January 02, 2008

Sarah: Training Table

Last night I went to dinner with Blake and Lisa to this Utah Original and, I must say, I was quite disappointed. Now, I can't complain too much, because Blake is super nice and bought my dinner (I owe you, Blake!) and I had a lovely time chatting with two of my favorite people.
I've joked in the past that I can't stand the tiny plates that Training Table serves their food on, as if they don't want you to have any extra room for you to set your pickles and onions on while you chomp down on one of their many different hamburgers.
Small plates aside, I was annoyed enough with my experience last night that I looked for a way to let their management know what I thought. Their website doesn't have any contact information for feedback, but I did post a review on Citysearch. It probably won't do any good, but at least I've voiced my displeasure.
As a small recap, I've put together a list of tips for the Training Table staff. I say this while acknowledging that food service is tough, underpaid work. The hours are long and the holidays are practically nonexistent. This is why I tip well and always try to be polite and understanding. It is also the reason why I appreciate our friends so much and why the girls brought them a Christmas treat last month for the second year in a row.
1. Consider having an adult manager on duty at all times. Five teenagers standing near the cash register are not a managerial equivalent.
2. When someone orders something which is sold out (like, say, the soup), do not wait until after they have paid to let them know that this item is not available. Offer to substitute something similar or remove it from their bill. You know, before you've charged their card?
3. If you put cheese on a burger that was ordered without cheese, throw the burger out and make a fresh one, correctly. This doesn't significantly change your bottom line (which I don't really think the cook was worried about anyway), and the customer will notice the remnants of the scraped-off cheese, not to mention that the burger will be cold once you've "fixed" the order.
4. Trying to discourage customers from ordering within an hour and a half of closing is probably not going to be effective. Perhaps just skip the three loud speaker announcements declaring "30 minute wait, order if you want", "no new orders", and then "okay, you can order again, if you want" and accept that you might have to serve the people lining up to give you their money.
5. If you're tired of serving customers, you should recommend that they visit Crown Burgers instead.

p.s. I would like to add that I believe my feelings would be more favorable towards Training Table if I enjoyed cheese fries and/or fry sauce. Those are their signature items and are, by all reports, quite tasty.

Posted by sarah at January 02, 2008 03:13 PM
Comments

Sorry about the bad experience! We should have gotten Wendy's after all. I hate the tiny plates, too. Pieces of salad always scoot off the edge when I load up my fork. Plus, the Training Table by my work has the vaguely menacing elderly male busboy who likes to strike up conversations with women dining alone and stare at them while they eat. Creh. Peh.

Posted by: lisa on January 2, 2008 04:22 PM
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