When dining out, you never know what might transpire that could tilt the impression of your experience in one direction or another. A dish might wow you and make you come back for more; a subtle touch or amenity might leave you impressed. Or bad customer service can wipe away tasty food and ensure you don’t make a second visit.
This is a tale of two Washington D.C. dining experiences I’ve had over the past few months, which left distinctly different impressions on the diners – myself and my then-girlfriend, now-fiancee.
The first was a trip to Chef Tony’s, located in Bethesda. We had purchased a deal for Sunday brunch at about half price. The deal actually expired in the middle of the week, which caught us by surprise considering it could only be used on Sundays.
I called the restaurant, explained the situation, and asked if I’d be able to use the deal for the upcoming weekend. Chef Tony made an exception, and told us to come on down. I was hoping that might happen, but I didn’t expect it to, as the deal had, in fact, expired. But he was gracious enough to give us the green light and accept the coupon.
On the following Sunday we went and enjoyed a delicious brunch with some unique menu items – caramel French toast with bacon, anybody? – and a welcoming, friendly experience. And guess what? Whenever the topic arises, we glowingly recommend Chef Tony’s and tell our friends and fellow-foodies to head on down. Seems like that was a win-win, right?
The second was a trip to Bastille, in Alexandria. We had won a $150 gift certificate through a charity auction at the 2011 Best of Washington party, hosted by Washingtonian. The gift certificate was part of a local romantic getaway package of sorts, also including a voucher for a one night’s stay at the Gaylord National hotel, at the National Harbor.
When I made a reservation for our dinner, and mentioned the gift certificate, I was told by the receptionist that it would be treated as cash. So we went and ordered a three-course menu with wine pairings, which after tax and tip and everything would have added up to be just about right for the value of the gift certificate.
However, after getting the check we were then told that alcohol, tax and tip were not included with the value of the gift certificate. Which meant that we could only use half of its value.
Speaking with the manager provided no relief, as we were told, more or less, that’s the way it is and we don’t care why or what led you to believe differently, how you obtained the gift certificate or anything else. You were told it would be treated as cash? You won it through a charity auction? You ordered the on-menu wine pairings? Nope, no dice.
Well, that’s that then. Now, when we talk about Bastille, we’ll say that that the food was pretty good – sweet potato soup and steak frites hit the right notes – and the customer service was so bad that we’d never go back again.
Just a tale of two different Washington D.C. dining experiences.
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