No Chicken at Ruby Tuesday

Now I have witnessed the true decline of American society. My wife and I worked hard to find a time when our very good friend Leo could schedule a night when we could take him out to celebrate his birthday. Finally, the day was found and we asked Leo which restaurant he would like to go to. He picked Ruby Tuesday and there was one convenient to where we live.

We got to Ruby Tuesday fairly early on a Wednesday evening, about 6:30 PM. There were not that many people already there. We all were pretty hungry and spent significant time considering the many menu options. Finally, Leo went first and picked his favorite chicken main dish. My wife and I picked fish and pasta dishes. We all also ordered the salad bar, which these days give Ruby Tuesday a distinct competitive advantage.

Several minutes later the server came back to tell us that the restaurant had no chicken, none, not one of the four chicken main dishes. No chicken at Ruby Tuesday, early on a Wednesday night. How can that be? We could not get any explanation from the friendly and probably embarrassed server.

How can such a major restaurant chain screw up its business in this way? After all chicken is a likely first choice of many people. And I have not heard of any chicken shortage. To the contrary, business at restaurants is down because of the awful economy.

This happened to Leo, celebrating his birthday!

He took it well, but my wife and I felt terrible. The very least someone should be able to count on when taken out to celebrate his birthday is to get their favorite chicken dinner at Ruby Tuesday. He settled for a tilapia dish. But a little while later he was told that they did not have one of the sides he had ordered. What is going on a Ruby Tuesday"

To her credit, our server came back eventually and told that the manager would not charge us for the three salad bar orders.

We here a lot about failing American business, and the malls are filled with empty stores. I strongly hope that someone at Ruby Tuesday hears about this problem and does something to fix their business. When we at this particular Ruby Tuesday it had filled up after we arrived. This undoubtedly means that a fairly large number of other people also were let down when they good not get their desired chicken dinner. No way to run a business.

This is pride part of the Ruby Tuesday mission statement: "And we will attend to your dining experience with a degree of care and attention to detail unrivaled anywhere. A deep desire to serve others is the secret weapon of a gracious host. And it's why, at Ruby Tuesday, we want you to always leave with a smile." Sorry, Ruby Tuesday, you need to work hard to live up to what you profess to be so proud of. When we left the restaurant feeling you had to nothing to be proud of.

Last month, Ruby Wednesday reported a 34 percent decline in profit for the fourth quarter. Looking ahead, the company forecast earnings for the first quarter and fiscal year 2012 below analysts' expectations. Following the results, the company's shares declined more than 11 percent in the after-market trading. Here's a tip to the investment community: Ruby Tuesday is really screwing up and its business may only get worse.

As to our sad encounter, it could have been worse. It could have happened on a Tuesday.