Should I Be Afraid Of The Menu?

Posted by barblog on Nov 11, 2009 in Bar Management, Bar Service | 4 comments

Taking advantage of the beautiful sunshine yesterday, I headed downtown for a bite to eat.

I found the perfect place, a restaurant with a nice patio with tables where I could enjoy the evening sun. Prior experience had told me to ask the server if they are actually open/serving food/trading before seating myself down. My query as to whether food was being served was met with a:

“I’m afraid it’s only the evening menu being served”.

Now, I’m not sure what’s wrong with the evening menu, or why the waitress felt the need to apologise in advance for it.

Was it that it was, in her opinion, overpriced and she was softening the blow before releasing it from her clutches? or was it that the daytime chef had gone home and that the evening chef is not the most able in the kitchen?

Did I look like I wasn’t the type of customer that would be interested in/able to pay for anything more fancy than an appetizer?

In any case, I took my chances and had a great meal.

There really was no need to apologise at all….

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barblog

Thanks for the feedback Terry. Completely see where you're coming from.

I think what I should have mentioned was that staff could have talked UP the evening menu, instead of apologizing for it.

"I'm delighted that you've come at this time of the day because we have our amazing dinner menu available...."

Isn't it funny how easily a few words can change our perception?

Thanks for the feedback Terry!

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Terry Bolland

I own the Summertime Restaurant in Fish Creek, WI. Seventy seats are outdoor dining & 100 seats indoor. Due to the fact that food on our kitchen line changes between breakfast & lunch, and between lunch & dinner due to limited refrigeration space to have everything available at all times our staff has to notify people when this changeover occurs. In our case we don't appologize for this but it is important that customers know why you can't offer lunch & dinner items at the same time. I appreciate your comments though. Terry

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barblog

Great point Jill! It certainly is a changing economy on all fronts!

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Jill Smith

it is merely a sign of these economic times. It is hard to determine whether someone wants a bar snack or the full menu. Servers are getting shy about what to offer clients because they have been the receivers of negative feedback from clients who were merely looking for a bite and a beer vs the full menu.

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