Jack's City Grill (coupon, cost, law)

[Josh Woods]

While the "oh well" would have been it for me as well after that experience.....

I am often reminded of a quote that I heard a friend (guy) give to a girl who had been beaten and abused by her husband....

The girl said "I don't think I will ever date men again"....

To which the friend replied "Please, I beg of you....don't judge us by our worse specimen of the race".

For what its worth, I am sure that the owners and managers at Jack's Grill do not condone the actions of their employees. I ask that you reconsider your stance on not eating at both and instead direct your efforts to getting the "rude" wait staff and cashier fired.

There are plenty of people out there right now who would like to have the jobs those two have.

[panther90]

Onedragonwarrior: no offense, but you sound like the kind that waiters go out of their way to avoid. Did you ask for some ketchup to "bring out the fine taste of your sirloin"? I have been to Jack's about once a week, generally sit at bar or bar section, and have always been happy. Of course I was understanding when they were busy and I tip well so your experience may vary.

[jabogitlu]

Haha. Thumbs-up panther90.

[mystic_celtic81]

ate a jacks a couple of wks ago, definalty reminds me of cootie browns. had the bison burg, nicely done and not over cooked.they were busy then but had great service. unlike a another one i can think of but wont say any names when thery r busy as well; maybe the waiter/and or staff was just havin an off day as can we all have. atleast give them another chance and if it happens again ask to talk to the mamager.

[campergirl]

We went yesterday for the first time. It was around 4pm, so it was pretty empty. Our waiter was very attentive and the food was excellent. We will definitely go back.

[JakilaTheHun]

Originally Posted by onedragonwarrior

i went there 3-21-09 two of us and ordered 2 sirloins, i have eat there serveral times but will not go back, when we got our food i had already run out of tea and also needed butter and a-1 sauce but i could not get our waiter to come back, i stopped another waiter and asked if he could bring the stuff and he said he would get our server, i never got my refill, butter or a-1 sauce, he did come by and handed the check to me and i started to say smething to him and he turned and walked away, when i went to pay the 35 dollor bill the casher asked me if everything was o.k. and i told her the food was good minius the a-1 and butter but the service was the worst i had ever seen at any resturant and she replied O'WELL , then i replied after that remark that i would never be back and she looked at me rolled her eyes and said O'WELL , so o'well i will never be back

What could she say after that?

Not that you don't have a right to be angry, but when you tell someone "this was the worst service I have ever had in my life!", you are basically sending them the message that you are a difficult customer and there's nothing they can do to make you happy.

The subsequent posts you make further that impression. I can't see what's accomplished by 'not allowing the owner to make things right.'

Running a large restaurant is not easy. You have large staffs composed of college-aged students, things are often chaotic during busy hours, and there are so many things that can go wrong. No one wants to have a bad customer service experience, but if you eat out enough at any restaurant, you have to expect it occasionally. The best thing you can do is voice your concerns productively and most of the time, the people in charge will do everything they can to remedy the problem. If anything, the restaurant industry is overly generous in how it handles complaints.

If I were in your shoes, I might be extremely relunctant to go back to that particular restaurant, as well, but I think it's going overboard to carry out some personal boycott of the owner's restaurants. I doubt the owner approved of the poor service or the "oh well" comment for that matter. I'd also wager to say that most new restaurants go through hiccups as they are getting off the ground, so maybe the reason the service at Cootie Brown's is so much better is because they have had time to smooth out the rough patches.

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by JakilaTheHun

What could she say after that?

Not that you don't have a right to be angry, but when you tell someone "this was the worst service I have ever had in my life!", you are basically sending them the message that you are a difficult customer and there's nothing they can do to make you happy.
The subsequent posts you make further that impression. I can't see what's accomplished by 'not allowing the owner to make things right.'

Running a large restaurant is not easy. You have large staffs composed of college-aged students, things are often chaotic during busy hours, and there are so many things that can go wrong. No one wants to have a bad customer service experience, but if you eat out enough at any restaurant, you have to expect it occasionally. The best thing you can do is voice your concerns productively and most of the time, the people in charge will do everything they can to remedy the problem. If anything, the restaurant industry is overly generous in how it handles complaints.

If I were in your shoes, I might be extremely relunctant to go back to that particular restaurant, as well, but I think it's going overboard to carry out some personal boycott of the owner's restaurants. I doubt the owner approved of the poor service or the "oh well" comment for that matter. I'd also wager to say that most new restaurants go through hiccups as they are getting off the ground, so maybe the reason the service at Cootie Brown's is so much better is because they have had time to smooth out the rough patches.

I have to disagree with the bolded comment above, what if it is the truth? What if it was the worst service? I can understand this persons frustration, but if the service was bad from the waiter, then the person at the register had a customer service (after all that is what their job is) response of "Oh, Well." I would have then asked for the manager or owner. That response of "Oh, Well" would have done it for me, as far as the end of my being nice. I would have told the manager/owner my experience then hoped for a " I am sorry, I will work on the training of the staff", or something similar, plus some sort of restitution, such as a gift certificate to come back and try again or something. If I went back however and got more of the same the next time, than yea, I feel I would have the right to tell others of my bad experience at that place of business. Sorry, but I feel the level of customer service in general in the Tri-Cities (in general, not everywhere) can be a bit lacking anyway. If business owners aren't willing to insist on good customer service from their employees, especially when they are in the service industry as restaurants are, than why should they get my business?

[JakilaTheHun]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

I have to disagree with the bolded comment above, what if it is the truth? What if it was the worst service? I can understand this persons frustration, but if the service was bad from the waiter, then the person at the register had a customer service (after all that is what their job is) response of "Oh, Well." I would have then asked for the manager or owner. That response of "Oh, Well" would have done it for me, as far as the end of my being nice. I would have told the manager/owner my experience then hoped for a " I am sorry, I will work on the training of the staff", or something similar, plus some sort of restitution, such as a gift certificate to come back and try again or something. If I went back however and got more of the same the next time, than yea, I feel I would have the right to tell others of my bad experience at that place of business. Sorry, but I feel the level of customer service in general in the Tri-Cities (in general, not everywhere) can be a bit lacking anyway. If business owners aren't willing to insist on good customer service from their employees, especially when they are in the service industry as restaurants are, than why should they get my business?

I'm not arguing that one does not have the right to be frustrated. It's completely understandable. But if you relay the message to some 19-year kid* that you are a "difficult customer", you sort of put them in a difficult situation. You shouldn't expect miracles to result. If you want results, there are a lot better ways to get them. Also, this does beg the question, did the person the poster spoke to even have any power to do anything?

You say you would've gone to the manager --- I agree; this might have been a good way to let them know of your complaints. However, the poster did not do this. He/she expected the cashier (or whoever he/she spoke to) was to be able to fully rectify his/her problems. Maybe the person was new and didn't know what to do. Maybe the poster intimidated the person. My point is that if you make some hostile comment to a low-level employee, it's not necessarily always realistic to expect results.

Bad customer service is going to happen at restaurants --- even good restaurants; it's inevitable. If you never voice your complaints to management, how could they possibly be expected to fix the problem? And it can't hurt to sound semi-reasonable when you do voice those complaints rather than making bold, possibly exaggerated declarations.


As far as customer services in the Tri-Cities go, I'd say its miles ahead of most places in the United States. Come visit Northern Virginia sometime. Service in the Tri-Cities, in general, is spectacular compared to most places I've been.


* I realize it might not have been a "19-year old", but typically, that's who you would probably encounter at a restaurant in Johnson City. I doubt it was the manager who gave the "oh well" response.

[jabogitlu]

Completely agree with you here, on both points. What was to be accomplished by telling the cashier that your service was bad? The probability of encountering bad service is random and independent; that is, the likelihood of receiving bad customer service at your table (with the waiter) is just as high as receiving it at the till (the "Oh Well.") Unfortunately, this customer got them both at the same day.

Perhaps he needs a lucky rabbit's foot.

As far as service goes, again, I'd have to agree with you. I've heard people go on and on before about Tri-Cities service lacking, but all I have found is that most other places I go in the US, the waiter/desk attendant/whatever actually truly acts like s/he doesn't give a damn, and indeed doesn't even look at me. Whatever our faults here, we do present a smile!

Signed, a 20 year old kid.

[mystic_celtic81]

Originally Posted by jabogitlu

Completely agree with you here, on both points. What was to be accomplished by telling the cashier that your service was bad? The probability of encountering bad service is random and independent; that is, the likelihood of receiving bad customer service at your table (with the waiter) is just as high as receiving it at the till (the "Oh Well.") Unfortunately, this customer got them both at the same day.

Perhaps he needs a lucky rabbit's foot.

As far as service goes, again, I'd have to agree with you. I've heard people go on and on before about Tri-Cities service lacking, but all I have found is that most other places I go in the US, the waiter/desk attendant/whatever actually truly acts like s/he doesn't give a damn, and indeed doesn't even look at me. Whatever our faults here, we do present a smile!

Signed, a 20 year old kid.

i highly agree. if im out of town or @ home and trying out a new restaurant and have bad service or they were busy i atleast try to give them another chance