Email Newsletters/Alerts | Text Alerts | Mobile Apps | RSS

Note to Babe's Burgers: All we wanted was an apology

Images

Print Story

Published: 10/13/2010 7:24 am

Updated: 10/13/2010 7:29 am

SAN ANTONIO - Let me first start this off by saying I am a big fan of eating out. It saves me the headache of having to clean up my kitchen, and it tends to take the guess work out of what my husband and I will eat for dinner. That said, I had a really bad experience Monday night, and I’m wondering if I’m alone.

My husband and I went to Babe’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers on Fredericksburg Road around 8pm. We had a “buy one, get one coupon” so we thought we’d go there. Our order was pretty simple. I got a chicken sandwich. He ordered the chicken strips. It took about half an hour to get our food, which only irritated me because I saw people who come in after us, order, get their food and leave! (Granted they must be really fast eaters.)

So after watching this go on my husband finally got up and checked with the guys behind the counter about our meal. They gave him some song and dance about why it was taking so long, and then gave what both of us considered to be “attitude.” You know what I mean; those eye rolls, heavy sighs, etc. They acted as if we were interrupting them while they were watching Monday Night Football, even though they were at work.

Finally, we got our food and started to walk away. However, since it really got under my husband’s skin, we said something to the girl who took our order. She asked if we wanted to speak to the manager. To our surprise it was the manager who was one of the guys behind the counter that was rude to us.

So my husband explained what the problem was and told the guy he hoped it was just a bad night. My husband works close to this location and has eaten there many times before. All we were looking for was an apology.

Then the manager looked at us with that ‘deer in the headlights’ look, as if he had no idea what we were talking about. We never got an apology, not even a 'sorry your meal took so long.' The manager did wind up giving my husband $15 in gift certificates, which we decided to give to his co-workers.

My point in this, besides getting it out of my head, is that restaurants need to remember customers talk, they blog and others will learn about these experiences.

That was my bad night. What’s yours?

Print Story

61 Comment(s)

Comments: Show | Hide

Here are the most recent story comments.View All

The views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of News 4 WOAI (WOAI.com)

helotestxmom - 11/2/2010 1:26 PM

0 Votes

Report User

While we don't visit the Fredericksburg location, I will say the Helotes location is fast, courteous, and most of all, the food is consistently delicious. Love their grilled chicken sandwich! Everybody has an off day! Give them another chance. By the way, I'm not an employee!

angrywaitress - 11/2/2010 12:39 AM

2 Votes

Report User

All you wanted was an apology and you felt that you didn't get it. So instead of blogging about it wouldn't it be easier to not be a returning customer. Question. Have you ever worked in a restaurant? Well I work in one. A busy one at that, and you have to realize that dealing with any a--hole makes the job harder. It's not easy to get over it so quickly when everyone seems to think that they're better then the person they're dealing with behind the counter. I will defend the employees of Babe's and any other restaurant because it's not an easy job. I will admit there are some people out there that do take the job a little too serious, but is that any reason to blog about it. Did anybody ever teach you to kill'em with kindness? Believe me that works better then belittling yourself on the internet. I'm so sick and tired of people complaining on how they were treated. Take a deep breath and think about the saying," treat others the way you want to be treated." We are all the same no matter where we come from or where we work. Also you must realize that chicken has to cook at a certain temperature and time or you would have another excuse to blog about it because you chicken wasn't cooked properly. Thank you for letting me have a moment. An angry waitress!!

STELLA B - 10/15/2010 4:11 AM

3 Votes

Report User

I dont care what the other posters have to say, its about time someone said something, my family & I went there ,ordered our food,sat down & waited....the cooks were all 'chatting'joking, not cooking. When my son got up to ask about our food we got almost burned fries. we complained ,but were told 'if you want to come back to talk to the manager,he will be in later.. we havent been back since

TeaPartyTom - 10/14/2010 4:47 PM

1 Vote

Report User

Well, they can venture into the future WITHOUT my business.....what arrogance...too many alternatives to have to put up with this mess..... Try Willie's, Chris Madrid's, Tycoon Flats, Good Time Charlies...never had a problem at any of these...

TQueen - 10/14/2010 2:57 PM

1 Vote

Report User

LOL .....Yeah, SA Mike, I think you are on to something....The employees are defending this ....I dont think this Manager would tolerate that type of service if he was a paying customer in someother establishment...

BootedTimes3 - 10/14/2010 1:11 PM

1 Vote

Report User

Sounds like Babe's management is doing damage control by having all the employee's log in with "glowing" reviews. Too bad. Damage probably already done...

tida123 - 10/14/2010 10:00 AM

2 Votes

Report User

To answer your question chick in a pod, my family and I have been going here for years. We have never experienced a situation like you did. (And we have used coupons many times. If they're there why not use them?) They've always been really friendly and helpful. The manager always greets us when we come in, and the owner will come up and greet us also. The employees have never given us any problems. And not to mention the food is amazing. I would give it another chance, maybe try the other location on Bandera, restaurants always have bad nights, you could have just caught them on one.

jpinsatx - 10/14/2010 9:07 AM

6 Votes

Report User

Hmmm... "My husband works close to this location and has eaten there many times before. All we were looking for was an apology." Obviously, your experience is an exception and not the norm. This matter should have been handled with the owner or upper management. Publicly airing your irritation makes you sound arrogant!

CubanInAustin - 10/14/2010 7:01 AM

2 Votes

Report User

Let me start saying Babe's Burgers is my choice every time I go to San Antonio. I live in Austin, Texas. What a surprise for me this stupid article. I have a questions for who wrote it. Do you cook? Do you have idea how long take cook something? I am not a fast food lover at all. Exactly why I visited this RESTAURANT. They make your meal from scratch in from of you. Nothing is frozen or precook, there all dishes are excellent. They wait for your order and cook it after. If you want a fast food (but lower quality) you have in the market a lot of choice, MacDonald, Jack in the box, etc. If you want a burger exactly o better than you will make in your grill at home, your place is Babe's Burgers. I recommend them.

Savage - 10/14/2010 6:59 AM

2 Votes

Report User

Folks, when you go to a service oriented establishment, you "pay" for services or/and goods. It is the responsibility of the business to insure you get what you pay for. Whether you have a coupon or not has nothing to do with receiving poor service. I don't care if the Superbowl is on, the workers are there to serve you, not watch a football game. If they want to watch a football game....stay home. Again, if you can't handle serving people, you are in the "wrong" business, get another JOB!

Click Here to Add Your Comments View All

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this blog do not necessarily represent those of WOAI-TV. We encourage a free exchange of viewpoints here on woai.com. If you would like to express your view in a blog of your own, please contact BobGambert@woaitv.com.

SA Opinion Journal

This site is hosted and managed by Inergize Digital.
Mobile advertising for this site is available on Local Ad Buy.