You Must Be Crazy!

As you know, yesterday was Father's Day. This means that my wife, three kids, and I go out to the restaurant of our choice to celebrate such occasions. So, I chose a popular national casual dining chain restaurant over a local option -- for a change -- that we have tended to go to as long as I can remember because you can always count on very good service and a meal and if something goes wrong they are renowned for their service recovery so a visit is never a bad bet.

We got off to a late start due to daughters now starting to have a life of their own in their late teen years so there was no wait on getting seated when we arrived at 8:30 pm. We actually got to sit in our favorite booth, too. We were met quickly by our server since there were few parties dining at that time and this is when the meal took a quick departure for the worst. We were given the "new menus" that just came out this past week. The first bad news is that this chain actually had the balls to raise menu prices (beyond those we thought were too high the last time we visited) in the midst of a recession. Furthermore, the menu has now change so much that we were not even sure we were in the same restaurant anymore.

So restaurant management tip #1 for students; an ill-advised price increase in times of recession and drastic menu change will NOT turn on the bread-n-butter customers. So if looking to leave them behind and attempt to cater to an upscale clientele then that would do the trick.

We ordered our starters and they arrived after a long wait. When we looked at what we had just been served it became apparent that even though they raised menu prices they have cut back on the quality and quantity of the ingredients. One starter was so badly cooked, and such a poor product compared to other restaurants in the area, that it was just about inedible. My wife and I got a salad with our meal and I cannot recall a more lifeless and boring salad in my life. I elected not to bring either of these to the attention of our server because it was now well after 9 pm and we were pretty much attending the last supper for this chain anyway based on the disappointment in our faces.

The entrees arrived soon thereafter but much later than expected given there were only 5 other parties in the entire restaurant. I guess they let some of the line cooks go early to "save money." The entrees were at best "okay!" Nothing to rave about along the lines of "ooooh, taste this" or "can I try a bite of that!" So, now an okay meal is worse than usual because we had a hard time picking entrees to begin with due to the new menu and sky high prices.

All in all, the server did a good job of attending to our table by refilling drinks and asking if we needed anything, which was expected as she only had one other table than ours. However, it did not matter as the final die has been cast by our family. We can honestly say that we will never set foot in that chain ever again now that they ruined our special occasion. Don't get me wrong. I am no cheapskate and more than happy to pay $17 to $30 for an entree in restaurants serving a similar menu in cities like Chicago or Indianapolis, I will never pay them again at this chain, and they have lost a customer for life.

So congratulations once again to someone at the top of this chain who no doubt graduated from a business school and used his or her MBA accounting techniques to increase the bottom line by creating a limited menu that sounds tasty but isn't, raises prices, and purchases supplies at the lowest price possible! That formula has now lost this family for life and sure others will soon follow if they do not right the ship.

I would mention the name of the chain that was such a disappointment to my family and I but they are a good friend of our program at Purdue. I will indeed share this story with them when they are on campus in the fall and then they can do with the information as they like. I doubt it will make a difference to the pencil pushers at the top anyways! You know, the same ones who were taught the same ill-advised accounting strategies by their clueless B school profs to give us the recession we have in the first place.