A Ruined Celebration !!

When Outback first opened here it was THE place to eat. Now most
people laugh is someone suggests going there. People give away the
gift cards they receive. I dont know how they stay in business except
they are in a great location. At least, the one close to me. When
Longhorn came along they took the number one spot. But even they are
going the Outback road of higher prices, smaller portions and
lackluster service.

Its too bad that so many have said this is not something out of the
norm for Outback. I hope you hear something back.

Outback is way overpriced and slow. I'll never go back there again.

There have been several complaint letters regarding Outback on PFB
over the past few months. Most of them regarding the same issues:
food quality and service.

On a few of those letters, I had commented that I too had noticed a
decline in Outback over the past few years. What started out as a
very good restaurant, seems to have turned into another Applebee's.

My last experience with them was, well, my last. Watching their
prices continue to rise, while the quality of the meal continues on a
downward spiral is enough for me to call it quits with Outback.

It's too bad, because for quite a while they had a great thing going.

If I want a really good steak, I go to Ruth's Chris now. More
expensive, yes. But well worth the money!

I have been hearing horror stories about Outback for a whil;e
now...and although it was never my favorite place to go I know when
they first arrived on the scene they were a great place to go.

The time to complain is while you are there, not just to the server
but to the manager on duty also. Show him/her exactly why you are
upset and disappointed with the food and the attitude of the server.

If they do get back in touch with you please let us know...I would
like to know what their reply is to this.

How many of you were there, and how busy was the restaurant?

There is obviously no defense for badly prepared food, but when you
say it took 20 minutes for a server to get to you and then 20 minutes
for her to take your orders, and then a long time for the food to
come, it makes me wonder how many people the server and the kitchen
were dealing with. It also makes me wonder whether one of the reasons
she was angry was that she was doing the best she could under
difficult circumstances and being blamed for things that were not
within her control. That wouldn't mean she is entitled to take it out
on you, of course, but it would make it more understandable.

It may be that there were only 3 of you and that she and one or two
other servers were only handling a couple of tables each -- but it
would help to know that.

Congratulations on making it through. I get my primary care from a
nurse practitioner (I have met "my" doctor once, just as a formality,
but have never needed anything the nurse couldn't handle -- when I was
having a lump checked at a different facility they somehow latched on
to "my" doctor's first name instead of his last, and I had no idea who
"Dr. Frederick" could possibly be), and I deal with a specialist's
nurse on a regular basis; if I ever made it through nursing school
you can bet I'd want a nice night out as a reward.

Not sure a waitress quickly removing your food can be considered rude
since you complained it was not cooked to your satisfaction. Did she
say something negative or perhaps make an unpleasant face at you.

Sounds like the place might of been busy? You didn't really provide
details of this in your letter.

Sounds like you were most unhappy with the cook. Not really the
waiters fault unless he or she was waiting on your and cooknig the
food.

If the waitress was standing around doing nothing while you sat and
sat and sat then perhaps asking for the manager earlier would of been
wise. I have a feeling he or she was slammed and doing all they could
to handle their tables.

Sounds like the manager replaced the food as soon as she or he was
alerted.

Was the second steak not edible either?

Maybe the manager could of thrown in a dessert or something...but
don't really see how they didn't handle you at the time of your visit.

I spent two years eating out 2-3 times a week at a bunch of these
midpriced chains. The vast majority, including Outback, suffer from
weaknesses in the kitchen. If you happen get the cook that doesn't
give a damn about what he is doing, you are served poorly prepared
crap. Sometimes, the server doesn't hande the situation well (leaving
said crap on the table). I would feel quite embarrassed if I
delivered crap to an anticipatory patron.

I share your pain - the attitude at these places is "We'll replace
it," BUT you wait an extra 30 minutes or more. I just gave up on Ruby
Tuesday's because I had multiple experiences where the replaced plate
was crap also. It doesn't really "fix it" if they replace the crap
or give you a coupon. If they give you a coupon, it makes you
eligible go back and get more crap and waste more time waiting for a
properly prepared plate of food on your next visit. Been there, done
that.

You refer to Outback as a "quality eatery". I think they start with
ingredients of a decent qualtiy, but the execution of turning those
into product is lacking. It is frightening that at these places food
is wasted (ruined) constantly and they think nothing of just replacing
it. Why not put more effort into making it right in the first place?

At least for what it is.

My opinion (and, of course, may differ from others) is that it's
really no better than TGI Friday's, but costs more.

I find there are cheaper places where the quality is just as good. Or
better.

I think, however, that the reason for my different perception may have
to do with what's available. Outback is everywhere. I have some
places I go that have delicious food, good service, and charge half of
what Outback does. But these places don't exist everywhere.

I see Scott is in Concord, NC. Right there, it's mostly chain places
like this. However, go 20 minutes to north Charlotte, and you'll find
a wider variety of places. Go another 10 minutes to south Charlotte
and there are plenty of great places to eat, some expensive, some
reasonably priced, and some dirt cheap. And some places, like Outback
(IMHO), that are overpriced.

Anyway was unaware he was in Concord NC that exit says it all to me.
That is a very busy exit with Concord Mills Mall located at the
raceway exit. I-85 runs along that area.

I am sure the place was probably just slammed if service was that
slow.

I always find eateries busy in that area.

You should have spoken to the manager at the time of your visit and
they should have taken care of this. It is still not too late however,
call and speak with the restaurant manager and they should be able to
give you a refund or a free meal next time you come.