If you look at my reviews, you will find they tend to be positive. There are a couple that are less than glowing, but I don't believe there are any that are downright negative. Today, that changes. Today, I made the mistake of eating at TBonz for lunch. It is a mistake that I shall not be repeating.
We were a little cramped for time at lunch today. We didn't have time to head home for lunch, so we decided to hit TBonz, as they have $5 lunch specials. We were seated a minute or two after entering, which was nice. We decided to figure out our order before our server arrived, which was easy, as we were not greeted in a timely manner. When the gentleman finally appeared, we explained that we were on lunch. We both ordered sandwiches, well done, and an appetizer of fried pickles. For some reason, I just love fried pickles all of a sudden. No, I'm not pregnant.
Anyway, we requested that he enter our entire order in at the same time, as we were pressed for time. He said no problem and went to get our drinks. Shortly thereafter, he provided us with our drinks and some amazing bread. The bread was the only good thing about our meal. The pickles came a few minutes later. They weren't bad, but they weren't as good as the ones I have had at other establishments. The server stopped by to make sure they were okay and to let us know he had put in the order for our sandwiches as soon as the pickles came out. In case you missed it earlier, we asked him to enter it all in at the same time.
Luckily, it didn't take too much longer before our entrees arrived. Each sandwich came with fries, which were old and very much not hot. I tried to pick out a few that were not hard to eat. I do not believe Mark ate any of his. I had a few bites of my burger before declaring it burnt. I have been to many a restaurant where they understand that well done does not mean charred. I usually order my steaks medium, but I like my burgers well done. This was probably the worst $10 burger I have had in a long time. See, because I was craving a burger, I didn't order off of the lunch specials menu.
Mark had a sandwich that came with turkey, rib-eye, and bacon. The rib-eye portion was burnt. Mark ate a few bites then declared it unworthy. Speaking of unworthy, I don't really feel that a single slice of cheese should be a dollar extra for on a burger. Granted, I saw that message on the menu and decided to order it anyway, but it was definately a regular piece of american cheese. I can get a whole pack for a couple of dollars, so a buck for one slice is a little insulting.
The server popped over to drop off our bill, mentioning that he knew we were on lunch and was trying to help us out. That would be find and good except he did not come back to run our payment! After almost five minutes, another employee came by to see if we needed anything, perhaps some plates removed. I asked him to take our payment, which he passed off to our server.
Our server brought the bill back, with my credit slip to sign. That would have went better if he had given me a pen, as well. I don't always carry a purse, but I had one today with a pen in it, luckily. While I was trying to decide how much of a tip to leave, he came back by to see if I we needed anything else. He asked if we wanted to drinks, and I asked if we could get them to go. He said that was fine and went to get them. I decided to tip him an extra dollar, putting the tip well over 20%, after tax.
He came back a couple minutes later, asking if I needed a pen to sign the check. I told him that I grabbed one out of my purse and was fine. He thanked us and told us to have a nice day. We waited a few more minutes, just in case he was going to bring us the drinks he offered. After a couple minutes, I decided he wasn't coming back. I then reduced his tip by a dollar and change.
Now, Mark and I are pretty good tippers. It is rare that we tip less than 20%, as we have both waited tables, but the poor service and terrible food was unacceptable. If you find yourself in the Myrtle Beach area, stay away from TBonz. This was my second trip in the last couple months that was bad, with no good trips mixed throughout. That says to me that it is the status quo there, not a fluke.
(Moved from FB - January 31, 2012)
No comments:
Post a Comment