Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Restaurants Nightmare on Peachtree Street
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Tue, Dec 29, 2009 at 9:09 PM
Here's a holiday nightmare that took place at Livingston. I've eliminated names, but confirmed the identity of the writer. Because of length I have not used the usual gray type we use for quotes:
I just had the worst restaurant experience of my life -- by far. I am furious, and I don't know what to do about it.
We'd made reservations for 7 pm tonight for my sister's birthday at Livingston. My wife, my two-month-old baby, my mother-in-law, my mom, my sister and me. I was so looking forward to it because of what I've read about Livingston.
But it turns out, the Livingston bar was having a very, very VERY loud party for Lady Ga-Ga, who was playing across the street at the Fox. There was one of those vinyl signs for Q-100, as well as a radio van out front -- very unusual for a place like Livingston, but you get the picture. LOUD. Night club, DJ, radio promotions, LOUD.
The thing is it was just as loud in the dining room as in the bar -- I guess they're basically the same room. And I mean LOUD. Like nightclub LOUD. We were on the opposite side of the dining room from the bar, but it was just as loud -- or maybe it was louder because the sound was vibrating off the wall.
We told the waitress we were pretty disappointed, and she gave us one of those meaningless (and therefore insincere-sounding) "well, we really do apologize." That was it. No "please have an appetizer on us." No "would you like to come back another time and we'll be happy to provide you with a free entree." Nothing to say that the restaurant actually was sorry.
I told her that I couldn't believe that was all she could say about something that was utterly inappropriate in a restaurant like this -- that we were expecting a very different experience and had a baby with us. She got the assistant to the assistant manager (or something) to come.
Guess what he said? "I really do apologize." Then he said they really didn't have any control over what was going on in the bar, which immediately struck me as a bit insincere because the bar is part of the restaurant. And I pointed out (gingerly), "Well now it is part of the restaurant isn't it?" and he said "Oh, yes, I suppose it is!" Umm, yeah.
It being Monday night, there weren't that many people in the restaurant. But the bar was packed. So I guess they figured they could abuse the largely out-of-town guests in the restaurants. Unbelievable.
We were determined to block out the sound, but it really couldn't be blocked out. This was LOUUDDDDD!!! I mean like THUMPA-THUMPA-THUMPA bass beat BOOM-BOOM-BOOM, DJ-spurring-them-on-to-"PARTEEE-SOME-MORRRE"-loud. I really was having a hard time focusing on the menu, but my wife saved me from making a decision because she said she thought she needed to take the baby home.Really, that was our only safe option (baby-book guideline: baby shouldn't be in an environment where it's so loud that you have to yell to hear each other).
The waitress came back by and we told her we were leaving. She again gave that insincere "really do apologize" line -- at which point I said: "Y'know, no offense intended, but I'm really sick of hearing everyone apologize. That's pretty meaningless." At which point, she said, "Let me get the assistant manager."
So we're all getting up to go, but before I can get up out of the booth, this guy comes over, and puts his hand on my elbow, which is resting on top of the cushioning in the booth, and introduces himself as Bart, the assistant manager. He yells (he has to yell because the music's so loud): "We really do apologize."
And I say, "Well, couldn't someone have told us that this was happening when we made the reservation?"
And he yells: "This party was planned for a long time. It was on our website and everything." Of course, we never went to the website, but that's kind of the point: They could have warned us.
Me: "I guess I'm amazed that you haven't offered us anything in return for our troubles."
Him: "Well, I guess we have nothing to talk about" and starts walking off.
At that point, I'm pretty darned perplexed; I certainly didn't say anything to warrant that kind of treatment. I did raise my voice, but that's because one had to raise his voice in this environment.
Me: "What do you mean nothing to talk about? You can't offer us something for our troubles? It's Monday, you've ruined our evening. I've got a baby with us. We have no where else to eat in Midtown, and I would think you'd at least offer us a coupon for a couple of meals on you or something."
And he comes back over and puts his hand on my arm again and starts saying something. But I'm looking at my arm and wondering why the guy is touching me and I say softly after a moment of looking at his hand on my arm: "Could you please not touch me?"
Immediately, he spins around and trots to the hostess, whose nearby yelling, "Call security!"
We were leaving! The guy kept touching me! And because I was uncomfortable with this obviously agitated manager laying his hands on me, when I myself already was furious, he says: "Call security." I guess he thought better of it, because security didn't seem to be coming. But the thing is we were leaving. And what really was unbelievable was he was the one touching me. I hadn't moved.
As I left, I got the manager's name from the hostess and wrote it on a card, and the assistant to the assistant came back up front: I told him that Bart was entering "lawsuit territory" by taking such actions. But when I think about it, it could even fall into the territory of assault under the law. At any rate, my point isn't to get all legalistic about it.
But damn! After they create this horrible situation, the guy then assaults me and then threatens to call security -- as we're perfectly peacefully trying to leave!
We obviously weren't the only people upset. Another couple appeared to leave before eating. And as we left, I saw Bart rushing back and forth between the bar and his waiters, looking very stressed out.
Comments (51)
Showing 1-50 of 51
So you could not tell it was loud when you walked in the place? Sounds like a crapy time and all but with lines like yours I would tell you to kick rocks. I mean really you had a bad time but you were fishing for free food. " You can’t offer us something for our troubles? " "We have no where else to eat in Midtown " get real there are more places than I would care to name. “Well, couldn’t someone have told us that this was happening when we made the reservation?” have you ever actually had a place say oh by the way we are having a special event so dont bring a baby. Now I completely agree that is piss poor management skills. You should have given him a areason to call security and knocked over a table by "accident" on the way out.
like
dislike
"But damn! After they create this horrible situation, the guy then assaults me and then threatens to call security — as we’re perfectly peacefully trying to leave!" Assault? Since when is putting your hand on someone's elbow assault? Your over-dramatized account has lost all credibility with me. And as a patron of Livingston and a slew of other Midtown restaurants, I don't want your baby there anyways. So, they didn't want to give you free stuff. So what. They aren't required to give you a free appetizer because Lady Gaga is in town. The Lady Gaga party in the bar was probably way more lucrative then your family dinner anyways, and was therefore the priority of the evening. Loud noise is annoying, but whining is more.
If you've ever seen Rashomon, you know where I'm going with this. But let's imagine a letter from an attendee of the Lady GaGa pre-party which went a little something like: "This was the worst effing pre-party I've ever been to! The DJ couldn't use any speakers, the music that started out really quietly at first got turned off completely after some family with a baby at the other end of the restaurant complained, and it was a total let-down and buzz kill for the concert! What the hell, Livingston! Why host a pre-party for the biggest pop act of 2009 if it's not going to be a party? this completely ruined my night. I want all my drinks comped!!" Obviously you weren't treated well by management, but your solipsistic point of view on the event, along with your gift for hyperbole (assault? please.), makes your cause quite unsympathetic. Add to that more hyperbole (no other place to eat in Midtown? Really?) and your fervent requests for free stuff--which makes you at best look like a rube or a cheapskate and at worst a cheapskate rube--and suddenly I'm siding with the management, even though I acknowledge they did a poor job handling the situation. Let's face it. You should have diagnosed the situation as soon as you walked in and left. You tried to stay and you lost. You were outnumbered. You didn't do your due diligence. It's unfortunate. But given the situation, the actions of the Livingston are not unreasonable. You, sir, are unreasonable.
Hey Ron & Highnoon: Assault is defined as physical contact with another person without their consent, and violence is not a prerequisite for an assault to take place. The writer was not using hyperbole here: by laying hands on the customer, the assistant manager was committing an act of assault.
Actually, I made a reservation there not too long ago and the hostess DID tell me there would be an event going on at the bar. I asked her if it would impede on where my party wanted to sit and she said "Not at all," and she was right. I guess it all depends on which person answers the phone. I understand you didn't want to turn on your heels as soon as you got there. It probably took some time to get seated (the line at the hostess booth takes FOREVER even on a slow night) and you were probably thinking "There's no way in Hades we'll have to deal with this noise at our table." The fact that you were wrong is no one's fault but the staff at the Livingston. Btw, I can't believe he touched you, either. I mean who DOES that???
Oh please Ben. Have you ever heard of the letter of the law versus the spirit of the law, or do you just see everything in black and white?
I see this kindy of douchery all the time. whats worse is that this douche had a spawn.
Highnoon, Go ahead and ask a lawyer. I once had a state trooper explain it to a security guard at a concert that decided to help the crowd along by grabbing people's arms and pushing them. IANAL, but here's the Georgia Code on the matter: to me, the (admittedly specious) condition of "reasonable apprehension" was fulfilled. Georgia Code - Crimes and Offenses - Title 16, Section 16-5-20: (a) A person commits the offense of simple assault when he or she either: (1) Attempts to commit a violent injury to the person of another; or (2) Commits an act which places another in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury. That said, this guy should have realized there are a number of better alternatives within a short distance of the Fox and taken his business elsewhere. Nonetheless, I believe the restaurant's management should have made some sort of compensation for a clear mismatch between the expected level of service and the actual service received. Ron, your baby-hating makes you a dick. If you don't want to see kids, dine later in the evening.
I attended the Lade Gaga pre-party at the Livingston on Monday. It was loud. But it was a party in a bar with a DJ and more than 100 people. Go to bars much? I feel the pain of the customer. Put in his place, I would have been irritated, too. The restaurant mishandled the situation and didn't treat him like a customer. And they shouldn't have put their hands on anyone. But he's acting like such a diva -- lawsuit! lawsuit! -- that he should have gotten a drink and joined the other divas at the pre-party. They had great costumes. There are restaurants all along Peachtree within walking distance of Livingston. He and his family should have taken their business to one that appreciated it more. And if we're talking free meals, where are ones for me all the times I've tried to have an intimate dinner with friends or my partner only to have it disrupted by a loud child?
It's all Lady Gaga's fault... She just had to bring her THUMPA-THUMPA-THUMPA bass beat BOOM-BOOM-BOOM to Midtown and ruin a family's birthday party!! That bitch!! Seriously, you could have walked a few blocks north or south and found a good meal.
this person sounds like a real good time! Sounds like they were also doing anything to get something for free!! I bet lady gaga or not this funtastical party of folks would not have had a fun night...do they know how to have fun at all?
as a trial lawyer i am just bummed that this guy is bringing up things like "lawsuit territory". It's insecure lawyers and insecure people that file illegit pride suits that waste state resources. Agree that you make a quick assessment when you walk in an realize your timing sucks. You wheel around and discover the decent menu at the Georgia Terrace and the fam digs the architecture. Please don't continue to drag my profession through the mud and yell lawsuit. Those clowns on the buses are doing enough damage on their own.
Really? I can't recall how many times I have walked into a situation, and realized it wasn't right for me, and left. You set yourself up for disappointment.The Livingston owes you nothing.The server also is not authorized to hand out comps to people, only apologize. And what would you say to the guests trying to have a quiet evening, only to be disturbed by your baby( and you know they would have). Furthermore, assault? We are in the south, sometimes we touch on an elbow or shoulder. C'mon, you sound like the worst type of patron, or person.
Ben- You sound like a real treat. I wish we were best friends. A two month old baby is at least as offensive as a pre party at a fine restaurant. If you don't want one or the other, go elsewhere. I agree with Highnoon 100%.
When did it become standard for a restaurant's apology to come with free food? When someone has a crappy time at your family dinner party, do you give them the cat to make your apology more sincere? I could see the apology coming with the problem being rectified (if possible) but sometimes it is simply the patron's personal issue. As an experienced waitress, I've seen people ask for comps because they didn't like the music overhead or because (ahem) the table beside them had a baby that cried through their entire meal. What should the restaurant do? Turn the music off so everyone eats in silence? Ask the family with the baby to leave? Nobody will ever be completely happy. Plus, Who doesn't look at the websites of restaurants when the restaurant has one? ESPECIALLY restaurants along the caliber of Livingston. How would you even know if you like their menu, hours, or events? If you can afford to just reserve a spot at a restaurant you know nothing about, then you could afford to leave and find another restaurant close by. As a patron of that area, I know there are many restaurants to choose from and places like Ponce, Buckhead and Piedmont are just a little bit away.
Oh seriously what a jerk. Clearly they owe you. I would love to see this moron try to get the manager of this restaurant arrested for assault in this situation. The most idiotic comment though, I have to say, is the whole thing about not having anywhere else to eat in Midtown. Oh please. Ugh. They're better off without you.
Being a frequent customer at Livingston I feel bad you didn't enjoy your experience. I can imagine a party with a loud dj would be annoying, but having a small baby and seeing that when you walked in, I would have gone somewhere else, more to make sure the baby wasn't disturbed. Ben, you are right about the letter of the law, but I think you should be realistic. As someone who has two lawyers and a judge in their family, I doubt any of them would take or hear the case. He was wrong to touch you, but this is the South, where touching people is something that happens. But the thing that makes me most skeptical about you is how you were demanding free stuff. I can imagine if you were frustrated, but by demanding free stuff that just made the staff eyeball you as a rube and hope you left. I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but Livingston is great, the food and the service are top notch, and you must have hit them on an off night.
Go F yourself mooch. That Lady Gaga concert was the best show I've ever been too. The food at Livingston blows anyway. Maybe when Barry Manilow comes in town I'll go to Livingston and complain about how lame everbody is and try to get my meal comp'd.
This entitlement bitch of a man needs to grow a pair and stick to TGIFridays and Chilis. Wait till your kid stops crapping himself before you try a nice place in the city, please. I hope you are so disgusted you take your business back to the burbs.
This is the best comments section so far on Omnivore. It's usually "Cliff has no tastebuds!" or "How dare you say Community Q is the best BBQ!" You guys are awesome. Gaga brings out the best!
Seems like this post is just trying to stir the pot. Everyone likes a good controversy!
Will someone explain to me why this letter was published on this blog in the first place? Do we really need to give a voice to every high maintenence patron that over reacts to a situation in a restaurant? You actually expected free food because you walked in on a private party at the bar and didn't like the music? If I owned The Livingston I would be livid that CL posted this totally one sided rant. Cliff...you're better than this. I can only assume that you agree with this woman if you put your name on this absurd post. People like this make me feel sorry for everyone in the service industry. I hope this woman files a lawsuit and gets laughed out of court.
I think that if Livingston had a party of 100 people or possibly more and they knew it would probably be this loud, they should have closed the dining room and considered it a buyout. Anyone calling for a reservation should have been told, "I'm sorry, but the restaurant is closed for a private event that evening." That said, I do agree that the letter writer sounds pretty douchey with his lawsuit threats and pleas for free food. The restaurant was wrong and handled things badly, but this guy seems to really have a chip on his shoulder to begin with. And I disagree with the idea that touching a customer is OK because we're in the South. If I don't want to be touched by strangers, I shouldn't have to avoid an entire region of the country just to keep my personal space.
Oh, this is par for the course for ol' boy Cliff. Remember the Shaun's controversy he whipped up some months ago? I'm sure he's just sitting back and smirking as we all take the bait, carefully laid out like so many $3 sliders at the Shed.
Cliff, I like the fact that you posted this letter to the blog. It raises multiple issues with regards to dinning out that should be in the public discussion: noise levels, parties, babies in restaurants, reservations, management, comps, assault, and Gaga. I for one think this person (I think the writer is a woman) is being a melodramatic diva and trying to receive free goodies for her trouble. She should have surveyed the scene and realized it was not for her and her family and moved on to one of the zillions of restaurants in Midtown. Management was at fault for not handling the situation well, but lawsuit? security? really? who does that sort of thing.
People like you are what's wrong with America today. First, taking a baby to a fancy restaurant was a poor decision. Until the kid is 25, stay OTP and eat at Red Lobster when you want a fancy meal, or hire a baby sitter. Second, you're an idiot. Being touched on the arm, while annoying, is hardly assault or lawsuit territory. Third, entitled much? Do you really expect the restaurant to throw everyone out of the bar? Fourth, there are plenty of other places to eat in Midtown and on a Monday night, getting a table shouldn't be an issue. I'm going to sue you for being stupid. And to Ben, state troopers aren't always right. More importantly, touching someone on the arm meets neither 1 nor 2 under the GA code. In conclusion, you, too are a dumbass. Finally, I'm disappointed in this post. If this holiday nightmare is your worst restaurant experience ever, you should count yourself lucky. There weren't even any roaches or foreign objects!
First of all, as to the sexism: The author is a man, not a woman. Doesn't he refer to his wife? Closer reading, please. Second, the idea that I enjoy these discussions that invariably turn into personal attacks (usually motivated by entirely unstated agendas) is absurd, I assure you. In fact, they make the entire enterprise of blogging unpleasant. I'm talking about the ad hominem attacks, not the literal subject of disagreement. John Kessler wrote in a recent post on his blog how the incredibly unpleasant comments on (the old) Atlanta Cuisine made logging onto the site difficult. Amen to that. And it's ridiculous, too, to assert that because I report or post something controversial by someone else that I agree with the perspective represented. If you think I shouldn't publish disagreeable posts by other people, I would be right to delete quite a few of the comments here, wouldn't I?
Nowhere to eat in Midtown. You mean besides Baronda and Eno across the street a block away? TopFlr and MF three blocks down Ponce? Ecco and Silk a few blocks north of Eno? Idiot. I think the letter writer is full of crap. My wife and I received a free "tour of the menu" because we were not served properly in the bar. BTW, I didn't ask for a thing. It was freely and promptly offered by Bart. The details of my story would let everyone know that Bart was likely not the problem with this gentlemans evening. Cliff - posting this letter is fine, as long as it is presented as an example of the bullshit that servers and managers deal with on a daily basis, rather than an honest critique of Livingston.
This is exactly what you get when 2 douche bags meet and stand their ground. I'd like to call it a "douche bag moment", made famous by the cartoon The Boondocks but under a different name :) Cliff, sorry for what happened to you at this place, and yes they were in the wrong but you also have to realize that you've got an ego and an elitist complex that doesn't always go well with others. As far as "nowhere else in Midtown to eat", I'm pretty sure Livingston wasn't the only place that was open.
Cliff, do you ever think that you're just not liked much by many of the readers on here?
Hey Kingfish. Cliff was just the messenger. The "nightmare on Peachtree" happened to someone else... This rant was pretty humorous IMO. I hope everyone has a Happy New Year! Cheers!
"First of all, as to the sexism: The author is a man, not a woman. Doesn’t he refer to his wife? Closer reading, please." Excellent deduction skills. That means Ellen Degeneres is a man. I constantly hear her (him?) referring to her (his?) "wife". Thank you for clearing that up. I had no idea we were so closed minded - especially you, Cliff - here in the ATL. That said, the letter writer proves what a fool he is by thinking the elitist thoughts, writing them down, then sending a letter to someone he hopes will publish it in attempt to make the establishment look bad. Right now I give the following scores: Livingston - 2, Letter Writer - 0, Cliff - 0. Actually Cliff gets a minus 1 because he tagged this with "Lady Gaga" in order to get more hits.
Actually, Cliff didn't tag this post with Lady Gaga, I did. I thought it was amusing.
Has it really gotten so bad in this country that a goddamn restaurant in Midtown Atlanta needs to have 'security'? I guess that's what you get for living in the Communist, military, Republican police state known as Atlanta. I can't help giggling every time I hear the National Anthem and the land of the free. Really? Bush and the Republicans have spent the past 8 years systematically destroying our Democratic rights.
End of the war on terror! Vegans unite! Stop immigration! Free health care for all! Abolish the death penalty! No tax but the Fair Tax! Obama's not really American! It's a woman's right to choose! Fur is dead! Unionize! Vote or die! etcetera, etcertera, etcetera.
These comments make me think that there should be a reading-comprehension quiz (and maybe a poopie-head detector) alongside the comment form's anti-spam device. We went to Livingston for my birthday this year and while I liked the food and loved the look of the interior, I thought the room itself was kinda loud acoustically. I wonder if they could dampen the sound in there so the noise doesn't bounce around and amplify so much.
haha..i this is a stupid as the lady that called 911 at Mcdonalds because she recieved Ketchup in her hamburger.
The piling-on is not very helpful, so let me see if I can join nom nom nom in startinga fruitful discussion. FWIW, here's my take: The writer is over-reacting and hurts his own credibility by threatening lawsuits when no real damage has occurred. I don't always live by this advice, but let's be honest -- one is much more credible if one is calm and rational when making an argument. That being said, I think Livingston should be careful not to shift too far from "fine restaurant" to "club." If I went on a Monday/Tuesday night, I would honestly expect a quiet dinner on an off night. In fact, M-Th is my favorite dining window to have a more relaxed atmosphere. Livingston has every right to have a party in the lounge -- it IS their restaurant -- but I think it runs a risk of chasing away regular dining customers for the quick and temporary revenue hit from the partiers. Pre parties could be a great idea for Livingston, but it should balance the noise level to retain dining customers or look into creating a barrier between the spaces to contain the sound. Cliff, you bring up a great case study for discussion. IMO, both the writer and Livingston goofed, but Livingston should step back a think about what they want their market position and their loyal clientele to be. I will be sure to check their website from now on before I make a reservation!
Thanks Steve. I'm glad you see that the email does raise some legitimate issues. And, actually, the piling on is not as bad as it looks. As usual, there are commenters who are using multiple identities -- up to three in one case. It's all about building hostile consensus. And it usually has nothing to do with the actual content of a post. I particularly laughed when "Barry" wrote this: "Cliff, do you ever think that you’re just not liked much by many of the readers on here?" Why, yes, Barry, that has crossed my mind. After all, you have called me douche-this and douche-that with your other name here. I'm not sure why you would bother to create a separate name to make this comment. (And by the way,your alter-ego doesn't even get that the email I published is about someone else's experience, not my own.) This all reminds me of when Creative Loafing first started using caller ID. It seemed to take restaurant people months to realize that their phone anonymity was no longer protected. It's the same thing with the Internet, as I wrote before. Besides easily learning the multiple names associated with an ISP address, you can now enter an email address on certain sites and be taken directly to the person's pages on social media and other networking sites. A few people have subscribed to services that hide ISP addresses and they use phony emails. But even that technology is being overridden, according to friends in the field. And, as in the case of "Girlie girl," who triumphantly notes that the writer could be a lesbian writing about her wife, it's obvious to me who the person is anyway. But the award for funniest comment goes to Josey Wales: "Oh, this is par for the course for ol’ boy Cliff. Remember the Shaun’s controversy he whipped up some months ago? I’m sure he’s just sitting back and smirking as we all take the bait, carefully laid out like so many $3 sliders at the Shed." That's a funny rebuke and the people at the Shed loved it. But accusing me of an ethical transgression when Josey Wales has posted liberally as three different people quite fond of ad hominem attacks is almost breathtakingly hypocritical. (And I did write Josey privately.) So it goes on the Intertubes. Wise up, people.
Wow, I really enjoy reading Cliff's responses to some of these ridiculous posts. On a cautionary note people: I saw Cliff in the gym, and I wouldn't want to upset him. The guy has 24 inch guns. I'm just sayin.
It would be nice if all posting required some form of account/registration so that the rest of us could have some sense of who is whom. Especially when talking trash about a business or person. It is nice to know that Cliff lets people know that they are busted. How about deleting there post and replacing it with "Post removed due to dishonest douchbaggerry". :-)
@Dale: Most bloggers don't make a point of letting commenters know how easily they can be identified because (a) they don't want to discourage posting and (b) they'd prefer not to encourage use of proxy servers which hide ISP addresses. Better, they think, to let people continue to unknowingly embarrass themselves than give them the information to hide. As I explained during the earlier brouhaha over a third-party posting, I well understand and have fallen prey to the temptation of sock puppetry. But it never does anything in the long run but produce bad feelings all around.
I did it once. Cl's site had a brain fart and was showing passwords. I logged in as John Sugg :-) I made it obvious and then immediately posted as myself and clarified the situation.
As the diner who wrote the original note to Cliff, this conversation is educational. It does make me reflect on my own behavior. Many of the writers say I sounded like a jerk. Y’know what? In reading the note, I think you’re right. By the time we were leaving, I probably did. I’m not proud of that. I wrote the note to Cliff right after we left, too, so I was still pretty steamed. No excuses. I didn’t gloss over my actions either. I didn’t try to write it in a way that made me out to be some sort of hero. But I want to address a couple of assumptions made by some of the commenters: * It was Monday night so all the other options in walking distance were closed (other than Baraonda, which isn’t good for the lactose intolerant). * We made a reservation for the baby seat when we made the reservation, so commenters who are acting like we sprung the baby on the Livingston are mistaken. * When we called and told them about the baby, nobody there told us there would be a really loud party that night. The Livingston doesn’t market itself as a nightclub. To the person (and Bart) who commented that we were responsible for finding out that they were doing this unusual thing by making sure to go to their website before we came, well that’s just plain ridiculous. Any restaurant manager who thinks his customers are required to go to their website before dining there has an attitude problem. (I think that gives you a hint of Bart's attitude) * Somebody said in the comments that they should have closed the dining room for the night. I totally agree with that. When you’re doing something so different from what you usually do so that it considerably (TOTALLY) changes the atmosphere of the place, that’s what you should do (Maybe, they can't do that because they're in a hotel, but then they should have warned customers or just not had the party). On that evening, the restaurant wasn’t delivering what it markets itself as delivering and what I’m sure it does deliver on most evenings. * One reason we didn’t leave immediately is because the server and the floor manager assured us early on that the party would be over soon because the show would begin at the Fox. But we were there for half an hour, and the DJ was sounding like he intended to party all night. Any way, it was still going strong when we left. * If there’s any question about whether the noise was inappropriate: Both Bart and his floor manager (and I think our server) indicated they weren’t happy about the noise. At least one of them said the party was a “very unusual thing” for them. Bart was right upfront in saying he wasn’t happy about the situation and that he wasn’t responsible for it because his boss had organized the party. * I didn’t “threaten to sue.” My point was that I’m NOT the kind of person who would sue (I’ve never sued anybody). But I said Bart was “entering lawsuit territory” as I left for two reasons: 1) to express how bad I thought his behavior was; 2) to point out to them that he should be careful about acting the way he did because if he kept doing stuff like that someone would sue him. I can see how my words could be misinterpreted, but saying “entering lawsuit territory” and then leaving doesn’t constitute a threat to sue,and it wasn't meant to be a threat. If I’d intended to sue, I would have written my note to a lawyer rather than to Cliff. * Also, a distinction should be understood between me pointing out on this blog that it was technically “assault,” which Ben points out it was, and me making an official complaint. I didn’t call the cops or anything like that. Again, my point was that his behavior was really, really inappropriate. I know some people don’t like being touched or hugged at all, even if they’re happy. I don’t mind that. This was a lot worse than that. This was a guy grabbing me while he was having a dispute with me. And he did it twice. And when I asked him to stop, instead of saying “oh, sorry,” he threatened to call security. * Some people on this blog are asking something like: Since when do restaurants have to compensate you with a free meal if you have a bad time? C’mon now. The short answer is: At good restaurants, forever. The long answer is that it just makes good business sense: You want your potential customers to like you. You get more harm out of people being angry with you than you do out of getting them to return to have a good time. You just don’t do any good acting like an unhappy customer is your enemy, or even a problem. An unhappy customer usually is an opportunity to figure out how to improve your service; that's the attitude that good restaurants take. * Some of the commenters are saying that I just wanted a free meal. I didn't. What I wanted was to know that the apology was sincere, because I wanted a good reason to return to the Livingston. Just saying over again “we’re so sorry” and making it perfectly clear that they didn’t mind us just leaving was ... well ... just weird and perplexing. And you end up feeling like you’re just being lied to. (This is my first experience with my baby at the restaurant. I know some restaurants don't like kids. Might they have acted this way because they don't want kids to feel welcome?) The frustrating thing is it would have been so easy for the server or the floor manager or the manager to say: “Y’know what.. We really are sorry. This is unusual for us. It’s obvious that this isn’t what you were expecting. We would love for you to come back on another evening. The appetizers will be on us. Would that be better for you?” Or something like that. I don’t know the reason that they were behaving so far out of the norms of decent customer service, I just know that they were behaving far out of the norms of decent customer service. You can think I was a jerk. I can see how bringing up “lawsuit territory” and “assault” and being upfront with them about my expectation for an appropriate gesture on their part comes across as jerky. The commenter Steve says it best: “I don’t always live by this advice, but let’s be honest — one is much more credible if one is calm and rational when making an argument.” That’s definitely true. But the bottom line is I was reacting to the worst treatment I’ve ever received in a restaurant -- bar none. Cliff indicates that a handful of people are commenting over and over again using different names. I hope so, because I think most folks would have been just as frustrating and angry at the way we were treated at the Livingston, although I admit they might not have been as expressive about it.
I understand this situation would make one upset. But you seem to still be overly "steamed" about it, as evidenced by your lengthy posts. And, IMO, it is inappropriate to bring a two month old to a restaurant of this caliber. I am a parent and we get sitters to go out. And if the baby was too young for a sitter, we didn't go out. I don't think you would have been nearly as upset about the situation if the baby wasn't present.
I tell you what .... regardless of what type of place it is/was, any manager who touches me not once but twice, and then runs off "calling security," likely would lose a couple of testicles before I was done with him. Thanks for these posts as we now know where NOT to dine in Midtown or Downtown. Lady GaGa, indeed. What a crock.
I was at Livingston in November and the valet damaged my car. I sent an email to the restaurant just to let them know and I never heard back from anyone, even with an apology. Too many great restaurants in Atlanta to put up with so-so food and car damage.
Latest in Omnivore
-
The Montauk Grifter: How to con your way into the kitchen 1
How Dan Kaufman conned his way into a big name in the food industry.
-
Weekend Food Events, Feb. 17-19: Pet parade dinner, Atlanta Chef's Expo, and more
Restaurant events for the weekend of Feb. 17-19.
-
Mardi Gras restaurant events in Atlanta: Where to eat, party and les bon your temps 3
Break out your multi-colored beads!
- More »
Author Archives
-
What gives with Fig Jam? 9
Baroni's replacement not-so-hot
-
Does slurping make you murderous?
Seeking people with misophonia
- More »
