Outback Steakhouse, Don't Comeback Steakhouse

We ate at the Outback in Hendersonville, NC and had bad service. The
manager came out and introduced herself as Liane Fisher.When we told
her we had waited a long time for our food and were given bad service
she told us that they were busy and we would just have to ''get over
it''..She was rude and unprofessional.We asked to see another manager
and she told us that as far as we were concerned SHE was the only
manager!!We were so upset and told her that we would NEVER come back,
she replied with ''We didn't want your business anyhow -good
riddance!"

Anyone here seen the movie "Waiting"? Don't be a dick. Things happen.
Deal.

I am sorry that happened. I work at Outback in East Greenwich RI and
we are a great restaraunt. The managers are wonderful and really care
about hospitality and their guests. I love being a server and 9 times
out of 10 the guests love me and love our restaurant too. I have a
blast working there and we really do care about our employees and we
always, ALWAYS get a manager if something is wrong. I am sorry you had
a bad experience, come to RI and see how you feel :-)

I worked at outback as a server, and there SHOULD have only been one
list. So you fucking moron servers need to get your shit straight. The
guy was complaining that people who arrived AFTER him, were going
BEFORE him. and that is not right. I dont give a flying fuck if you
make less than 3 dollars an hour, I did too when I worked there and
that doesnt mean you get to be a lazy stupid shit. I actually dont
ever go to Outback anymore because how shitty the food preps and
managers are. I worked for Wan Kim in New Bern NC and he was the
mother fucking man. He demanded quality out of his people and the rest
of you goons down here in FL cant keep hair out of the frickin food.
Dirty tables. Empty Ketchup bottles. Fuckin lazy ass bussers and
retarded servers. Can I get a presentation? Uhhhh whats that?
Whats in your soup? uhhh I dunno, cheese?

Bottom line: If they have a shit manager, they have shit people
because workers are a direct result of shitty managment. You can
basically give up on the hostesess, their a bunch of high school
retards. They spend all their time flirting with bussboys and servers.
I think 90% of the ones I worked with had an IQ of like 5. They were
nice though.

You guys piss me off, the customer is always right. So suck a cock.

It is so entertaining to me to hear a person bitch and complain about
something that is so simple. Call ahead!! Just because you are a
customer doesn't mean that you are in anyway shape or form entitled to
special treatment above any other. I am a server at an Outback
Steakhouse and our jobs are not complicated but they are mentally
stressful. Especially when the general public holds us personally
responsible for something that 9 times out of 10 is beyond our
control. I have read several of these posts and I will re-iterate a
point that has been mentioned several times. We all make 2.13/hr on
average and depend on your tips and sales. How about instead of
bitching about hostesses lets turn our attention back at you! You're
also the type of person that sits in a table for hours on end and then
leaves a less than stellar tip. You're the type that feels empowered
somehow by belittling wait staff and hostesses and people that you
view in a lower station than yourself and your wife. Maybe that
hostess didn't handle your situation with the greatest decorum,
however I agree with several other posts here in that you need to get
over it. She was busy, and your perception of the events may have
been skewed. The people that were seated ahead of you likely called
ahead. But I have swayed from my central point. We are so tired of
you and your wife. We are tired of you harassing us when you're not
seated or your food doesn't arrive in the time YOU have deemed
appropriate. I have had enough of smiling and gritting my teeth
while dealing with some of the rudest, most uneducated, and social
inept people I've ever run across. I have been working for Outback
for 7 years to finance my education and in that time I have witnessed
some of the most horrendous crimes against my fellow man and myself.
If someone spoke to me as I have been spoken to while waiting on
these types of people, (you and your wife), I would likely cause you
bodily harm, but given that I am in uniform and at work you seem to
think you may speak to us in any manner you like. WE ARE PEOPLE TOO!!
Just trying to do our jobs, pay our bills, and hang on to some shred
of dignity. I am willing to wager that you and your wife wouldn't
last 5 minutes under the strain of a nasty table. So the next time
you start writing web posts about how horribly you were treated and
how you had to scream at the hostess and storm out maybe you should
stop and think about what you're saying and maybe, just maybe...how
ignorant it make you sound. Sir, I hope you and your wife never come
back to Outback, certainly not mine. The wait staff of your local
restaurant should buy that hostess a drink after their next shift for
keeping you out of their tables. Trust me, she did everyone involved
a favor. Good day sir.

Yes, its called a 'call ahead' list and as a hostess at Outback as
well we are NOT obligated to divulge this info to you unless you
specifically asked why. Stop taking your impatience out on us.Your
wait time is an ESTIMATE, we have NO control over how long people stay
at their table. Have you ever just sat and talked after dinner with
friends at the table? Or perhaps just take your damn sweet time
eating? Then you are the ones that are holding up other peoples dining
experience. And on top of that you're probably the ones that wont take
the table we offer to you. Just because another table is open DOES NOT
mean you can have it. Either theres plans for that table or the server
has gone home already. WE DONT HAVE TIME FOR YOU TO BE PICKY. We have
servers and managers breathing down our necks we dont need to deal
with your bs as well because you want to sit by a window or want to
sit in a booth instead. Its really easy to pick up the phone a couple
hours ahead and let us know your coming. If your incapable of picking
up a phone then your just going to have to wait like everybody else.

I am a hostess at Outback Steakhouse and quite frankly, you and your
wife are the type of customers who make my job difficult. First of
all, If you decide to go out to dinner on a Friday night, be prepared
to wait. If you were smart enough you would have just called ahead!
Second, if you're not a patient person, you shouldn't be dining at a
sit-down restaurant anyway. Go to McDonald's if you're looking for
speedy service.

When we go on a wait, we start a list and we hand out pagers if
necessary. We write everyone's name down in the order in which they
came in. There's no special treatment or discrimination--it IS first
come, first serve. If the hostess told you there were two lists, she
wasn't lying. As a host, I try my best to seat people as quickly as
possible; not only for the customers' convenience, but also to keep
the servers off my back. They constantly bitch and moan about not
having enough tables, having too many tables, or hell, pretty much
everything. It gets a tad irritating. So why would a host just decide
to arbitrarily seat parties? For kicks? 'Cause it's really fun to have
grumpy, "starving" customers giving us crap while servers breathe down
our necks.

Yes, a hosting job isn't difficult by any means, but it kind of wears
on me when people like you and your wife can't wait more than 20
minutes on a busy Friday night without pitching a hissy fit and
blaming us for your inconvenience.

Two words: Grow up.

You need to wake up and realize, despite the fact that as a customer
you deserve a certain level of respect, that we are just human. As
much as we value our customers and want to make your wait as
comfortable and speedy as possible, we can't pull some magic trick and
clear a table for you. You're just going to have to wait in line like
everybody else. Come on, you probably learned that in elementary
school.

And a question... how did this host "upset" customers? Granted, you
were upset, but that seems to have been a product of your impatience.
Was she outright rude? Did she verbally insult you? Frankly it seems
as though it wasn't the employee's wrong doing, but your own childish
attitude towards having to wait in line.

I have never worked at a restaurant in my life AND spent many years
with a lady who did.

These employees are paid LESS than $3 per hour! The "paycheck" they
receive is typically ZERO dollars. The government is only concerned
about collecting TAXES based upon gross sales and ESTIMATED tips
received.

As far as who gets seated first: My lady and I will typically get on
the waiting list at a restaurant and then LEAVE, returning shortly
before or after our designated time. That does not mean we will be sat
instantly upon return, we may however walk in "before you' because we
have already been there and are simply returning.

These host/hostess, servers, etc. are NOT stupid people. If you are a
semi-frequent customer and make at least a half-hearted attempt to
treat them well, they will take very, very good care of you.

Just my thoughts....

Well Thomas, you honestly don't know anything about the employee pay
at Outback Steakhouse then. Hosts, Servers, and Bussers are all payed
the absolute minimum tipped wage; as in 2.43 dollars an hour (or at
least hear in Jacksonville NC it is.) The true pay hosts and bussers
get is reflected off the total sales of the night. Hosts, bussers,
and barstaff are tipped out at the end of the night 3% of the total
sales and then that 3% is divided amongst the three positions which
may mean dividing the sales between 7 and 11 employees generally.
This then turns into earning about 30 dollars after working about 6
hours, dealing impatient customers as yourself throughout the night.


Now I must admit, it was a serious "no no" that your host performed
towards getting you and your wife sat. Its common sense that seating
should be first come first server, with the exception to differing
party size. I believe you should know as well that restaurants, as
well as people, differ from place to place. Not every Outback is ran
the same and not every host at an Outback Steakhouse makes such
critical errors.

But to get back to my point, assuming that you and your wife would
have spent somewhere close to 50 dollars that evening on your meal;
your small party wasn't even worth a quarter to the hostess who
collected your pager.

The point of all this is that the employees at Outback are paid fairly
poor for their efforts. The hosts paid around 7 dollars an hour for
dealing with and seating parties all day, the bussers paid the exact
same for cleaning all the food off the every table in the restaurant
plus an array of other duties, the servers are fairly well off earning
around a hundred dollars on busy nights although many parties do not
tip even ten percent of their bill, and finally the management (or at
least assistant managers that I'm aware of) are paid hourly at a rate
one would deem unbearable to live off of alone, and for this measly
pay rate the assistant managers have to please all upset customers and
make sure food is ran out on time and correctly, as to not upset
anyone dining in the restaurant.

So the next time you decide to end off some little rant like you did,
next time think about the people who work where you eat and don't be
so disrespectful as to assume that these people who gave you such
terrible service rely on your insignificant 18 cent payout. We
provide a service to you; we feed you and attempt to deliver a decent
atmosphere in the process, you do not feed us.

You were at Outback, not Mortons. You get what you pay for.

I rarely go to any national chain restaurant and prefer the smaller
local restaurants.
Applebee's, Outback, Olive Garden and Ruby Tuesday's have gotten so
bland with their food. While steaks are still grilled it seems like
most of the pasta/potato dishes are prepared ahead of time and
reheated which makes them a bit more starchy and dry.
They enhance their dinner with a salad bar or unlimited salad at the
table.

I just do not pay for the hype any more...these national chains are
overpriced and rarely do they have comfort foods.

We had the same bad experience as outlined here - we waited... and
waited... and waited just a ridiculous and inordinate amount of time
to get seated on a Friday night. Meanwhile, people were walking in
off the street (maybe these people knew the hostess or called them
from the parking lot for this so-called "call ahead" seating? maybe
we should have wised up and called them ourselves from the front lobby
in order to actually get SEATED - ?!?) -- and these
new-walk-in-the-door people were all being quickly and immediately
seated -- the hostess was all smiles to them -- new people who came in
long after us.

The endless wait times are beyond absolutely ridiculous! Nobody even
is polite or acknowledges that you've been waiting there forever and a
day either.

We will NEVER, EVER go back to Outback Steakhouse again either!!!!

Support locally owned, independent restuarants whenever you can.
National chains don't care, have lower quality food, and their service
is usually never very high.

Local restaurants are the things that give our local communities
charm. And the food is usually exceptional compared to the big chains
and with a reservation you don't have to wait too long.

Good that you left for another eatery. I hope it was local.

I think you need a refresher course on the pay structure in a
restaurant. The customer pays the server, via the tips. Other
employees, such as the cooks, managers, and hosts/hostesses, are paid
by the corporation. Bussers are paid by the servers, in the form of
tip sharing. Sometimes tips are shared with hostesses as well, but
that is in addition to their regular salary and based on the sales of
the servers. Most corporate chains don't have tipouts to the
hosts/hostesses anyway, so Outback wouldn't fall into this category.

So, Mr. High-and-mighty, you really haven't paid a cent of this
hostess's paycheck.

You don't pay her paycheque the company does. And while yes
technically you buying food there pays the company and they pay the
salary, and you may suplement with a gratuity you don't driectly pay
her salary.

That would frustrate me as well.

Perhaps the other list was the "Call Ahead Seating" list? If it was,
the hostess should have communicated that to you rather then lead you
to believe that they were not seating by what time the customers
arrived.

If you dont hear back from Outback, (some companies do not accept PFB
letters for some reason) I would contact the manager of this location,
to at least give him a heads up. He might not even know whats going
on.

You need to rewind what you said. You quoted "...and then they would
get to her list". "They" perhaps means the restaurant itself? How is
this then the woman's fault?Why should she be reprimanded if this is
the restaurant's choice that she has no control over?

I agree with you. In my opinion they should either take reservations
for all customers or do away with it completely.

I would have been upset about this also.

If this had happened to me, I would have inquired about why there were
two lists. Maybe one was a call ahead list, but she shouldn't have
simply said "we are working off two lists." That leaves the
impression that things are being done in a half-baked fashion, when in
fact they may (hopefully are) be more organized.

I don't blame you for walking out, and I hope they let the employees
know that customers should be better informed.

I have to agree with the others that a little more communication could
have gone a long way in saving this evening for you. When I first read
it, I was thinking that the other list had something to do with party
size, small tables vs larger ones.

I remember in Disney when we went, we had to make reservations weeks
in advance though. People were coming in making reservations on the
spot, and waiting hours to get in, frustrated. So there were two lists
there for most of the restaurants.

It appears there was a call ahead seating list and a walk-in list and
the hostess was seating those on the call ahead list first. The OP
should have been informed that those that had called ahead would be
seated first and the approximate wait time he should expect.
Communication is the key here and it sounds like Outback failed
miserably on this one.

If I'm correct in my assumption about the two lists, then I feel that
the OP should receive two free meals.

I'm hoping that the people who got seated were on the call-ahead
seating list or something, because that employee's explanation
wouldn't cut it for me. It just doesn't make any sense. If two
different employees mistakenly kept separate lists of people waiting
to be seated, then a simple, "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize another
list had been started" could have avoided hard feelings Then heck,
offer a free appetizer or a couple of beverages to appease someone
who's angry and hungry.

What is wrong with a customer "storming out" after waiting to be
seated, seeing others being seated before him and getting a lousy
reason/excuse from the hostess as to why this was occurring?

In fact, why in the world should that customer bear any responsibility
for helping the restaurant "make it right" by asking for the manager?
Sure, he could have asked for the manager and waited for however long
it took for the manager to show up yet it's entirely possible this
customer had decided he'd wasted enough time at this restaurant. Why
should he be criticized for making that decision?

Why should the customer be criticized for mentioning that he had a
previous bad experience? No one lives in a vacuum - our decisions are
always colored by previous experiences (or lack thereof) and clearly
this customer is disappointed because his experiences at Outback
appear to less than satisfactory...isn't that something Outback should
know?

The other list was probably the call ahead seating list. We do call
ahead seating all the time at Outback and it can be perceived that
others are being taken ahead of you.

She may not have explained it right but you could have asked for a
manager instead of storming out.

I would have been upset also, but I think you'd have gotten further
with making your point if you had dealt with it then and there. I
would have asked her to explain why there were two lists, and why they
were working through them differently. I would have also asked to see
the manager to explain why I was leaving. Otherwise it's too easy to
just shrug you off as an unreasonable customer. Not saying you were
being that, but I can see where the hostess could feel that way.

Whoa! Talk about going a bit overboard. So obviously a mistake was
made. There should never be more than one list (unless of course the
second list being referred to was a call ahead list). However, it
doesn't sound as if you gave them any chance at all to make things
right. Instead of asking for a more detailed explanation or allowing
this woman to make things right for you, you handed her the pager and
stormed out. You didn't even request that a manager come speak with
you regarding the situation. How exactly do you think that a
restaurant like this is supposed to get it right when you don't let
them know what's wrong? Adding the line at the end of your letter
regarding not having been to Outback in many years because of a
previous bad experience doesn't help your complaint. Really, it makes
it look as if you went there looking for a complaint and found one.