Terrible Service..only excuses
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 7/30/06
May 21, 2006
My wife and I had dinner at your establishment last Saturday night, May 20 as we have several times a year over the past 15 years. We had planned ahead and made reservations the previous Tuesday. At the time my wife made the reservation, there was no mention of the other larger parties or seating options available.
When we arrived, we were seated directly adjacent to the bar in the dining backroom. The area was quiet and relaxed with only a couple of patrons at the bar. Our server (Chelsea) efficiently served drinks and took our kitchen order. Just prior to arrival of our entr�e, the bar area quickly filled with other guests to the point that our table was engulfed with standing guests. At this point my wife and I could not continue our dinner conversation due to the noise from the standing guests. Additionally, our table was periodically jolted by serving staff attempting to walk behind our table and by the standing guests encroaching on our table. Our young server recognized the situation and personally approached our table and apologized several times.
At this point, I asked our server to request the maitre-de to our table to address the situation. A female member of your management staff arrived at the table minutes later to hear our complaint to which she repeatedly provided excuses as to why our quite evening was interrupted by bar guests. I was surprised by her presentation as a victim of either overbooking or early arriving guests as a valid excuse to the impact on OUR special evening.
The Brewster has always been a special place for our family and we have recommended the inn to many friends that have since visited the restaurant. The restaurant is special due to the combination of the excellent menu and the atmosphere. Although the food was very good, our overall experience on the evening of May 20th was very disappointing. I was even more dismayed by the inability of your staff to acknowledge the impact on our special evening and at least offer to relocate us or �comp� our beverages or dessert. It was even more disappointing to tell our close friends who provided us a $250 gift certificate that our evening was very far from perfect.
The Brewster is fortunate to have very good food and generally a great setting, but so do many other area restaurants. The difference between yourself and the other competing restaurants is SERVICE to the customer. On the evening of May 20th, you missed the mark.
Very Respectfully,