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This evening I was sorely disappointed with the service and quality that our party of 4 received. We are annual visitors and recommend this restaurant to all our friends
We arrived early ordered drinks at the bar. Lorraine was our waitress and did a wonderful job of making us feel welcome.
Luckily, we were able to be seated early. Kelsey was our waitress. I should say, she was very pleasant the entire evening.
What first went wrong is that we were offered "still or sparkling" water. We ordered. TAP water. We are frequent visitors to the Virgin Islands and have never had a problem drinking water from the tap. Later, 2 charges of $6 appeared on our check.
Three of our party ordered entrees from the menu. The fourth person ordered from the "Chef's Board". This person ordered Filet and Shrimp Ala carte with a side of Spinach.
Almost 30 minutes later, 3 entrees were delivered. The Fourth person's entree was delivered piecemeal. The Shrimp arrived first on a plate where an obvious "missing" filet was observed. It was obvious that it was missing because there was a decorative place for it on the plate. There was no sign of the Spinach. Almost 10 minutes later, the Filet arrived. We had to ask for the Spinach that arrived 5 minutes after that.
By this time, the rest of us had to finish our food before it cooled.
There were half-hearted apologies from Kelsey, but no real honest feeling that our experience was severely diminished by the missing and late items.
We chalked it up to bad experience and paid the check without looking closely. Before we left, we checked it and found that the wine we had been served at the bar for $11 a glass had suddenly become $19 a glass at our table. Also, as mentioned above, we were charged $12 for 2 bottles of still water when we had ordered TAP.
We informed Kelsey of the issue and she "offered" to see if she could do something. At this point, we were so disgusted that we left.
As we walked out, our waitress was talking to the woman who we perceived to be the Manager or Owner. It was obvious to me that our waitress was telling her of our dissatisfaction. The Manager/Owner didn't even bother to approach us to apologize for our poor experience.
Unfortunately, one of our favorite Island Restaurants has left us with a feeling of being cheated. Cheated first, by bad service and second by charging us for items we did not order and by over charging us for wine.
We spend well over $150 per couple each night we dine on the island (not including drinks). We deserved a better experience than what we received.
The Old Stone Farmhouse has been removed from our list and we will let all our friends know as well.
I'm sorry for your experience and hope that it was an isolated one as OSF does have a very good reputation.
I do wonder what you expected the manager to do, only because (from your description) it seems that you were already walking out in disgust while your waitperson was in the middle of explaining to the manager exactly what had happened. It sounds as though maybe even your waitperson wasn't completely aware of your dissatisfaction until the last minute and then, when she said she'd see what she could do to take care of it, you walked out while she was trying to do so.
Maybe you could call the Manager later on today and see if you can sort it out. In any event, enjoy the rest of your vacation!
The wait person is the one that lists the items/charges on the bill so she should have been aware of the mistakes or made aware of them.
ALWAYS check your bill before paying. That is the time to bring up inaccuracies.
Always express your dissatisfaction with the manager and do not leave until they have had the opportunity to make it up to you.
Do call them and let them know how totally "turned off" you were by your experience.
You may save someone else having to go thru the same ordeal.
Good luck with the rest of your dining out experiences!
Alana,
Thanks for your comments. We absolutely should have checked the bill. At the point we recieved it we were pretty tired (some of it from waiting for our food to arrive), but that was no excuse.
My food was very good. I had the Duck. My husband's was as well. He had the Steak. The other party with us was unhappy witht the piece-meal delivery of their meal and also the very small portion size of their "surf and turf" special (it was pork loin and scallops). Ours also cooled quite a bit while we politely waited for the Filet to show up. While Kelsey said it would be "just a minute". it was 10 minutes later...
The manager came by several times BEFORE the problems started happening, but she never stopped by AFTER the issues started happening.
We sat at our table for at least 10 minutes after we had raised our concern with Kelsey (our waitress) while we finished that last $19 glass of wine. We saw her talking to the Manager before we walked out and we didn't even get an apology from her... THAT is probably what burns me up most. Kelsey was a very pleasant waitress, but had no clue about Customer Service.
We go to the OSF every time we come to the islands and though it is not a monthly event, we do make sure that we recommend it to others. We also eat out EVERY night we are here. We LOVE the dining here on the island. Unfortunately, we can't justify spending even one of those nights on a bad experience. After last night, we would much rather switch out OSF for Oceana, Banane Tree Grille, Caribbean Fish Market, or Thirteen.
Marcy,
Sorry about your experience. From your description it sounds as though you gave them ample opportunity to "make things right". It shouldn't have been neccessary for you to tell your server that there was a problem. She was fully aware of the "piece-meal" service to one of your party. She should have alerted the manager immediately of the issue. If it was her fault and she was trying to avoid the manager knowing of the problem the kitchen staff should have alerted the manager as they had to have been aware of the issue as well. This experience speaks to a complete breakdown of the staff from top to bottom. No one is beyond blame. Out of curiosity, how busy was the restaurant that evening? I ask because our experiences there have usually seen fairly light crowds.
Thanks,
Chip
Unfortunately, this happens even at STT "best restaurants". Service in the VI is hit or miss. I've experienced bad service even at my favorite places. I think it's just a matter of percentages. Even OSF has bad nights. Shame on the manager for not being more aware of the kitchens problems and the dinning rooms staff. One comp'ed item (late entre) would have put the issue to bed. We all understand that "stuff happens". Most people will be very forgiving when offered an apology and refund.
I would have been happy with having the Wine/Water Charge corrected and a sincere apology...
The offering of gracious apology is slowly being replaced with the art of "spin'. yep, you should have stayed on and confronted the manager about your bill. But, I totally understand why you didn't. Blaming the victim is pretty common in the VI. I find it only adds insult to injury...
Everybody makes mistakes. My moto : Own it. Repair it. Forget it. Why do some people struggle with this concept?
Have you tried Havana Blue? (tip --avoid Friday/Sat nights)
Blu4u...
Thanks for your kind words.. We love Havana Blue as well and also avoid Fridays and Saturdays... Last night, we had a FABULOUS meal at Mim's. We had the Coconut Curry Lobster and our service from Ms. Lee was INCREDIBLE.
What a difference a day makes.. 🙂
Good to know abut the coconut lobster curry and service at Mim's!
There are soooo many wonderful restaurants here in the VI and competition is fierce so I don't get it when owners, managers
and staff do not go out of their way to make sure each diner has a wonderful experience with their food and their service.
If not, those diners won't be back.
Hope you have many more wonderful dinners and enjoy your vacation!:@)
The Virgin Islands has never been known for its customer service, whether in restaurants, hotels, or retail stores. While tourists may be sheltered from most of the garbage treatment, the "upscale" restaurants being discussed in this thread should do much better. Many of the nice restaurants do a wonderful job of making its customers happy, but the reality of where we live is that, like it or not, you have to hire Virgin Islanders - many of whom have no idea what customer service means.
How many times have you walked into a store and walked out feeling like the workers are actually doing you, the customer, a favor by being open?
How many times have you, as a customer, had teeth sucked at you?
How many times have you, as a customer, been told "Sorry there's nothing I can do?"
I suppose I could go on and on.
Being on Island Time doesn't mean you can't also understand the fundamental concept that the customer is always right. I've been to a majority of our neighboring islands and can report that it's not an "island thing." Our neighbors on the islands I've visited understand customer service, go out of their way to make your experience in their establishment a positive one, appreciate your patronage and are never lazy while doing their jobs.
All stems from the warped sense of entitlement that too many Virgin Islands hold as sacred.
Isle Tell Ya,
I've often wondered if there was any effort toward education and training for the service industry in the VI. With tourism being one of, if not the, biggest economic driver one would think that an official effort to educate would be implemented. Is there a course or curriculum available in the high schools geared toward service industry careers? What about the board of tourism? Do they do anything like holding seminars for restaurant workers on proper service etiquette? Who would one talk to to propose this type of thing?
Thanks,
Chip
MissingStT wrote:
Isle Tell Ya,
I've often wondered if there was any effort toward education and training for the service industry in the VI. With tourism being one of, if not the, biggest economic driver one would think that an official effort to educate would be implemented. Is there a course or curriculum available in the high schools geared toward service industry careers? What about the board of tourism? Do they do anything like holding seminars for restaurant workers on proper service etiquette? Who would one talk to to propose this type of thing?
Thanks,
Chip
It boggles the mind that UVI doesn't have a strong Hospitality Major and if it does have anything, it ain't working. I totally agree that the High Schools could/should have some outlet geared towards tourism but again, I've never heard of anything fruitful in that regard. But the problem is definitely a local one. While there are always a few bad apples in a bunch, the staff that comes over from the "mainland" is generally much better in their service fields than what you find otherwise. And I've found that the restaurants that offer the best service are typically those whose owners have come from the mainland and learned about hospitality.
Marcy - I suggest you call the GM of OSFH, Tony May at 340-777-6277 and express your concerns and dissatisfaction to someone who can resolve them -complaining on a message board is less effective.
Thanks Exit Zero... If I have time, I will give it a shot... By posting, I hope others don't bother and they "get" it in their bottom line which is usually what makes things change...
Also.. I should note that the waitress and the Manager on duty were NOT locals. They were from the mainland. Every local person I have encountered this trip has been very pleasant and helpful!
So sorry you had a negative experince. Being over/wrongly charged for items on your check is never okay. And while I certainly understand a certain expectation of service, I have to disagree to some extent that it's not an island thing. Ever been to JA? My rule of thumb there is to go out to eat before you get hungry because you're gonna wait! In any place where tourism is such a huge part of the economy, training in this industry would definitely make sense, but we also can't expect people anywhere we go to always live up to our specific standards. Things differ culturally and for other reasons. Having only visted the island once, I was greatly impacted by the division between locals and tourists. I didn't see any mixing and mingling at all (or very, very little), and I wonder if the root of this is also the root of some of the customer service issues? Probably too much to get in to on a message board, but just a thought. Again, only been there once and this is just an educated guess. At the end of th day though, it's all first world problems and aren't we all very lucky to be able to travel?! 🙂 No matter how much one spends on their meals, we all deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. Hope the rest of your vacation is wonderful, Marcy!
I had dinner there Dec 21, 2013, New Management, New Menu, Totally revised menu and one of the best dinners I've had on St. Thomas in a long time. It is now one of the 3 top restaurants on the island.
A must try!
I agree with the initial assessment- It was not good or consistant previously. Deserves another try.
