Wild Fig Cafe

Review: I would like to report two (2) instances of problems redeeming gift cards at the Wild Fig Restaurant in [redacted].The most recent occurrence was this evening, Sunday, May **, 2015, when my father, a resident of [redacted] since 1969, attempted to pay the bill with a gift card he received as a Father's Day gift in June 2012. He had the receipt with him showing payment for the card in June 2012.When presented with the bill this evening, my father placed the gift card in the credit card wallet containing the bill. The waitress took it and returned after five (5) or (10) minutes saying to my father, "There's a problem with the card. We are calling the credit card company." My father then gave the waitress the gift card receipt. Ten or fifteen minutes later, a young woman who was apparently the [redacted], came back with this same payment receipt (for the gift card.) On the back of the receipt she had written two sets of dates and figures. This information was supposedly proving that the gift card had been used on July **, 2012 for $84.12 and September **, 2012 for $15.88, totaling $100.00, therefore leaving the gift card with a zero balance. At this point, in an attempt to end this entire episode, my father graciously paid the bill in full and gave the waitress a 20% gratuity.The following are our issues with the way in which this episode was handled by the restaurant personnel:1. If the above referenced gift card had a zero balance as of Sept. **, 2012, why was the card given back without any indication that the balance was zero?2. When my father asked the [redacted] this same question tonight, her response was, "The girl who handled this in 2012 no longer works here." This is not an answer, but rather a way to avoid answering.3. When my sister then asked the [redacted] to email her a report from the credit card company showing the actual transactions, the [redacted]'s response was, "I am not sure they can do that via email." My sister then gave the [redacted] her mailing address in addition to her email address.One additional problem with our experience tonight was how my meal was presented and the the response I received when I indicated there was something wrong with it. I ordered the "Two Kabob" special, with salmon and filet mignon. When I placed my order, the waitress asked me how I wanted the filet kabob cooked. I responded and she repeated "rare." When my meal arrived, the filet mignon kabob was small scrap-like pieces of meat that were horribly overcooked. Because our waitress was busy with two other tables, I got the attention of a waiter working the room and explained that the filet was overcooked and unacceptable. He looked at my plate and said, "It doesn't look that overcooked." In other words, he argued with me. My response to him was, "This is not rare." When he then asked me about the salmon, I told him it was just "OK," not as badly overcooked as the beef. He then took my plate away without a word of apology or asking me if I preferred something else. Ten or fifteen minutes later, the waitress brought me another plate containing a skewer of what was obviously real pieces of filet mignon, fresh Bulgar wheat and garnishes, as well as the original piece of salmon. Although not truly rare, the filet was acceptable.As a footnote to our experience this evening, my brother-in-law, had an almostidentical experience several years ago when he attempted to use a Wild Fig gift card at this same restaurant. If you would like to contact my brother-in-law for verification, I will supply that information upon request.We were extremely disappointed with our entire experience tonight and do not intend to return nor recommend this restaurant to any family or friends.Desired Settlement: 1. I would like to see some formal documentation from this restaurant,i.e., a print out from the "credit card company" that handles their gift cards, proving that the gift card in question was actually used and had no money left on it. 2. A written explanation from the restaurant management explaining why, if the gift card had a zero balance, the card was not kept by the restaurant, but instead, returned to my father with a zero balance.