complaint written.

Here's what came in the mail today:

June 11, 2007


Dear Mrs. T------,

We were sorry to learn of your disappointing experience at out
franchised White Oak, MD restaurant, which you have described to us in
your e-mail of June 10, 2007.

We appreciate the time that you have spent to let us know of a visit,
which as described, certainly does not meet the high standards that
have become a Friendly's tradition. It is through concerned
individuals, like yourself, that we have the opportunity to examine
and correct situations that are less than pleasing to our guests.

For over seventy years, Friendly's has strived to provide its guests
with the most pleasurable experience possible. Please accept our
sincere apology for the negative experience you had.

We hope that you will again visit Friendly's and use the enclosed gift
card.

Sincerely,

Marlene Robbins
Guest Services Representative"


It included a $25.00 gift card, and was also copied to the general
manager of the location that we dined at that night.

Yup. So there we go.

Just wanted to say, thank ou for not blaming the waiter! I used to
work as a waitress, and I'd HATE when the cooks were exceptionally
slow, continually messed up orders, or ran out of ingredients/items
and didn't let anyone know. It was awful when an irate customer would
lash out at the servers for something beyond their control. I think
your letter was well-worded and your complaint was justifiable.

Guess what? Selective service at restaurants happens. ALOT. There is
an incorrect stigma attached to some races and tipping. The service
reflects it.

I am white, worked in the insdustry for many years through college.
(And this is recent, not decades ago).

I worked in "hoity toity" and "dives" in major urban areas. Everywhere
I worked, there were always employees with those views. Sometimes
management. Sometimes even waitstaff of the same race as the accused
had the same views.

It happens. It's there and not far fetched for the OP to think that.

I just want to thank you for avoiding the temptation to title your
letter "Friendly's Unfriendly" or "Not So Friendly Service at
Friendly's" or any of the other various puns from hell Friendly's
letters usually get. Your restraint is most admirable.

I'd write more, but from the looks of it, everything that could be
said about your letter has already been said. So I'm gonna go take a
nap.

Jenee:

Everything has been said a hundred times over...

I just want to personally applaud you for maintaining your cool and
your dignity in replying to all the comments. I find that very
refreshing.

I hope you stick around.

Hey. Welcome to PFB.

I'm not here to beat a dead horse about the race thing. You seem to
understand why it doesn't belong, and you explained yourself very
well.

Seems like a crappy experience. I've sworn off friendly's years ago,
and i've never been back. Thankfully my neighborhood has a good
selection of resturants to choose from. I'm glad that your selection
in your area is about to improve. I personally like TGIF. and i wish
there was an IHOP around here... the commercials make it look YUMMY.

I believed you until you mentioned the race comment, which makes
wonder did the cashier really make a face at you or do you think she
did based on her race, and was the manager really that rude or are you
saying so to because he was rude to you based on your race. If you
were rude to the manager he had every right to tell you it is none of
your business no matter what race you are.

Honestly, this is one of the better-written letters I've seen here and
I think all of your complaints were valid EXCEPT for the race comment.
Please.

I hope you get an apology from a Friendly and you certainly deserve a
free dinner for all your trouble.

But I hope to be getting my learner's permit soon, along with my first
bike (don't worry all, just planning on a little Rebel 250 to start
out with). I have met a lot of bikers at the bike shows and rallies I
have gone to, and the vast majority of them are good folks. I even
lived next to the HQ of a motorcycle club for a while, and we used to
invite each other over for BBQs and the like. I'd be proud to call
myself a biker.

"Our night ended with us getting chastized by the cashier about how we
would probably get treated better if we changed our attitudes.
Frankly, I cannot help but think that part of this has to do with my
race."

Oh, give me a break! Race probably had nothing to do with it? What
race are you? Would you be pulling out the race card if the person
were of the same race or of a different race other than the race the
person was who glared at you?

First of all, you should have gotten the manager's name. Period. Even
if that meant calling the restaurant the next day during the morning
or afternoon. Either that, or get the number for the stores district
manager. They would have taken care of things better than corporate
would. Corporate offices usually let stuff like that roll off their
back and chalk it up to the people working having a bad day,
especially if they're short-staffed. Second, I bet you've never worked
a restaurant job a day in your life, so you probably wouldn't know
what it's like to be frustrated and feel overworked and underpaid.
Plus, we're only hearing your side of the story. Were you polite about
issuing your complaints until you just couldn't take it anymore or
were you rude from the start? If the latter was the case, that won't
get you results!

First, forget about banana splits. Doesn't look like that's in your
future at a Friendlys. Second, why have you been a repeat customer if
as you stated at the end of your very looooong letter that you've had
issues there in the past? Try another place. I understand Olive
Gardens are really nice. And just because the name says so, I guess
you can't expect friendly at a Friendly's. Personally I've never
eaten at one, but I'm not a chain kind of guy. There are way better
food options out in the world that are not national chains and the
food is a thousand times better and usually for about the same price.
Keep in mind, you get what you pay for.

Very well written, lots of examples as to exactly why you are upset.
I like the fact taht you made every effort to give them the benfit of
the doubt before you spoke to the manager.

It sounds like you did everything right in handling the issue as it
was occuring.

Do come back and let us know how/if you get a response.

Jenee, I was with you 100% until you pulled out the race card. I would
just remove the race comment, and the rest of your letter is good.
Thank you for realizing that those problems were not the waiter's
fault. I've learned from experience that a lot of people will take
their frustrations out on their server. I've never heard of Friendly's
so I can't tell you any experiences I've ever had with them. I guess
its just in a certain part of the country. Oh well, better luck next
time with your dining experience.

this is friendly's we're talking about... not some high end hoitey
toitey place. Second.. race has nothing to do with it.. I wish you
people would stop pulling the card. I can see how it can be corp.'s
problem. Maybe they don't have enough payroll... the store i work at
is tight on payroll. so if thats the case.. it IS not his fault.

Since the race comment has been addressed... I'll leave it be. ;)

I really like your letter. I have NEVER had a good experience at
Friendly's. Ever. EVER. I will probably never step foot in their
restaurant again. I actually believe there is a corporate problem
going on somewhere. I hope you hear back from them.

This is a pretty good letter. There was the slip about race, but at
least you didn't go so far as to say what race you are. Of course it
doesn't matter. You did use the language "I couldn't help but think
that part of this..." which is, in my mind, different than making a
claim that something happened a certain way. You can see you ticked
off some regulars here. However, you are getting many supportive
comments.

I can't help but think that if you said "fifty" percent that the
cashier may have been shocked by that. That is an large discount,
even though you had an overall terrible visit. Maybe the cashier
thought you were trying to pull one over on him/her. The facial
response is totally inappropriate in any event.

Wow, they sound like they were completely unprepared for customers.
Not only did they not have many food items/ingredients, but were down
to one cook. The former is foreseeable adn hopefiully something they
will improve.

I find the refusal to identify themselves inappropriate also. This
sounds like a place to steer clear of. The IHOP will be brand new and
hopefully they will be energetic and the place will be sparkling
clean. Good luck in you future dining.

You may have been dealing with a racist cashier, but without any overt
actions or statements, you just cannot know for sure. For all we know,
the cashier might hate her job. Perhaps she is an equal opportunity
abuser!

In any event, I liked your letter and found the detail that you
provided exceptional. If I've read the comments correctly, this was
your first letter via PFB. Nice job.

Welcome and good luck. I hope someone from Friendly's responds. If so,
please let us know.

I dont think its unrealistic for her to assume that her race played a
factor in the way she was treated. There are many waiter/server blogs
on the internet that I read, and they DO stereotype. More often then
not, the stereotypes are correct. At least in restaurant settings. I
wouldnt know, ive never been a server, I just read this stuff. Its
human nature to judge other people for whatever reason. Racism exists.


On my drive from Texas to Virginia, I stopped at a Hardees on the
outskirts of Georgia. Nobody would take my order. Finally one lady did
take my order and was very hostile about it. When the people in the
dining area realized we were going to sit down and eat, they stopped
eating. One man even threw his hamburger down in disgust. Racism
exists. I know when someone is being racist against me, and i wouldnt
appreciate other people telling me that im making it up.

Other than the racial comment, this was a well-done letter. It had
all the needed information, and did not include any unneccessary
freebie grabs. You showed much more poise than some OP's I've seen on
here in the face of such a situation, and acknowledging that your
waiter did a good job instead of just slamming him too was an
excellent touch. I hope you get this situation resolved to your
satisfaction.

Im writing this letter after reading your follow up statements showing
that you wish to remove the race card!
I think this was an excellent letter. It shows the Corporate office
just how this "manager" deals with a situation. When you first
ordered, it turned out to be all chicken and when the waiter returned,
you did not make a big deal out of them being all out (which is poor
management in my opinion)
I think overall you handled the situation very well. There were many
times when you could have blown up in the restaraunt and made a big
scene but you held your cool. Excellent job!

You received horrible service, except from the waiter. I think he did
the best he could, and kudos to you for recognizing that in your
letter.

And I'm also appreciative of the fact that you tried to work it out
with the manager, although he ended up being part of the problem as
well.

No ridiculous demands either. In fact, no demands period. Awesome.

I really hope Friendly's addresses your concerns. Keep us updated on
whether they do, and what they have to say.

"Frankly, I cannot help but think that part of this has to do with my
race."

You mean, the human race?

Geez, you got a bad night at an illprepared restaurant. Don't even
THINK that it has anything to do with whatever color your skin happens
to be.

You know, you had me up until you pulled the race card. You have
absolutely no proof this had anything to do with your race.

You received poor service all around from everyone except your waiter.
You should have concentrated on that.