1-8-11 Saturday (Better Cheddar)

I wasn’t going to blog so soon but I’ve got stuff to say.  It’s a follow-up post/review on our visit a few weeks ago to Cheddar’s.   Sometime between that post and now I copied and pasted my review from the blog into their online comment form.  A few days later I received a call from General Manager Bill.  He apologized, we spoke, he explained, and when all was said and done he sent us $20 in gift certificates to give them another try.  We received the certificates along with a letter.  The letter was a recap of our conversation with the ending sentence as, “Please ask for me the next time you are in, I would enjoy meeting you.”

Last night we decided to go out for dinner on the aforementioned certificates.  We didn’t ask for the manager.  We felt it better to get “normal” service rather than ramped up service because we previously complained.  My cell phone has a timer, I used it.  Maybe it sounds petty, but that’s OK, you’ll get over it.  So anyways, server Ryan took our drink order quickly.  Drinks came quickly.  We ordered meals with salads and were asked if we’d like them before hand.  We did.  I started the timer.  9 minutes.  Seemed like a long time.  Jim had finished his salad, and mine was 3/4 done when the meals arrived 6 minutes later.  That would be my only complaint.  Other than that the food was wonderful and the server, Ryan, rocked it.

The unexpected happened.  The manager I mentioned in the previous review was there.  As we finished our meals he came over, asked how everything was and then seemed like it had just hit him.  He recognized me.  He knew about the review and the certificates.  Since we were called out I asked for GM Bill but he was off for the evening.  It was pretty impressive that the manager recognized me and even remembered my comment.  Let’s just hope he didn’t remember it while in the kitchen, handling our order all while having excess saliva. 

We’ll definitely go back and I think I’m going to start entering restaurants into my phone along with the server’s name to ask for.  It will be a nice way to make the server feel good, as well as typically better service.  Today I left another comment on Cheddar’s website.  I omitted the salad story on their comment with Jim’s recommendation.  The good service and good food trumped the delayed salad and early arrival of the food.  Let’s face it, I would have found something to bitch about no matter what.

Jim mentioned last night that the atmosphere is more upscale than their price.  For example: the server was wearing a white dress shirt and a tie with black pants.  It makes Cheddar’s dining experience “fancier”.  The décor is conservative.  A huge fish tank completes the feel.  It’s just the whole package I guess.  I agree with him.