For our Valentine's Day dinner, my boyfriend and I went to La Shish - a restaurant with somewhat pricey, but extremely delicious food. The problem was the service. Realizing we wouldn't be able to go out to dinner until around 9 p.m., I called the restaurant ahead of time and asked the host what time they stopped seating customers. He said 9:45. We arrived at 9, and the restaurant was less than busy, but still had a few tables. We were seated, and then proceeded to wait ... and wait ... and wait. It was obvious what the issue was. The waiters all wanted to go home, and didn't want to have another table to wait on. My boyfriend and I sat and watched as three different waiters argued (in seeing and hearing distance from our table) with their managers about how they didn't want to take another table. Now, I know that this might be a common conversation to be had in a restaurant, but the customer seated at the table on their special occasion should never be made to feel not ... more

For our Valentine's Day dinner, my boyfriend and I went to La Shish - a restaurant with somewhat pricey, but extremely delicious food. The problem was the service. Realizing we wouldn't be able to go out to dinner until around 9 p.m., I called the restaurant ahead of time and asked the host what time they stopped seating customers. He said 9:45. We arrived at 9, and the restaurant was less than busy, but still had a few tables. We were seated, and then proceeded to wait ... and wait ... and wait. It was obvious what the issue was. The waiters all wanted to go home, and didn't want to have another table to wait on. My boyfriend and I sat and watched as three different waiters argued (in seeing and hearing distance from our table) with their managers about how they didn't want to take another table. Now, I know that this might be a common conversation to be had in a restaurant, but the customer seated at the table on their special occasion should never be made to feel not wanted. We finally got a waiter (one of the three that had already expressed annoyance at our presence), and he had zero to no personality. He was obviously unenthused and clearly wanted us to order, eat and pay in as little time as possible. It wasn't until the end of the meal, right when he was delivering our bill, that he began to show interest in us, though in the least charismatic way possible asking us if our evening meal on Valentine's Day was our Valentine's dinner. Now, I don't need a waiter to be fawning all over me, but I do expect to be welcomed, and not to be rushed. Our entire dining experience lasted about a half-hour, and even that seemed too long for our waiter. We left him a nice tip regardless, but next time I crave Middle Eastern cuisine, I will head to one of the many take-out restaurants in the area, which are not only less expensive, but I don't have to worry about being a burden to the employees and still pay them for a job poorly done. less