The Sizzler Incident
We happen to live close by to many restaurants, one of those being Sizzler. We don’t eat at Sizzler very often. In fact, we only go when have good coupons from the Sunday paper and if there is nothing to eat in the house. When Gina and I talk about it if that’s really something that we want to do, then we generally head over there for just the salad and soup bar.
Our expectations for Sizzler are really quite low. All we really expect is a salad bar with reasonably fresh things, some of their chicken wings from the hot bar, and ice cream for dessert. And only asking for refills two or three times and clean tables. But Sizzler has never met our low expectations — it continually under performs.
When we got back from camping on Sunday, I knew that Gina and Leah were going to have a busy day on Monday and probably wouldn’t make it to the grocery store. As I looked at the paper, there it was — the Sizzler ad. They said Dad gets a free 8oz sirloin meal on Sunday and, in case we missed it, they would repeat that on Monday and Tuesday. I pointed this out to Gina and she said, “I think kids eat free on Monday’s, too.” We talked about it a time or two throughout Monday and decided that we would go.
So last night about 6:15 or so we set off to Sizzler. As we approached the parking lot, I noted that there were quite a few cars there. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen the parking lot this full,” I remarked to my wife. Indeed, we had never seen the line that long in the restaurant either. Nor as many tables occupied.
Gina was a little upset that we didn’t have cash for the tip, but I said that you could put that on the card as you paid (because, at Sizzler, you pay before you eat). So we added a tip and, curiously, they gave us cash back. “Give it to your server before you leave.” Fair enough, yet very curious.
Well, we got our trays, salad bar plates, and drinks and tried to find a table. But we couldn’t find any that were empty. On a closer look, there were a few tables with no one sitting down at them, but they all had plates and cups stacked on them. We found a booth with just a tray and a dirty table-top and sat down. We waited and waited for our waitress to come and clean our table but no one came. During this time, we were able to fully assess the situation. Sizzler was pretty busy, but there were only two wait staff working the entire restaurant and they also seemed responsible for bussing the tables. Gina remarked that the manager should have scheduled more people to work the day after their coupons came out and I agreed.
So, finally, our over-worked waitress came. We will call her Al[1]. Al got a rag and cleaned off the table. So now that our table was clean, we could finally hit the salad bar. Leah, as it goes with three-year olds, spilled her lemonade. I went to find Al and ask her for a rag. She said, “I’ll clean it.” I whispered to her, “You’re busy enough. I’ll do it.” She said she had to bus a table anyway, grabbed a towel and a dish holder and wiped the lemonade into it.
Gina and I kept watching this disaster unfold. The hot bar had plenty of taco shells but no taco meat[2]. The lettuce was almost gone and the few leaves left in it were covered in water. They first were out of fried okra for a long time, and as soon as they got okra, the chicken wings were gone. Al came to me and said they were out of baked potatoes (how do you run out of baked potatoes?!?!?) so I asked for mashed potatoes instead.
We were feeling sorry for Al. She was running to clear tables, take care of customers, and doing the best she could. We only had to ask for refills twice — not bad for a Sizzler visit. Al was so busy that she came with our mints and comment card and said, “Do you guys want anything else?”
Gina and I looked at each other and Gina said, “Yeah, our food!” Because we have been there for at least thirty minutes and we hadn’t gotten my steak and her cheeseburger. Al stopped and thought, “Oh, yeah, I asked you about your baked potato! I’ll get it.” And she brought it right away, apologizing. Gina and I said it was okay, and it was — we knew she was doing the best she could. And my steak wasn’t too bad and the mashed potatoes were excellent and Gina said her cheeseburger was also very good. Who would have thought that ordering off the menu at Sizzler would be a good idea?
It was time for ice cream. I went up with Leah to get her a cone and noticed that there were only two cones left and no dishes. I got Leah a cone and asked Gina what she wanted. She told me to have the cone, but I said I would get a soup bowl or something like that. After I got Gina her cone, we noted that there were no soup bowls left and no one had brought any more ice cream dishes out. I dumped Leah’s lemonade from her little cup into my empty one and got my ice cream.
So when Al finally brought us our mints and comment card, she asked if we needed anything else. I asked her, “So when do you get to go home and put your feet up?”
She looked around and said, “5 o’clock”. Gina and I just stared at each other in disbelief, because now it was just after 7:30. Al then sarcastically asked, “Is it 5 o’ clock yet?” We were feeling sorry for her before, but now we really felt terrible. Not only were they short staffed, but someone probably didn’t show up so Al was forced to stay until who knows when.
The final straw came when we heard Al ask the manager, “Can I go home yet?” and the manager walked away without even acknowledging her. Gina said that we need to give her a bigger tip. I agreed and went up to the register to get more cash– and faced the manager. I said we wanted to get $10 out for the tip. So he added that to the credit card receipt, I initialed it, and then got a $10 bill. I wanted to put the $10 under the three $1’s we got earlier, but Gina wisely said that it would be better for Al to see it right away instead of just putting it in her pocket and not noticing it until later.
Gina was trying to hurry us out, but I needed to stop at the rest room (which was also a mess). As we left, I noticed the manager walking around and wanted to make sure he didn’t claim the $10 tip himself. But he didn’t — thankfully.
As we were walking out, Al was cleaning up the table, stopped, and looked around in disbelief. Gina and I both waved to her as we walked out the door. Al’s eyes were still wide open when she waved back.
So why leave a $13 tip? So we can brag on our blogs? No, not really. So we can make a statement. So we can lighten the load on someone that is over-worked and under-appreciated. And, really, we just paid for my steak meal — we just left it as a tip to Al.
Will we head to Sizzler again? Probably not for a long time.
[1] My apologies to Paul Simon.
[2] Leah loves tacos.