Red Robin Lays an Egg

About three months ago, I was out to lunch with a co-worker, discussing the history of dining outside of the home. We reminisced about how when we were children, going out to eat was a treat. It was something that we did for special occasions, but today it's very commonplace. We talked about how quickly the chains such as Ruby Tuesday's, TGI Friday's, and Applebee's popped up all over America. Then, out of nowhere, he asked me a question that absolutely shocked me; he asked, "Have you ever been to a Red Robin?"

I was taken aback completely. A Red Robin. "Had there ever been a finer chain restaurant?" I asked myself. And I couldn't believe that someone in Orange County, New York, where the only Red Robin in the area had gone out of business, was asking me about this wonderful establishment. I responded by telling him that it was my favorite restaurant, but I hadn't been there recently as my family doesn't go out to eat very often.

Well, for Christmas, I received a fifty dollar AMEX gift card and I knew that there was nothing I'd rather do with it than take my wife and kids to the Red Robin in Easton, PA, about twenty minutes from our home. I pulled up to the front door at about 6:30 on a Saturday night, and dropped my wife off to put our name on the waiting list while I looked for a parking space. I circled the parking lot about three or four times before finding an open spot, but the bright side was that by the time I got the kids out of the car and walked up to the lobby, our wait was down to about five minutes.

We were greeted promptly by our server. He took our drink order and returned shortly thereafter, but managed to spill my Freckled Lemonade all over the table, including my daughter's menu which also served as a coloring book. He apologized for the spill, blaming it on the people in the kitchen for overfilling the glass, but never offered to clean it up. In fact, after quickly cleaning up the spill myself, I asked him for more napkins and a new children's menu, but my request was not granted. We never received the menu, and we didn't get any more napkins until after the third time I asked, at which point our meal was finished. Our server also never cleared our table of the wet napkins that I used to clean up the spill.

The quality of the drinks themselves definitely left something to be desired. Years ago, I used to long for a Freckled Lemonade, but the drinks I had on this particular evening did not warrant the $4.29 they commanded. My three year old daughter commented that her chocolate milk, which had just a shade of brown to the coloring, "tastes like nothing." Also, though the Red Robin claims to offer bottomless glasses, the "free" refills that are included in the price of your meal only have value if you actually receive them. All six of us finished our first drinks before our meals came, but most of us didn't get refills until after our food was gone.

The reviews of the food were mixed. My wife raved that her Garden Burger and fries was the best meal that she ever had at Red Robin and my two older children seemed to enjoy their chicken fingers. My two younger daughters claimed to enjoy their cheeseburgers, but neither one of them came close to finishing their meals.

I, however, was torn in regards to my meal. In the past, Red Robin would cook your burger however you wanted it, but apparently that policy has changed and burgers must be cooked to at least medium. Who ever heard of a gourmet burger that had to be overcooked? Despite that hurdle, my Five Alarm Burger was still rather delicious, though due to the spicy nature of the burger it would have been preferable to have a drink available while eating. For a brief moment during my meal, I actually envisioned myself as Lloyd Christmas frantically squirting ketchup and mustard onto my tongue in an effort to cool the fire.

The fries were good, though much like the drinks, the free refills are only worthwhile if you actually receive them. I practically had to tackle my waiter for a second basket of fries, and when he brought it, he brought about eight pounds of fries so he wouldn't dare have to visit our table again, despite the fact that he would eventually have to bring the napkins that I had asked for after he took it upon himself to bathe us in lemonade. The last line was a slight exaggeration, but you get my point.

It took multiple requests for us to get boxes for our leftovers and our server did a flyby with the check, never asking us if we would like coffee or dessert. A manager actually walked down our aisle without greeting a single patron. On our way out, another manager thanked us for our business, but didn't have time to ask how our meal was as he seemed to be preoccupied demonstrating his observational talents by pointing out to a co-worker that their full restaurant appeared to be busy.

Some businesses are made by their people, but if this visit was any indicator as to how Red Robin has earned its success, their recipe is simple: provide a menu that is powerful enough to combat the shortcomings of your people. Perhaps that's why they offer endless fries and limited service.