Tonight Maribeth and I picked up Molly from work and proceeded to O'Charley's for a bite of dinner. We had ordered our meal when all of a sudden the lights went out. The lights stayed out until we left, during which we were served our dinner (we think - it was food anyway), ate it (faster than I've eaten before), and paid (thankfully I had cash with me, since the computers went down at some point).
It was not my favorite dinner. It's unnerving to eat in the dark when somebody else has prepared the food - you just hope the lights were on in the kitchen. There were no candles or flashlights, so we would click on the lights on our cell phones just to look over our plates. The only lights that came on occasionally were a car's random headlights or someone else's cell phone.
Probably the biggest disappointment was in the management. No one came around explaining what had happened, except our waiter, who really didn't know for sure. No manager table-hopped, soothing the customers or offering free treats. No one offered to comp a dessert or offer a coupon for a discount at a future meal. We just ate, waited for the bill, paid it, and left.
I realize it wasn't the management's fault - apparently something or someone hit a transformer in the area and knocked the power out. But it doesn't have to be someone's fault to make good. It doesn't take much to make good on a difficult situation. It doesn't have to be a flashlight to brighten the darkness. It just takes one good action to turn things around.
I realize O'Charley's was not prepared for the power outage. But they should have been prepared for repairing patron relations. They should have been prepared to shine a little light in a dark situation.
But maybe they did for me. Maybe I'll remember the next time I have a chance to shine a little light. Maybe when things are dark, I'll see what I can do to turn things around and make things better. After all, I know what it's like to be on the other side in the dark.
2 comments:
As a employee of the O'Charley's in Brentwood, TN where the power went out, I can tell you 1st and most importantly, your food was 100% safe. 2nd I apologize on behalf of the management that no one came to let you know what was going on, however they were dealing with issues such as making sure all of the kitchen equipment got turned off, to ensure not only our safety as employee's but your safety as guest as well. When emergencies happen in our restaurant, our managers put our guest safety first. A lot goes on behind the scenes. I am truly sorry that your experience at our restaurant was an ex-centric one. I do hope that you will join us again at the corner of good food and good times!!
I appreciate your comments. It was just weird to be eating a new dish I had not ordered before, and not being able to see it and know exactly what I was crunching on. We probably would have left, but had already ordered and didn't know what to do. My daughter was concerned about the smell of smoke. I probably would have felt more positive about the situation had the waiters been told to advvise the patrons that leaving was an acceptable option given the situation. As far a guest safety, the scariest part was trying to manuever the steps to the entrance of the restaurant with no employee there with a flashlight to guide the way. I realize this was not an ordinary experience, and hope that everyone involved learned a little something from it.
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