Latest Update: The Taurus Restaurant, Once Again Our Favorite!
Follow the Update: Taurus Restaurant Making Amends
Although I’ve been working so many hours on my presentations for the European company I mentioned previously, I did make reservations a couple of weeks ago for Leah and me to have dinner at our favorite restaurant, the Taurus.
I worked hard to plan ahead and to keep it as a surprise to her up until the last minute -which was tough but I managed to do it. lol. So, that was cool.
She and I had both been craving the Taurus ever since we ate there last year with her friend, Terry. Man, that was THE best steak I had eaten in 5 years. I still remember it.
So, we were both very excited.
Well, to make a long story a little bit shorter, we arrived about 20 minutes earlier than our reservations –just to hopefully beat the rush. We were informed that they were running about 30 minutes behind. Ok, no problem. Hopefully since we got there early, they would speed things up for us -which they said would happen as tables are given out by reservation time and check-in time. “Great”, I thought.
So, we waited.
And waited.
After 30 minutes, I asked how far down the line we were. I was told there were still several people ahead of us. So, again, we waited.
After another 15 minutes, I asked again how far down we were. She said that she could not tell and that they would get to us as soon as possible. So, again, we waited. Leah and I just sat -right by the front desk mind you- and talked for another 30 minutes or so as we waited. After a little more than an hour of waiting in total, I went to complain.
I was then told that they “tried to find us but could not” and that we had been skipped. Oh my God. I thought I was going to lose it, but it was Valentine’s Day and I wanted Leah to be happy and so I did not make a scene. We were immediately seated and I asked the waitress to send over the manager so that I could calmly explain how disrespected I felt that they completely skipped us while we were sitting right next to their desk and made eye contact every single time they went out to find waiting customers.
The manager stopped by briefly but instead of asking me what happened, he poured two glasses of Champagne and said, “Here you go. On behalf of the Taurus staff, we would like to apologize and we hope that this Veuve Clique will help take the edge off.” While I did appreciate the apology and the gesture of free champagne, this is an example of HORRIBLE customer service. For what was he apologizing? Did he even know? He did not even ask me to explain that my wait was significantly longer than everyone else’s. I noticed that he was giving champagne to several other people who were complaining about waiting 30 minutes. So, we were just grouped together with them. We had waited considerably longer and they admittedly overlooked us. That is much, much worse.
So, anyway, Leah and I made every effort to not let it bother us and we enjoyed talking and laughing about whatever came to mind. We had a great time but only because of each other’s company.
I say that because the service only worsened. I specifically wanted the “filet mignon” that had originally made me fall in love with this restaurant. However, it was not being served last night. It was only available as part of a Valentine’s Day meal for $75 per person. Ok, whatever. I wanted it.
The problem?
It took an hour before they brought out the first very small course of the 5-course meal. With this, they brought Leah’s salad. Then, it was ANOTHER HOUR and after several complaints on my part that they brought out the second course of my meal. Since I don’t like scallops and muscles, you can image that I was very hungry by this point. Leah was starving –only filling up on some bread and a salad.
After many more complaints over the NEXT HOUR, I finally insisted that they bring Leah her food immediately and skip to my main course. After 15 more minutes, they brought out Leah’s dish (slightly cold) and my 3rd-course (not my main course). The 3rd-course was supposed to be “Duck a’la ‘something’ and Lasagna” but what I got was something that I could not identify and that tasted horrible. It looked like sweet potatoes and wood chips topped with pork loin and animal fat that had a metallic taste. Needless to say, I was VERY hungry at this point -since I could only stomach such atrocities if I were vying for immunity on “Survivor!”
After 30 more minutes, I finally insisted that they bring a box for Leah’s food and a check for what they thought was fair for me to pay. They did comp my meal -which is only fair since I couldn’t eat what was brought and I never did get my highly anticipated main course. So, although Leah and I had a great time talking, I was highly stressed and irritated by the disrespect and treatment I received last night. We did not deserve such treatment -especially since we were one of the best dressed couples there. I had donned one of my favorite power suits and Leah wore a gorgeous dress. We went above and beyond, so we expected our service to go above and beyond. That is fair to ask, is it not? However, we felt like we were nobody. We were treated like bums off the street. This is the kind of treatment I should expect if I had walked in wearing torn blue jeans and a t-shirt with Leah wearing some kind of halter top and mini-skirt. What is really sad is that we watched as one couple left and the girl was -in fact- wearing a bright red mini-skirt, red boots, and a revealing top. She looked like a hooker to us but she didn’t look like she had received poor treatment!
We were told that several of the employees were new and blah blah blah. That could be. However, it was management’s response to our situation that caused the greatest heartache. Seeing as how it wasn’t truly the fault of the waitress, I still tipped her 20% on the FULL amount -as if I had paid for my meal. I did not feel it was fair she be punished for what was clearly a management issue. So, I was at least glad that Leah enjoyed what ended up being a $65 salad plus slightly cold Chateaubriand. If it weren’t for Leah having been so understanding and patient, I think I would’ve lost it last night.
The Taurus restaurant was Leah and my favorite but after last night, I’m not sure we will re-visit. I have bragged to business partners and clients about this restaurant on numerous occasions but I hesitate to mention it now.
To the Taurus management: is that really the kind of message you want to send?
Regards,
Brandon
p.s. I am sending this as a letter to management of the Taurus. I will post an update, if they decide to make good on what happened. If they do, I will give them the benefit of the doubt and try them again. I really would like to feel good about recommending them again.
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