Poor Service

[dodge621]

Went to Kuma in Paramus around 6:15 pm on a weeknight.  The place was 3/4 empty but they seemed to be making a lot of take out orders.

after being seated and given menus the waiter does not approach our table for 20 minutes, even though we tried to signal him several times.  After another 20 minutes served the first of 2 appetizers which was just an edamame.  Then another 20 minutes elapsed while waiting for a sushi appetizer.  Meanwhile, another table who arrived after us and ordered just entrees were served.  I asked what happened to our sushi appetizer which was a mere 1 roll and told it was on its way.  Customers were coming and going picking up take out orders and the sushi chef was busy.  At this point (after another 10 minutes), I had enough and  left the money for only for the edamame and walked out.  

anyone else have experiences to tell about

[201]

Well, aside from my bad experience at Steve's Sizzling Steaks (more about that under the "STEAK for my man" topic) I only have one recent memory of a bad dining experience.  It was at Baumgart's Café in Ridgewood on a Tuesday night a few weeks ago.  We were seated quickly (place was half full) and placed our order right away, but then waited a full twenty minutes for a slice of pie, a slice of cake, a cranberry juice, and a hot chocolate.  That's just ridiculous on a Tuesday night.  It just confirmed my dislike for Baumgart's in general as I've found the desserts (excluding ice cream) to be pretty poor and the "creative" presentation does nothing to help that.

Kuma (which still does delivery under their old "Panda Forest" moniker, I believe) was always a place that was good for delivery when I lived in Paramus.  Having dined there a couple of times though, I can say that it does seem the delivery and pick-up service is prompt at the sacrifice of the dining room's service.  At Hunan Villa in Ridgewood, it's the opposite situation... pick-up and delivery orders are delayed quite a bit in order to prioritize those in the dining room.  I've had my "20 minute" order take longer than 45.  Hard to say which way loses more customers!

[tommy]

service-related and non-restaurant-specific issues might be be discussed on the "General" board of egullet.

[Rosie]

I posted a note today under "General" about a weird restaurant experience we had this weekend ( Restaurants without menus). I could have posted it here as it was about a NJ restaurant.

[ngatti]

That's just ridiculous on a Tuesday night.  It just confirmed my dislike for Baumgart's in general as I've found the desserts (excluding ice cream) to be pretty poor and the "creative" presentation does nothing to help that.

Oh Thank You God!! For sending me a simpatico soul

Nick

[dodge621]

[service-related and non-restaurant-specific issues might be be discussed on the "General" board of egullet.

]

I do not understand how the service a restaurant provides is a non-restaurant specific issue.

[tommy]

the topic "Poor Service, experiences"  might go well on the General board.

if you want to talk about horrible service at a specific restaurant in NJ, then i suppose this is the place.  but clearly this thread will encompass more than Kuma, as is evident by the only experience-related response on it.  there are plenty of interesting experiences from other people who don't read the NJ board, so we'll never get to hear from them.

[dodge621]

I think it would be of use to NJ diners to hear about other peoples (service related) experiences in other restaurants in NJ.

[tommy]

i think you're right.

[Rachel Perlow]

I was going to move this to General and leave it here as well, but Jason has asked that the coordinators not move any more threads until after the upcoming site upgrade. I suggest someone who feels this is worth discussing in General start a new topic there in addition to this one, which will be reserved for discussing NJ restaurants.

[Holly Moore]

Went to Kuma in Paramus around 6:15 pm on a weeknight.  The place was 3/4 empty but they seemed to be making a lot of take out orders.

It's my experience that the odds favoring poor service are much greater in a restaurant that is very slow as opposed to very busy.  Think it's for a couple of reasons - first, no rush equals no adrenaline.  

Second, servers by nature, tend to gather in packs and gossip about all manner of topics, not the least being any server who isn't working that shift.  When the restaurant is slow the chances are the servers are huddled back in the kitchen or in a server area gabbing and gabbing.

It's times like these, when no servers are in sight, that I use my cell phone to call the restaurant from my table to make sure they are still open.

[Rosie]

That's funny. There was a story going around some time ago about a couple at a hot NY restaurant that had been waiting a long time for their table. The husband got on the phone and ordered a pizza to be delivered to the restaurant.

[ngatti]

[

It's times like these, when no servers are in sight, that I use my cell phone to call the restaurant from my table to make sure they are still open

   

Oh man!, Holly that's great.  I gotta try this.

   

Nick