Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Where Not To Go: The Breakfast Club

I've put off writing this post for far too long.* I know, my five readers are going to send me hate mail, but I have to call 'em as I see 'em. And I have been to The Breakfast Club three times and had a terrible experience all three times. I cannot figure out why so many people I've talked to absolutely love the place. Maybe it's a really terrific restaurant and I just have spectacularly bad luck.

The first time Hubby and I went together to try it out. The coffee tasted burnt and I remember it being absolutely packed so it took a long time to get our food.

Time number two involved our very good friends, E&K wanting to go there and K being unhappy at their lack of vegetarian selections. I also remember getting a skillet meal that I could have cooked better at home. (My standard for good eating is whether the version I make at home tastes better. As I am becoming a better cook this is starting to pose problems.)

The most recent visit to TBC was a big group of my family members all eating there (including my kids) for some event that I have since forgotten. I do remember that we had burnt coffee again and we waited a long time to get seated and get our food because once again it was packed to the gills. Obviously some people really like to eat there.

I ought to try it in the summer months when it is not so busy, when all the students are at home and the town lies in mellow bliss under the blazing summer sunshine... Ok, I'll stop now.


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* In a small town like ours it does not do to criticize local businesses. Even if you're a snobbish food-blog writer and it's your JOB to give accurate recommendations, it simply does not do. One time when I was working at the front desk at the Quality Inn, I was asked by a guest which restaurant I would recommend. I named a few nearby and she asked, "What about Denny's down the road?" I naively told her I wouldn't recommend it. Just being honest, folks. I had been there recently with a rather large group and it took us over an hour to get our food and when it did come some of the orders were incorrect. If it had been an isolated incident, I might have been gracious enough to overlook it, but unfortunately, it wasn't. Well, this guest of mine trotted right over to Denny's and told the management there that the Quality Inn staff was recommending guests not go to their restaurant. To my shock, the owner himself marched over to the Quality Inn that same morning and bawled me out, screaming in my face about how we local businesses need to stick together and how we ought never to give one another a bad recommendation, ever (even if it was the truth) and yadda, yadda and at that point I think I started to cry. Two things have arisen from the ashes of this confrontation. One: I think twice about giving local businesses a bad recommendation. Two: I have never, ever gone back to Denny's.

3 comments:

wholarmor said...

I've only been to the Breakfast club a couple of times, but I've had good experiences. Never drank the coffee, though.

I agree with you about Denny's(and I worked there for a few weeks:P).

Donivan said...

I have been there a couple of times. The food was average and the service was ok. I think the appeal, at least when I lived in Moscow, was that it was one of only two places in town to get a decent sit down breakfast and the other one was in the hotel.

As far as the Denny's owner saying local business should stick together...He was dead wrong. You DID recommend businesses, just the good ones and probably ones that were not national chains. A good and successful business owner should not chew out people that give honest reviews. Instead he should look to his staff, coach them and LEAD so that the bad review turn to good ones.

The only thing he might have had a right to say was, "Why didn't you tell me directly so I could do something about it" In my opinion that should have been his only complaint.(assuming you had not filled out a comment card or spoken to him earlier)

Denny's owner, having heard he got a bad review, should strive to run his business such that it will stand on it's own merits for service and quality and not try to strong arm recommendations from other businesses and people by bawling them out.

So... instead of holding off on a bad review I would continue with it because it is a far greater service to more people to steer them away from a poorly run business than it is to allow people to go to it just because a single business owner is local.

Just remember it might be a courtesy to let the business owner know what steps they might take to improve the next time. just my 2 cents... ;)

Donivan said...

One more thing....from your story you did not offer up a bad review of Denny's at first...You were specifically asked your opinion. For your own integrity you had to give an honest answer.