Old Chicago (restaurant)
By C
@ShyBear88 (59275)
Sterling, Virginia
July 17, 2012 9:24pm CST
So today my husband won two free tickets to a movie and $20 to go out to eat at Old Chicago which is a place know for pizza. It's a loud restaurant that people with young kids can go and eat something pasta related. So we choice today to go since we just got the money for and we wanted to use it as soon as we could because we never when we will be too busy to eat out again. So we get there and its summer so right not it's kind of busy and there was two groups in front of us that need to be seated which isn't a big deal. So there wasn't a lot of place to sit in the waiting area and of course it's very clear that I'm pregnant and that we have a very small child with. It took 10 minutes of this one guy just looking at me and my husband and about 15 other of doing the same thing before any of them offered me a seat. So told me to go a head and take his seat so I did and my husband stood besides me while we still waited and I let our daughter sit on my lap. So this table of about 6 to 8 people got seated, then 5 more people got seat and then it was our turn. So we waited about 15 to 20 minutes like the hosted said was the waiting period.
After we got seated and starting looking at the menu it didn't take long before our waitress came buy asking what to get us for drink. We told her what we wanted and it took her about 10 minutes before getting our drinks to us. Then we sat and waited and waited, and waited. I started to get mad, my daughter started getting fussy because she was getting hungry and we had already decided what we wanted to eat. I told my husband I'm about to get up and leave and not pay a dime for drinks because we could have gone some where quicker gotten her food and us food. Finally the waitress came by after standing up to comfort my daughter she asked my husband if we where ready to order and that she was very sorry it took her so long to get to us. She had forgotten all about us because she was helping someone else out at the table that had 8 people which was clearly this one waitress could have done by herself. I've seen people take care of table of 10 to 12 on there own. My husband use to do that all of the time and I've seen it done by many others weather they where new at it or not. So about 10 minutes after that the manger came by with some appetizers for us that we had order on the side of our dinner and he as well as the waitress told us that something was going to be taken off so we wouldn't have to pay for it. Then our pizza came out about a little bit after we had finished our appetizer, both me and my daughter where started to get happy again. It took a total of 54 minutes from the time we came in to the time or pizza was brought to us. Both me and my husband only ate one slice of pizza because it was pretty big so we told the waitress that we would like a box for what was left and our check. She told us okay to the box and that dessert was for free tonight for all the waiting we did. Both me and my husband thought that for sure our drinks where going to be free and having a free dessert would make it pretty close to fixing everything on our waiting time and being forgotten about. The waitress brings us a nice warm cookie that we had asked for and told us that everything was on them tonight. Which made both me and my husband every happy.
So now we have had a free dinner either way. My husband left the waitress $5 to cover the drinks even though we didn't have to pay for it he figured it was close enough to a thank you for all the free food that we are taking home. So now we still have $20's to spend at this place. Hopefully next time we go in the same thing doesn't happen and we get service that is a bit better but it was very nice to see that they did everything to make us happy after messing up.
2 responses
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
20 Jul 12
You know, we were there just last week and I have to say that our service was really good. We will typically go in on Tuesdays because of the kid's night. You still have to pay $1.99 for a kids meal, but Kathryn and Paul really like the fact that if they go on a Tuesday that they are able to build their own pizza.
We've been there several times and there has never been a time that we have had to ask to speak to a manager, so I believe that what you went through was an isolated incident. I hope that the next time that you go that you have a better experience. Just be sure to never go over there when UK is playing football or basketball because it is a madhouse then.
@ShyBear88 (59275)
• Sterling, Virginia
24 Jul 12
We where there Tuesday night of last week. We went at a dinner rush normally we try to go at time where place like that don't have rushes. My little one doesn't really eat the kids stuff yet because she won't eat a full meal on her own so she just eats off of me most of the time even when there is free dinner or kids eat for free meal. It might have been just that day. I've had that happen I was getting irritated because I was very hungry and my daughter was hungry and crying.
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
24 Jul 12
It very well may have been that it was a bad night. I think that all restaurants have them and it is just something that we have to deal with at times. As far as eating a kid's meal, especially if you are somewhere that kid's eat free, go ahead and start ordering a meal for your daughter and if she doesn't eat it, or you would rather share with her, get a box and take the food home and then you would have lunch for either you or her for the following day. I started doing that with Paul as soon as he was a year old.
@ShyBear88 (59275)
• Sterling, Virginia
24 Jul 12
We not which place have a smaller size meals for her other wise we just don't get them even if it's for free or what ever. I don't do reheated or left over food because it always seems to make me sick and certain things just taste bad reheated. My daughter it's like a 50/50. Yes it does save money and it does mean she'll have food the next day but then that also means more food later on that we will have to throw out if she doesn't eat it. It'll be a better deal for us next year since both of the kids by then will be eating so them splinting a mean will be okay and worth the money. We are going to try to go today for a late lunch early dinner kind of thing. I do have a doctors appointment and for some reason I always get hungry after I go at any time of the day even if I've eaten before I went. I guess it's just nervous that get me. I do always look at the kids menu because at times they do have things that I no she will eat regardless of the price some place the kids meals are well priced and others not so much. Some place really need to just start doing just veggie plates to where parents can pick the veggies instead of them picking it for you. I might get her some past tonight she almost never turns that down.
@jkct02 (2874)
• Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
18 Jul 12
You are lucky that Old Chicago does care about its reputation. In my city, there are some well-known eateries that are always full of patrons. All the tables are usually taken. Before you get your table, the workers will warn you that you probably have to wait 30 minutes or more before you get to eat. If you can not wait that long, then it is better that you go somewhere else.
In a busy day, one usually has to wait about 30 minutes to get a free table with used cups, bowls, plates and the utensils. Another 10 minutes to wait for them to clean the table. Then another 10 minutes to make your order. Then 20-30 minutes later the food come. Even when you want to pay the bill, still you have to wait if the workers are busy.
You are expected to wait. They have more customers than they can take. They don't care if you don't come. When the boss was asked why doesn't he shift his eatery to a bigger premise since his business is so good, he answered, "I don't need to earn that much money!"
@ShyBear88 (59275)
• Sterling, Virginia
19 Jul 12
It's good that they did care at that one. That doesn't mean all Old Chicago's will be like that it is a chain and I have had it happen where one location of the same restaurant care about the place and one that doesn't. They did try to make things rights with us and didn't lie or hide the fact that they messed up.
One it's not the hostess job to tell you how long it's going to be till you physically eat they don't know what is going on in the back that is the waiters job and every place knows there peek hours. My husband worked for any years in the food busyness so he knows the ins and out of how it goes and works. The hostess will give you the time that it might take be for you get a seat. So we knew how long we where going to wait for about 30 minutes or less which is what happened that is great when that happens the waitress came around a few minutes after being seating I normally a window of less then 10 minutes before greeting them or at the table is normal.
Some people don't care about there job because when your waiter you make all of your money off of tips you really don't get paid much its normally less then $7.25/hour and even then you got to split that with the hostess which they do much of anything besides greet and tell how long the wait might be.
If a place mess up they should try to make up for it to make the person happy, because they are coming to you to eat instead of eating at home to have something what ever it is and it's your job to make sure the busyness gets a good profit.
