Definately won't ever eat at that Outback Steakhouse again

[waggy]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
Have never liked Outback.

Mediocre steaks at best. Nothing impressive. Draft beer sucks too.

i agree. but the cost is not to bad. its a decent cheap steak place.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: lupi
The reason why tips should be earned and not expected.

TIPS (To Insure Prompt Service)

Yeah because the waitress is the one that cooks the food. Do everyone that enjoys eating out a favor and stay home with your frozen pizza.

I have no problem with either of these statements ... tips are earned & I tip very well for good service.

I do agree that its unfair to hold the server responsible for the actions of the kitchen staff.

Originally posted by: OdiN
Go to a Texas Roadhouse if one is near you. Service at the two different ones that I've been at has been absolutley excellent, not to mention that they have some of the best food at a chain steak/restaurant place ever.

:thumbsup: Best chain-restaurant I've been to for steak by far! :thumbsup:

 

[Exterous]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
I'm all for good service but I just have to point out a few problems I have with your rant.

1. You think the idea of a nice meal is going to Outback.

2. You think they call all names in order at a restaurant. Usually, they won't call a party of two for a table of 8 that's cleared up, except when ...

3. You complain and force them to. Then you complain you were put in a table meant for 8.

4. You eat steak, medium well.

1. Good point - I should change that to a nicer meal out - as opposed to Qdoba or something like that. We don't have any super fancy restaurants near by either

2. I know they seat people out of order - but they sat at least 2 couples in front of us who came in much later than we did and had not called in (we were near the hostess's table so I heard them add their name to the list) And it was non smoking for the tables (smokers at the bar only). So I am not sure why they were seated first. Besides - its not like I said "I want to be seated now." I asked "How much longer is the wait?" And the response was "Oh seat them at table 13." I didn't force them to seat me right then.

4. I like it that way!

 

[The Boston Dangler]

i avoid chain restaurants like the plague

 

[Exterous]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
1. It was obviously busy, and a mistake was made on the list. It happens.

2. Your steak was done perfectly. Only a freak gets a steak done medium well

I know and that alone would not warrant a rant

 

[ViviTheMage]

hahaha you had a shitty time, that sucks man!

I have never had that crappy of a time at a restaurant.

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: lupi
The reason why tips should be earned and not expected.

TIPS (To Insure Prompt Service)

Yeah because the waitress is the one that cooks the food. Do everyone that enjoys eating out a favor and stay home with your frozen pizza.

yea because the OP had to go find her after waiting 15 minutes after being seated. and the tips are for the waitress not for the cooks. WTF is your point? :roll:

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: UILanMan

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: lupi
The reason why tips should be earned and not expected.

TIPS (To Insure Prompt Service)

Ensure? Unless you wanted State Farm to insure your service

/takes off grammar hat and backs out of thread slowly...

TIPS or TEPS hummmm thats a hard one to figure out.

 

[Slew Foot]

But but but... it's a really hard job to do, and we deserve 58976587% tips....
We're sooooooo unappreciated... waaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!

 

[lokiju]

Of course this is not a issue that is specific to Outback, but happened to be that night.

I've been to Outback plenty of times in many different locations and even different states and have never had these issues.

But if you do have another Outback in your area, I know that's the one I'd be going to the next time.

 

[SSP]

Needless to say the live cow looked quite annoyed at me as I cut into its side

hahahahaha

 

[manowar821]

Good rant! 5/5

I've heard some bad stories about Outback steakhouse, and honestly I agree. It's sub-par at best.

My girl and I go to Famous Dave's. Their service is good, and the steak and burgers are actually interesting and tasty, instead of boring slabs of barely seasoned meat like at Outback.

Go to Famous Dave's, if you can, that is.. Get the devil spit burger.

 

[Aikouka]

Originally posted by: Captante
:thumbsup: Best chain-restaurant I've been to for steak by far! :thumbsup:

The one around me also has very hot waitresses. I've been tempted to bring a lady there, because the food isn't bad, but then I can't gawk at our purdy waitress .

 

[Journer]

i sued to work at outback (water, bus boy, host, kitchen aid (dishes, cooking)) ...i have no sympathy for shitty waters and restaurant workers. the job is easy (all of them). they dont deserve big tips unless the party is HUGE (like..12+ people).

 

[Xavier434]

I prefer Longhorn Steakhouse myself.

Service quality is all about the staff's management and whether or not they have the balls to fire their crap employees. There is an Olive Garden near me where my SO and I went through similar experiences...3 times in a row! We finally decided to give them another try recently and were very surprised to see a whole new crew of waiters and waitresses. Service was excellent. I am convinced that management changed after corporate saw consistent profits that were too low.

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: Journer
i sued to work at outback (water, bus boy, host, kitchen aid (dishes, cooking)) ...i have no sympathy for shitty waters and restaurant workers. the job is easy (all of them). they dont deserve big tips unless the party is HUGE (like..12+ people).

 

[MrPickins]

9/10 :thumbsup:

Damn, now I'm hungry for steak.

Forget Outback, though. I want Saltgrass Steakhouse or Texas Land & Cattle.

 

[uhohs]

you twitch a lot, you should go see a doctor.

 

[Squisher]

The problem is management. If a certain level of importance on service isn't impressed on the employees you'll get the lax service that you got.

My wife is in the food service industry and had to fire two managers this week, because they couldn't do their jobs. This was in Detroit and jobs are hard to come by around here. These people were making good money and I don't see how they're going to find jobs that pay as much. Some people just don't care.

 

[lizardth]

Well if you are ever in central Texas the Outback in San Marcos at the outlet mall is is superb. I have never had bad service there. Service has ranged from average to the best waitress we have ever had.

 

[spamsk8r]

Originally posted by: Modular

Originally posted by: Exterous
So my wife and I leave and go to Red Robin where we are seated as soon as we walk in, have our drinks delivered about 2 minutes later, my burger was the correct one, properly cooked and the price point was 1/3 of what it would have been at Outback

This was the proper route from the start. I have always been impressed with Red Robin. I'm getting hungry!

Usually Red Robin is very good, but I had a problem with the one by my house last week. My and my girlfriend go into the place, there is no one at the host/hostess booth. There is one party ahead of us. After about 5 minutes they get seated, but nobody comes back to even ask us how many are in our party or anything. We are literally just standing there and all the employees just walk on by like we're not there. I said screw it and we went to Acapulco instead. If you're not going to have anyone seating people in your restaurant, why bother? And no, it wasn't seat yourself (or if it was they didn't have a sign or anything indicating so).

 

[Jadow]

never had a bad experience at Outback. I know the wait can be a bltch sometimes, that's why I always just eat in the bar.

 

[Regs]

Good rant!

At least the manager was trying to make it up himself and you weren't getting stuck playing telephone with the waitress going back and fourth.

Most of the time the manager would just sit on his ass telling what the waitress should do.

 

[ponyo]

I like Outback. Prices are cheap and the quality is pretty good for a chain. The ingredients they use are pretty high quality for the price you pay. At least they use USDA Choice steaks unlike most of the competitor chains which use USDA Select. The only other mid price chain I know that use USDA Choice is LongHorn which I also like.

The only people I know who prefer USDA Select steaks from places like Applebee, Chili's, Texas Roadhouse, Logan's, etc are people who like their steak well done.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Exterous

Originally posted by: NeuroSynapsis
8/10

excellent rant.

Why you would go to a chain for steak is beyond me =P

Yay!

We have no non-chain choices for steak other than my grill

Not to mention not everyone thinks steak is a 'special' meal...many just want a decent and convenient meal for a reasonable price.

I can't say I am a big food guy, but once you start getting into the mid to upper teens for a steak I don't see much difference as they approach the $50/plate mark (and beyond). To some maybe. When I am dropping that kind of coin it's more for the ambiance/environment though.

When all is said and done though it's usually the middle range place that I have the most comfortable and relaxing dinner at. The servers aren't so prim and proper and tense, the food is good and half the restaurant is not trying to act like they are Bill Gates.