TGI Friday's Fails the Customer Service Test

Well, apparently my standards for a restaurant must just be too high. Either that or I've just gotten too old to appreciate a "hip" restaurant like TGI Friday's.

I recently visited TGI Friday's in Easton, PA with my family of six on a Saturday afternoon between lunchtime and the dinner rush. Due to our timing, we were able to be seated right away, although we had to sit at an extremely large table and we were unable to be afforded the comforts of a booth. To all of the restaurant executives out there who don't understand the importance of a booth, allow me to break it down for you: when you're paying $8 to $15 a head, the most important factor in your environment is comfort and when you have four kids, the booth allows for a certain convenience that we parents like to refer to as "trapability." Now that I've simplified the lure of the booth, if it still doesn't make sense, you need to quit your job and go to clown college, because that's where you belong.

As the hostess walked us back to our boothless table, I looked around and was reminded of Moe Szyslak when he converted Moe's Tavern to Uncle Moe's Family Feedbag and told Homer Simpson about his idea for a family restaurant with "a whole bunch of crazy crap on the walls." The "crazy crap" on the walls in this place was amazing. There was an oversized jack of hearts card by one table, a poster of John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever," and even a wooden canoe that spanned the length of three tables. I couldn't wait to see what we would have at our table. As we sat down I surveyed our surroundings and to my amazement we had...plain white drywall. It was the only plain wall in the restaurant. How could they do this to us? What could we talk about without a whole bunch of garage sale remnants to serve as conversation starters?

As I surveyed the restaurant for other things to talk about I realized that perhaps at 28 years old I am just too old to enjoy TGI Friday's. Although I was thankful that for once they did not have the music so loud that you couldn't hear what someone across the table from you was saying, observing the personal hygiene of some of the people going in and out of the kitchen almost made me ill. Perhaps once one of your kids has the misfortune of coming home from school with head lice, dining in an establishment where many of the servers have long greasy hair that looks like it hasn't been washed in a week and a half loses its "cool" effect on you. I also don't get the whole server with the backwards hat thing. Does my money mean so little to TGI Friday's that they can't even ask their employees to look somewhat professional for me?

Our server came over and promptly took our drink order while we looked over the menu. She returned with our drinks in a timely manner, but then again one of the mysteries of the corporate restaurant business reared its ugly head. Why do children's drinks come in a cup that is slightly larger than a bathroom Dixie cup, especially if they have free refills anyhow? My two older children ordered slush drinks, which they thoroughly enjoyed, but after two sips they were down to nothing but ice. For the additional nickel that a larger drink might cost Friday's, wouldn't the customer satisfaction be worth it?

In an effort to make our ordering decisions, my wife and I discussed the menu options, and once again I felt a "Simpsons" reference brewing. Watching my tall-haired vegetarian wife look over the menu in search of a meal without meat in it, I had a vision of Marge Simpson (who is allergic to fish) sitting in The Frying Dutchman asking her server, "Does the bread have much fish in it?" only to find out that it does. In the end, unable to find a meatless meal on the menu, my wife decided to order two appetizers.

When our server arrived to take our orders, I was debating between two meals: the Roasted Red Pepper Sausage & Chicken Penne and the Triple Stacked Burger. Always the burger-lover, the Triple Stacked Burger sounded very appealing not only because of its appetizing description, but because I had just written a review of Red Robin based upon a hamburger meal, so this would allow for a parallel review. My concern with the burger was that the menu stated that all burgers are cooked medium-well, but also had an asterisk mark where it said "cooked to order." The Roasted Red Pepper Sausage & Chicken Penne sounded great as well, but I was concerned about whether or not it would fill me up because it was labeled "right portion, right price." I asked our server her opinion and she advised me that the penne meal may be a little smaller than I'd like, but the burger could be cooked however I'd like it. I ordered the Triple Stacked Burger cooked medium-rare with no onions or tomato and fries instead of chips. To my amazement, she took all of our orders without writing anything down.

Our meals came in a reasonable amount of time and our server did a fine job of making sure that everyone had drinks with their meals. Despite the fact that our server didn't write anything down, we all received what we ordered. To my delight, she remembered to hold the onions and tomato off of my burger, but unfortunately, it was completely cooked through. There was not a sign of pink anywhere in the burger. The pleasant combination of cheeses on the burger made it edible, despite being overcooked, but I was very disappointed with the error.

I had a taste of my wife's spinach dip and it was very good. Everyone else at the table seemed to enjoy their meals as well. The Friday's staff did a nice job of clearing our empty dishes in a timely manner. A manager even grabbed a few on his way to the back, though he didn't slow down to greet us or even make eye contact and smile.

My wife and my two youngest daughters had leftovers, so while they were in the restroom, I asked our server if we could have the leftovers wrapped. Here's where another one of my restaurant pet peeves reared its ugly head. At what point in time did we make the transition from food being wrapped in the kitchen to customers splashing it all over their table and clothes while they dump it into boxes themselves? Unbelievable.

Our server promptly brought our check after I asked her to, and the total bill came to just under fifty dollars, which is pretty consistent with what we typically pay for our family when we go out to eat. I checked the bill to see what the specifications for my burger were and it was marked "MR" for medium-rare. This confirmed that our server did remember to put in my request but perhaps in the sloppy environment of backwards hats, greasy hair, and funky metal belts, the kitchen staff didn't take the time to care how my order was taken care of.

On our way out, we passed a hostess who not only failed to help us with the door, but she didn't even take a moment away from her vigorous text messaging to say "thank you" or "have a nice day." Overall, our food was okay and we had a fine time, but the staff at Friday's didn't really do anything to enhance our dining experience.