Cowboy Ciao L.L.C

Review: On February 24, my guest and I were told to vacate a table which the waitress claimed was reserved. We did so. We attempted to locate elsewhere and stood at a bistro table where another couple sat and who had no issues with us standing there and we engaged in conversation. They said they also had no reservation but were seated before us. They offered to vacate the table and we politely thanked them but declined their offer. My guest then asked the waitress if we could sit there as well and asked for chairs since we arrived first but was told that we could not. My guest then asked to speak to the manager.There was no resolution and the manager offered to forego the tab as a courtesy. I thanked him for that courtesy and accepted the offer; he left and returned with the paper credit card slips, handed them to me, and we left.I subsequently discovered that indeed I was charged despite the manager's offer. I did not sign the credit slip. I phoned the manager ([redacted]) who said he'd investigate and get back to me which he did today, March 3. On this call, he recalled the incident and rescinded his original offer. He then informed me that he would not credit me the $29.81. His reason was that he believed that my guest "berated" his waitress.I explained that wasn't the deal. He had offered to forego the charges due to the inconvenience and some amount of embarrassment that we experienced which is why he handed me the slips.On today's call I expressed my disappointment in his reversal. Our conversation was polite but I said that one recourse available to me was to register a complaint with the local Revdex.com. His establishment is apparently not a member of your Revdex.com, although the business is owned by the owner of the Cowboy Ciao Restaurant, where we had just finished a dinner before entering [redacted]. He intimated that I could do as I wished. As a business owner, my word stands; a deal is a deal. Tourists and locals take note.Desired Settlement: Credit the $29.81 on my credit card.

Business

Response:

I was the manager on duty that Saturday night, I also fielded the call from the guest who has now contacted you. The biggest discrepancy, that I pointed out to him when we spoke over the phone, is that there was no offer to forego the tab that night. Our interaction that night was very brief actually, I only asked, “would you like me to close your tab?”, to which he simply nodded. I had the bartender run his card, I gave him his card with the credit card receipts to sign, he took both copies, and that was the end of it. When he called to dispute the charge, I knew I didn’t offer to forego the tab, but I did want to check with the rest of my staff to make sure nobody had made such an offer (his guest did create quite a commotion and get much of the staff involved, which I will discuss further). No one on my staff offered to forego the entertainment fee or the wine which they did consume.

Now, my point of view leading up to our brief interaction varies greatly from his. One of the servers on that night let me know she had asked a couple, who sat themselves at one of her tables, to please check with the hostess if they would like a table, they seemed a little upset by this. The server let them know we have reservations on many of the tables; She did have to inform them of our policy a second time when they tried to seat themselves again. The server only brought it to my attention because they seemed to be extremely annoyed. She had already asked our hostess to go over and speak with them. I then followed up with our hostess, who was very distraught because one of them, “yelled at me because I don’t have a table for them”. I asked our hostess if she had a wait for tables and if they were on it. We were on a wait but this was the first time she spoke with these guests (and was unwilling to speak with them again). I asked where the guests were located, the hostess pointed out the male guest at a table with another couple while his female companion (the one who did the yelling) was outside sharing her point of view with our doorman. Now, I would like to point out that we do our best to let guests know when we are standing room only, both at the door and again by our hostess. Many times a night we are willing to return the door fee if guests are unable to acquire a table and are not content standing at the bar listening to the music. What makes this instance unique, is that before I was able to get involved, I have two employees who are uncomfortable dealing with an upset guest. Working in a bar atmosphere, I have to do everything in my ability to maintain a comfortable work environment for my employees. It was because of the uncomfortable environment that was created by one or both guests that I decided it was best for the two of them to leave. So, at this time I asked if he would like me to close his tab, giving him an opportunity to voice any dissatisfaction, which he did not, we then parted ways. There was no reason for me to strike a deal, they were unhappy and it was made clear by the mistreatment of my staff.

We consider ourselves very lucky to have the excellent, honest and patient staff that we do. I for one, will not allow unhappy guests to demean or belittle any of my employees. We do not call them customers because we want to treat them as guests in our own home, guests at our party. If they were unhappy with the way we do things, I wish they would have given me the opportunity to make things right before becoming so upset with my staff.

When the guest did phone me, I did decide to give my decision a little more consideration. However, besides their being a conversation he says happened that did not, after talking it over with all the staff from that night, I found out the female guest had also stopped another server that night and, “berated me for no reason and was so mean”. That concluded my reconsideration of how I handled the situation. And I hope it does for you as well.

Thank you,

[redacted] the Manager

On February 24, my guest and I were told to vacate a table which the waitress claimed was reserved. We did so. We attempted to locate elsewhere and stood at a bistro table where another couple sat and who had no issues with us standing there and we engaged in conversation. They said they also had no reservation but were seated before us. They offered to vacate the table and we politely thanked them but declined their offer. My guest then asked the waitress if we could sit there as well and asked for chairs since we arrived first but was told that we could not. My guest then asked to speak to the manager.There was no resolution and the manager offered to forego the tab as a courtesy. I thanked him for that courtesy and accepted the offer; he left and returned with the paper credit card slips, handed them to me, and we left.I subsequently discovered that indeed I was charged despite the manager's offer. I did not sign the credit slip. I phoned the manager ([redacted]) who said he'd investigate and get back to me which he did today, March 3. On this call, he recalled the incident and rescinded his original offer. He then informed me that he would not credit me the $29.81. His reason was that he believed that my guest "berated" his waitress.I explained that wasn't the deal. He had offered to forego the charges due to the inconvenience and some amount of embarrassment that we experienced which is why he handed me the slips.On today's call I expressed my disappointment in his reversal. Our conversation was polite but I said that one recourse available to me was to register a complaint with the local Revdex.com. His establishment is apparently not a member of your Revdex.com, although the business is owned by the owner of the Cowboy Ciao Restaurant, where we had just finished a dinner before entering [redacted]. He intimated that I could do as I wished. As a business owner, my word stands; a deal is a deal. Tourists and locals take note.