Ruth’s Chris Steak House is a chain of upper-scale restaurants and is the largest luxury steak house of its kind in the U.S. Founded in 1927 in New Orleans by Chris Matulich, Chris Steak House was located near the Fairgrounds race track. Ruth Fertel purchased the restaurant in 1965 and renamed it. Fertel’s original staff was made up of single mothers because Fertel believed they worked harder to support their families. The company began franchising in 1977.
The restaurant is best known for extremely thick prime steaks and seafood.
While many other premium restaurants suffered for business during the Covid crisis of 2019-2022, Ruth’s Chris extended leases and opened new locations.
In November 2023, the company offered Thanksgiving dinners for foster children.
Today, Ruth’s Chris Steak House has 130 locations and employs approximately 6,100 persons full-time. The company continues to add new locations, such as the one located inside Harrah’s Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2013 and Denver, Colorado, that same year. There are also plans to open locations in China.
Most locations are open for dinner only. The company also offers catering and wedding services.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House maintains a corporate office in Winter Park, Florida.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House is a chain of upper-scale restaurants and is the largest luxury steak house of its kind in the U.S. Founded in 1927 in New Orleans by Chris Matulich, Chris Steak House was located near the Fairgrounds race track. Ruth Fertel purchased the restaurant in 1965 and renamed it. Fertel’s original staff was made up of single mothers because Fertel believed they worked harder to support their families. The company began franchising in 1977.
History
The restaurant is best known for extremely thick prime steaks and seafood.
While many other premium restaurants suffered for business during the Covid crisis of 2019-2022, Ruth’s Chris extended leases and opened new locations.
In November 2023, the company offered Thanksgiving dinners for foster children.
Today, Ruth’s Chris Steak House has 130 locations and employs approximately 6,100 persons full-time. The company continues to add new locations, such as the one located inside Harrah’s Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2013 and Denver, Colorado, that same year. There are also plans to open locations in China.
Most locations are open for dinner only. The company also offers catering and wedding services.
Ruth’s Chris Steak House maintains a corporate office in Winter Park, Florida.
Hi
I’m trying to get in touch with a manager in the corporate office.
We had an absolutely horrible experience tonight at the Boca Raton location.
We have not been at Ruth’s Chris for years.
I purchased a Lexus at jm lexus in Margate Fl and received a $200 gift card.
So it was my birthday also and I decided to invite my sister and brother in law.
We all decided to get turkey.
The service started off fair but took forever to get the server to bring our salads.
We got the salads and then 40 minutes for the dinner to come out.
It was disgusting and ice cold after the server said to us all after picking up Our salad plates that the plates would be 500 degrees. Don’t touch them at all!!
After getting our turkey meals and it was ice cold, no server was anywhere around to be found.
I went up to the front desk to tell someone.
A manager came bye and said will bring us a fresh meals.
Ok, so he promptly brought us new plates of food with no gravy on the plate.
So the manager brought us gravy.
The meal was still cold except the sides.
What can we say as the manager was nice and came over. We were eating but not had the best flavor and taste.
He asked how it was but we said ok. We did not say great. We were just being courteous.
While this occurred, I did not see the server at all to come bye again for 30 minutes.
The sides with the turkey were hot. That’s about it. The creamed spinach, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Even the gravy was not hot.
About 30 minutes went bye and no server.
I saw the manager again and he was close and got up and I said I’m taking my family out and we still are not happy.
Just a bad experience.
I’m Not made of money and coming to a fancy restaurant never happens anytime time to us.
We got our desert and asked for the check.
Finally we received.
The manager took $75 off the bill.
Should have taken EVERYTHING off the bill as I was kind to the manager.
Ok so we paid.
Also, we were never provided with a free meal to go.
We had to ask for this when we went to the hostess. Crazy.
We got and I told the hostess how disappointed we were.
She said let me get the general manager.
I was beyond calm explaining everything to Felipe Betancourt.
I told him how the service was disgraceful and beyond disappointed after explaining everything to him.
So he says to me I will give you a gift card to come back.
Tells me to wait and I will be right back.
Takes 10 minutes and surely not right back.
He comes back and says you get no gift card since my manager gave you $75 off the bill.
He was aggressive with me and I was upset and said the f word.
Not at him but just in general.
Then he tells me to leave the establishment.
I am just mortified how such a good holiday turned into a nightmare for us.
I said to Gm you just promised us a gift card to come back.
Also when I explained the situation to him, I told the Gm the ENTIRE Situation that the manager gave us a discount off the bill.
He scolded me saying I was a liar to my face and that is when I said the f word.
And he was pointing at me with his fingers calling me a liar and his eyes were bulging out
And I told the Gm the manager gave us a $75 discount.
He should have taken everything off the bill from Our experience.
I’m shaking now from
This horrible experience we had.
Called me a liar saying I never told him explaining the ENTIRE situation to him.
Just unbelievable and I told him also my stomach and my wife Lynn has rumblings in our stomachs also.
I want to go home I told him and said I will get you a gift card also.
I’m upset, disappointed and was so so disrespected after coming to a restaurant for such a great day to be shared with family.
I need help in sharing with corporate and myself and wife now have the worst gas now and been in the bathroom 3 times each since we have been home.
I honestly don’t want any gift cards, but want our meals credited on my charge and my sisters credit card also.
We both split the bill in the end because they wanted to pay the entire bill for my birthday and I said no way, so we split.
We are all upset and now bad stomachs from a bad bad night at Ruth’s Chris in Boca Raton, Fl.
Thank you
Steven Halper
image0.jpeg
My sister and my charges need to be credited immediately.
My sister and I will never go into Boca Raton Ruth’s Chris ever again.
Also, my sister and brother in law was a virgin at your establishment, never been before.
Again we both want credits to the credit card charges we both paid.
Ellen Leepond and Steven Halper credit cards should be immediately credited.
We never never want to go again.
We both will dispute charges with the credit card companies if a credit is not provided.
Thank you
Steven Halper
Please help us.
We don’t want to put this letter on all the review sites of Google and other social
Media sites, so please have the credit card charges reversed and credited please.
Thank you
Sent from Steven Halper’s iPhone
We had a very disappointing dining experience at the Wailea restaurant. We completed the Corporate as well as the local surveys but are still unsatisfied with the response we got. Our follow up message (see below) has gone unanswered or ignored??? In short we would appreciate at the very least a credit for the almost $200 spent so we can eat at our local (and usual) branch in San Dieo.
Thank you
Peta Klitofsky
THE REPLY FROM OCT 24TH
Aloha,
I like to thank you for taking the time to fill out our survey.
I like to apologize for your last visit at Ruth’s Chris.
You are right, that evening was a bit hectic, and we didn’t perform our usual service.
We been having some staffing issue that evening, and as a result our standard suffer.
Please, feel free to call me, and see if we can make this better on your next visit.
Sincerely,
Marc Dehandschutter
General Manager
3750 Wailea Alanui, Suite A34
The Shops at Wailea
Wailea, HI 96753
(808) 874-XXXX
OUR MESSAGE IN RESPONSE – NO ANSWER YET???
Hi Marc
Appreciate your reply to our survey. While we do understand that staffing issues can affect your standards, westill feel that the servers tried their best to help us. Our main issue was the entrees – the steaks were not cooked as ordered, served on a weirdly small plate and swimming in butter. The baked potato had burned skin and was so overdone that it tasted like it had been prepared the day before.
In short, we would expect at the very least a credit from Ruth’s Chris – we spent almost $200 on a salad, 2 steaks, one side and 2 sofas.
We do not have plans to visit Hawaii again any time soon but do have our favorite branch here in San Diego we would be happy yo dine at.
Thank you
Arthur and Peta Klitofsky
Ruth’s Chris Steak House
Fulton Alley, New Orleans
Dear Ruth’s Chris Steak House Management,
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to express my deep disappointment with the dining experience I had at your restaurant on Father’s Day, June 18, 2023. I have been a loyal patron of Ruth’s Chris Steak House for the past 35 years, but my recent visit was an unfortunate departure from the high standards of quality and service I have come to expect from your establishment.
First and foremost, the food served on this occasion was nothing short of distasteful. My family and I were shocked at the small portion size of the steak, which was a far cry from the generous and mouthwatering cuts we have enjoyed in the past. For decades, I have relished the rich flavors and ample portions that Ruth’s Chris Steak House is renowned for, but this time, it left me feeling unsatisfied and disappointed. The quality of the food has always been the cornerstone of my loyalty to your restaurant, and it was disheartening to see it fall short on this special Father’s Day celebration.
As a long-time customer who has celebrated countless special occasions at Ruth’s Chris Steak House, I believe it is crucial to convey my concerns regarding this recent experience. I sincerely hope that this feedback will be taken into consideration, and that steps will be taken to ensure that the high standards of quality and service that have made your restaurant a New Orleans institution are upheld in the future.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to the opportunity to enjoy the exceptional dining experience I have come to associate with Ruth’s Chris Steak House in the years to come. Also I did received a call from the manager, who stated he was going to send me something in the mail or by email to take care of the next meal for my family and I. As of today, I am still waiting.
I had to make known my extreme disappointment in the poor service quality and the meal we experienced at the Huntsville, Alabama location on Saturday, August 5, 2023, at approximately 7:00pm. I took my boyfriend to Ruth’s Chris for the first time for his birthday dinner. We were very excited about this dinner because I have always had great experiences and memorable meals at Ruth’s Chris. Sadly, this was not even close to the service that I am accustomed to receiving at Ruth’s Chris. The food was poorly seasoned. The wait staff was not up to par. Our reservation wasn’t even honored and we still had to wait for our table after arriving on time for our reservation. My boyfriend loves to eat out because he is a personal trainer so these are moments that he has to plan for so that he can splurge and break his healthy-eating routine for a tasty meal. He was so disappointed and I was even more disappointed because I wanted this to be a special night and we were left feeling like we could have had a better meal and service at Chili’s – yes, Chili’s – that is how bad the meal and the service was that evening! Please pass this information on to whoever needs this to correct this and bring this restaurant back up to the standard that those of us who have experienced Ruth’s Chris expect and for those that have never had the Ruth’s Chris experience can have it! I would like to be fully-refunded the $100+ that I spent on this meal and we will try this one more time at another Ruth’s Chris in another City because right now my boyfriend and I refuse to go back to this location. I would appreciate you accommodating my request as soon as possible.
I am sincerely a very disappointed customer
Asia Rigby
Hi I am trying to find out the balance of a Ruth’s Chris guest card
This was sent to me after a bad experience years ago
At the Wilkes Barre restaurant. We just located the card after some years
There is no expiration date on the card
When I spoke to Mark, manager in Wilkes Barre Pa he was going to check with corporate he called me back and said corporate said there is a 0 balance on the card
I’m a little confused since it does not have an expiration date, and the card has never been used
I would like some clarification on this
The guest number is 309875110
My phone # is
570-954-XXXX
Email: Redmond.3@ netzero.net
Thank you
Ann Marie Redmond
After reading the above negative reviews about some of your employees, I wanted to tell you about an exceptional server in your Parsippany, NJ location. We do dine out frequently and have been to your Parsippany restaurant several times where we enjoyed the food, but Hillary was one of the best servers we have ever had anywhere. She was friendly and accommodating and explained everything. We were there for my birthday and Hillary went above and beyond to make it a wonderful experience. Due to the good food and the outstanding service we will be returning to Ruth’s Chris in Parsippany.
I was employed with Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse for 14 years as a server assistant, food runner, server, bartender, and eventually a Front of House Manager. I wanted to share why I made the decision to leave this company that I was once so proud to work for. The employees are often left unsupported by management, and clear direction is continually lacking in the day to day running of operations. They are stretched thin and spend every major holiday away from their families. Ruth Fertel was an amazing owner and gave out small bonuses on holidays while all her employees enjoyed Thanksgiving and Christmas with their families. I am proud to say I worked under her before she retired. Ruth was a model for all of us and built a fantastic culture that was easily replicated and sustained. This company is a shadow of what it once was. Managers are quitting left and right as the current business model is mentally and emotionally unsustainable to any normal human being. The lack of support by Regional Vice Presidents with the exception of mid-afternoon conference calls that derail any proper management that day shows how little they value operations but will take any chance to squeeze a few more dollars out of exhausted managers and team members. What was once an incredible restaurant chain to work for has become another bank account for shareholders with little care for those that sacrifice some of the most important days of the year for American families for their benefit. These teams are stretched to the breaking point. Reward the sacrifices they have made by sacrificing rewards to shareholders on these time honored days of family and fellowship. Close your stores on major holidays and build back the culture that once made this company so great. You can not expect your employees to continue to extend great hospitality to their guests when you continue to deny extending them the same courtesy. I have moved on to a company that does honor their team member’s commitment to their families, and my quality of life has quickly improved. I look forward to those special holidays together with my family all year long, they are still important. As a former Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse team member and manager, I hope you find the empathy and business acumen to understand this issue and begin to reverse the decline that continues to rot this institution. If ever in doubt, reach for the training materials that Ruth herself signed off on. That would be an excellent start in navigating your path forward.
Yesterday, my sister, my cousin, and I along with my brother-in-law, went to Ruth’s Chris Steak at Tysons Corner, VA. We had reservations for dinner to celebrate my brother-in-law’s birthday. My cousin and I were about to be seated when the hostess mumbled something. Then we both looked at her, puzzled. She told me to remove my hat. First, I am a woman, I have never experienced a female being instructed to remove her hat while in any establishment. My hat is a knit beanie styled hat, not a baseball cap. When we were seated another party was there and the young man was wearing his knitted hat. My cousin and I were appalled. My cousin brought that to the attention of the hostess, not because she wanted him to remove his hat but because we both wanted to be treated fairly. We are black females and the male who was wearing the hat was of another race. This made me feel like I was being targeted because of my skin tone. Due to this treatment, I will not be dining at this establishment again. Also, I will inform others of the treatment that was given to me and inform them not to patronize this restaurant. At this day and age, one would think that treating everyone fairly would be second nature, I guess not at this restaurant.
I was going to write a long emmentery about my expereince at this location but after reading your commentts and others noted on this site, I understand why this company needs a huge restructure ! what a shame what has happened to this resturant which can not be controled by its corporate officers. I would never buy any share into this resturant chain or as an investor will suggest it to any of my clients.
I suggest to you all to copy and past your comments to all other social media. It takes 2 minutes to do it. COPY and Past until the Board of directors realize that “customer’s matter “.
Dear Corporate Office
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of our unpleasant visit to your restaurant Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse located at 8211 Marina Parkway Grande Dunes Blvd, Myrtle Beach, SC 29572 on March 5, 2022.
Our visit to your restaurant was with family, whom had hopes of enjoying a good meal and spending quality time with each other. Sadly to say that our hopes of this were quickly diminished. Being a Registered Nurse as well as a Law Enforcment officer, and my husband US military, we both share pretty extensive knowledge of public service and what being good public servants should be.
Firstly, our entrance into the restaurant went well. The hostess was polite and seated us right away. There were 10 guest at one table and 10 guest at another table. After about 10 minutes we were approached by a waitress who stated that we were not allowed to be seated on the main dinning floor and that we must be moved into a private banquet room. That an additional 5% fee would be added to our meal ticket due to this transition. We were informed that the check for the meal could only be split in 3 separate meal tickets. At this point it started to become frustrating. We all transitioned from the main dinning area into this side room that resembled that of a conference room with a television hanging on the back wall. Once we all were settled in. Two staff members entered the room and introduced themselves to be our waitress and waiter for the evening meal. The female waitress took the beverage orders for one half side of the table. The male waiter asked the opposite side of the table if any wine or appetizers would be ordered for the evening. However, the beverage order was never taken. He left the room and once he returned we had to ask for our beverage orders to be taken. After some of our guest finally received the sodas/sweet teas. Some bread was brought to the table. A few of us asked for straws while a few others still had not received there sweet tea or coke orders. The door to the room was closed and the air conditioner was very cold. One of our guest politely asked a staff member if the air conditioner could be adjusted as it was way too cold inside the room. The male waiter stated that there was no adjustment. That the air could either be turned on or turned off. So she asked if it could be turned off. He stated “ are y’all sure because if it’s turned off it could get really hot inside here”. The guest replied yes please turn it off and if it gets hot we can ask to have it turn back on. The thermostat was located inside the room. The waiter turned and left the room and never adjusted the thermostat or turned it off. An hour later. We still had no straws and the other guest still had not received their sweet tea or coke beverages. We asked a couple of other servers who entered the room that were different than the original two. 30 minutes later. Still no straws or sweet tea or coke. Finally my husband left the room to find a staff member to have them bring straws and the missing beverages that had never made it to the table. Another server finally came into the room and it appeared she was upset as she asked who all needed a straw and also asked who had never received their beverages. She left and returned with the child’s coke and the Adult sweet tea. At this point we had been here for almost two (2) hours at this point.
Secondly, no one ever came into the room to offer any extra drink refills. When we did request an item or a refill it would take several times of asking different staff member over almost a period of an hour to receive what we asked for such as refills, extra bread, straws.
Thirdly, once the food finally arrived. It was a total disappointment. Ordering a steak medium well and having it placed in front of you as rare with blood draining out. Missing items such as shrimp and having to almost beg for them to bring the remaining items. My son ordered the spicy shrimp. He is 8 years old, and everyone had received their food 20 minutes before he received his and we had to ask two different staff members for his food. Another guest had found two hairs under his food and reported it to the staff. Another guest had a long thin black hair hanging from the side of her plate as the waitress placed the plate in front of her.
After everything had been reported. We requested the check so that we could pay and leave. The check came on one check and the lady informed us that we could not separate the bill. We informed her that we were told previously that it would be separated into 3 checks. She left the room and returned with the ok to separate the check. We sat down and individually separated each item into checks 1,2,3. Marking each item with a 1,2 or 3 beside it. The checks returned and items were still placed on the wrong checks. Again we made corrections and waited again on the return of the checks. 30-40 minutes passed by. One of our guest called the restaurant and asked for the manager to come to the room as we had been waiting to check out and needed to leave. The Manager came in and made smart remarks and stated “this was why we don’t do a party of 20 guest, but I made an exception for y’all .” She was very unprofessional and had a very nasty attitude, she seemed irritated as if we had caused confusion, unwanted stress or as if we had done something wrong.
Finally, after getting the correct items placed on the correct ticket. We were able to pay and leave.
This was one of the absolute worst experiences that we have ever experienced. The food with the hair under it (the sea bass) was not removed from the bill even though it was not eaten. The manger stated she would remove the crab cakes but she was not removing the sea bass! Why was this. Why were we asked to exit the main dinning area to be seated in the conference room area? Why did we have to pay an additional 5% on our bill? What was the 5% for?
I have absolutely no issues in paying premium pricing as long as I receive premium food and services. However, neither of those existed with our visit here last night. With all 3 checks totally a little over $1300.00 with the automatic gratuity that was never earned, the additional 5% unknown fee, it was a very very horrible experience and very disappointing one.
Aforementioned, as a Registered Nurse, a Law Enforcement officer, I wake up daily and serve the public. I provide life sustaining treatments for my patients daily and as a Law Enforcement officer I do my job diligently to protect the citizens of my county. My husband has fought in the OIF Operation Iraqi Freedom War in the Combat zone. Other guest at that table has also served in the armed forces, there was a Emergency Medical Service, a Nursing Student, Biomedical expert, a Engineered Electrical Lineman, 2 Early Childhood Educators, another Law Enforcement Officer were all present at our table. Even though we do not work in the food industry, as a waitress or waiter serving the public. We all work as public servants in some form or another. We were all made to feel as if we didn’t belong there. The service that we received at our visit was unacceptable and unjust. We paid Premium Pricing for Mediocre, unacceptably horrible food and service. The total experience lasted well over 3 hours, 3 hours that felt like an eternity. Having to pay over $1300.00 for such poor service and the food quality wasn’t to par either, has a tendency to leave you thinking that we just paid $1300.00 to be treated so badly. This should never happen to anyone again.
I’m hoping this letter will bring about a resolution to this terrible experience
I agree with what you posted, my husband and I have been to the Ruth Chris in South Barrington, IL so many times and they always sit us at the same table all the way in the back of the restaurant what a coincidence, we are also black. This location is very racist, this was the last time for me it’s not worth it with all the money that we spend dining their. My steak we well done when I asked for med well and my sweet potato casserole was burnt but they still brought it to the table. I was a server for 15+ years and always observed my customer food before I served it to them to make sure that it was correct and they were satisfied and I wasn’t serving in restaurants nowhere as nice as Ruth Chris. Very disappointing and they didn’t properly address the mistakes that they made or correct it.
Hey My Name Is Laquwan , On July 22 2021 I Recently Visited (711 Eastern Ave
Baltimore, MD 21202)‘s With A Few Friends For A Birthday Gathering, The Waiter John Seated Up And Took Our Order, The Food Was Pretty Good But When It Came Time Too Check Out We Asked Them Is There A Possibility That We Could Split The Check, John Told Us We Could Split The Check. we Ended Up Splitting The Check Witch My Total Came Out Too Be $65, I Used My Card And Payed For My Food, My Other Friend Used Her Card And payed For Her Food witch Came Up Too $85, We Signed Our Authorize Receipt For Our Payments And Left The Restaurant, Like 2-3 Days Later I went too check my card And They Over Charged My Card $104, When I Called Ruth Chris Too Tell Them About My Situation the Manager Linda Took My Info And Told Me That They Was Gonna Work On It. I Called Everyday Too See If They Fixed The Problem & Everytime I Called Linda Constantly Took My Info && Told Me They Was Gonna Call Me Back, She Also Said That The General Manager Mark Was Out Of Town For Two Weeks and That He Will Contact Me When He Gets Back & Never Did, I Recently Called Monday 08-10-21 Too See If I Could Speak Too Mark The General Manager & Linda Was Going Back & Fourth With Me Over The Fact I Asked Too Speak Too (Mark) The General Manager, She Proceeded Too get annoyed with me, and I asked her would it be better if I stopped by there Too Get The Situation Resolved, 20 Min Later I received A call from Mark (the GM) And He Said That He Didn’t Know That We Had Been Trying Too Reach Him and That He Apologize,, I Told Him I Had Been Trying Too Reach Him For 2Weeks Now, Mark Told Me He Had Only Been Gone For 7Days, I explained the situation to mark I gave you proof of my purchase and what I authorized, and he proceeds to let me know that he’s going to check into it but I might still be charged because if the persons card is declined they going to keep a charge on my card, I did not authorize for any other charges to be added to my card other than what I purchased and I have the receipt for it. I am not responsible for the error that John my server made by charging everything to my card and the additional cost came to my card two days after we left Ruth’s Chris. I am very disappointed that it takes two weeks to get this resolved, and the treatment I received from the manager Linda,Over something that was out of my control that was on the server John not me. If you could please reach out to me as soon as possible it would be greatly appreciate it,
Last Sunday March 21st I had made reservations at Ruth’s Chris in Markham Ontario Canada, with a friend I was meeting to celebrate his birthday. Let me start off by saying our evening was almost perfect. The staff that greeted us and brought us to our table was great, our servers were nothing short of amazing. We got close to the end of the night, about 7 minutes before close, and an employee, whom we had never seen before, came over to our table to let us know that the establishment was closed. Only, she didn’t do this in a very pleasant manner. We both had about half a glass of wine left when the staff member approached us and as I was taking a sip of my wine she came up to the table and demanded I put my glass down and leave the establishment because they were closed. As a paying customer, my only obligation was to finish my drink before I left. She proceeded to tell me that they’re closed and it was time for us to go. At this point my only goal was to finish my drink and leave because I didn’t want the energy to shift any more negative than it has. As I was finishing my drink, she proceeded to yell at me and say “you can’t chug your drink it’s illegal”.. .She continued to let us know that the restaurant was closed and we need to leave while yelling at us. We then let her know we’d like to speak to the manager because her behaviour was unacceptable at that point. When we spoke to the manager she was extremely apologetic and let us know that this staff member was an “issue that she has to deal with”. I’ve been to Ruth’s Chris Steak on numerous occasions and I’ve always went back because I’ve always been satisfied. This was an amazing experience until the last 7 minutes of my stay. I was embarassed, I felt belittled, the staff member had a complete lack of respect for us as customers. There was no apology on her end for her rudeness and her raising her voice at us. As well as giving me misleading information to lure me out of the restaurant before it was time. I understand that it’s the end of the night and the goal is to clean up and go home. I too, work in customer service and this is just not the way to treat anyone.
I am a frequent customer at the location in Memphis. We always use your experience for all our special occasions and events. Your company advertised a special offer for 2020 graduates that provided a steak dinner for a graduate valued at $60 with the purchase of two entrees. My daughter graduated valedictorian of her college at the university of Tennessee in May but due to the pandemic she couldn’t travel. I made a reservation on May 15 for a party of 4 to celebrate her accomplishments and verified the offer with with your staff. The last day of the promotion was June 28 so we scheduled a trip to coincide with her driving home that weekend.
We had a delightful dinner as always but when the $365 tab came the promotion was not awarded even though staff knew about the graduation celebration and decorated accordingly.
The waitress (Jackie) was not aware of the offer and requested a manager (male Caucasian) who also was not aware of it. Since I couldn’t produce proof of the promotion it was declined.
I’m very disappointed because we have always enjoyed patronizing your restaurant and elected not to argue my case with other customers present. Regretfully it will be my last visit.
I have been a loyal customer since 1987. At one point I was going to your Fort Lauderdale on a weekly basis for a number of years.
Since the senior members of the staff have left, you can’t help but notice the decline in service and food quality. Bartenders Jack, Ruth, and JD made us feel special when we came in.
A group of us went to Ft Lauderdale to celebrate another regular’s birthday who is a dear friend to us. We placed our order for four Center-cut filets and various sides. As the food arrived, 3 of the filets were beautiful. Mine, on the other hand, was not. I called the server over and asked him if that looked like a center-cut. He agreed it did not.
A few minutes later, the new sous chef turned manager came to our table with a raw filet on a plate to give me a tutorial on center-cut filets to the point of annoyance and embarrassment.
We finished our meal and left.
I just thought you should know that as a customer that spends thousands in your restaurant annually, I will not return to that location. I am not looking for money or any compensation.
It’s a shame that a location that was packed nightly, especially Saturdays where the bar was 3 deep is now running at half capacity. The managers rarely do table touches and don’t even talk to their bread and butter regulars. I guess your RVP in that area doesn’t realize that this restaurant is slowly becoming an Outback Steakhouse (mediocre food with no WOW experience).
There are plenty of fine dining experiences in South Florida, you sadly are not one of them anymore.
My family has gone to Ruth’s Chris for celebrations of all types over the years and have even hosted our office Christmas party there. The food is great and the service is wonderful. I am appalled by the fact that you not only applied but accepted a ppp that should have gone to small business people. You are a “comfortable” company as fare as assets and once this corona virus pandemic is behind us, it may take a while, but your customers will be back. Shake Shack is getting great reviews because they did the right thing and returned the money. Why are you not following in their footsteps, as you should. The news media would be on your side as would your customers. You wont see my family when things do reopen because of the selfish money grab you have done.
I agree with you and unless they return the 20 billion back to the fund that assist businesses that have under five hundred employees, my family will never dine in your restaurants in the future.
Mike O’ Donnell
On Wednesday, December 25, 2019 4 of us went to Ruth Chris for Christmas dinner in Crystal City (Arlington), Virginia which we have done for the past six or seven years. As always the food was outstanding, but for the first time the service was less than desirable. My friends and I have been coming to this Ruth Chris for the past 16 years to celebrate various occasions and never have we experienced such bad service. On occasions we have been their when the restaurant was busier than on Christmas Day this year and always received excellent service. Our waiter, Patrick had an excuse for everything. The bar is backed up, the kitchen is slow, and the cappuccino machine had to be fixed. It took a long time to get our dessert and then it took another 25 minutes to get coffee and cappuccino at which time we had to refuse the coffee, because our taxi was coming in five minutes. Patrick should of came to us and told us the machine was being fix, giving us the option to change our order. Patrick, seem to have an excuse for everything that was not up to you standards, so at this point I didn’t believe anything he said. When my girlfriend said to him, every time, we go to a restaurant and there is more than one person with a disability at the table the service is slow. Patrick, then launch into saying his parents are disabled, which I think he was trying to get brownie points. Our money is as good as anyone else is and we usually leave a good tip.
When we were getting ready to leave the hostess went to clean the table next to me and spilled a half a pitcher of water on my coat, pants and a little bit on my cell phone. Lucky, the cell phone still works. The manager came over and deducted $100.00 off the bill.
We were planning to come back in February to celebrate an occasion. Now, we are thinking about going somewhere else.
Have been going to Ruth Chris since 1988 in Phila on Broad St. tonight was the worst service and poorest food quality i have ever experienced at a Ruth Chris. Inattentive haphazard service, we sat at 730 right in front of an exit door that was apparently used to serve people outside as there were servers and customers coming and going all night, and did not get steaks till 10. took a long time just to get appetizers even ordered. Very sloppy service.The restaurant was also uncomfortably cold, as were the steaks when we got them and “off” tasting sides. A ridiculous “seafood tower with one shrimp on it and some scattered seafood and a mountain of ice. Even the ravioli tasted off, sauce was gelatinous and spinach cold.The waiter would not even be a helper at the Tampa location.
Empty water glass for 20 mins… I think you get the picture… reservations were under my name. This is very sad what has happened to Ruth Chris.
I recently went to a Tastemaker dinner where we enjoyed a lobster & shrimp roll for the first course. It was one of the most delicious things I have had in a long time, besides the steaks. Can you please add item to the happy hour menu? It would be greatly appreciated.
Also, while we enjoy the spicy shrimp, we really miss the spicy lobster.
It seems to me that a logical complaint to you goes unanswered.
This is perfectly okay. When your business shows a decline, maybe you will become more aware of your flimsy cooking and service.
I buy your gift cards as the local store. When I spend a few hundred dollars for my family, I expect them to have a great experience. When you ask for medium well it should be that way and not totally bloody. Send it back and it becomes a ball of burnt steak. Your chef needs some lessons.
Whatever happened to Customer Service? You want the money but you no longer deliver the product.
Connie DeFrances
I am a frequent patron of Ruth Chris restaurant , I am also an avid matchbook collector , a few of my nurse friends and I wonder if you have any matchbooks to send us , we would greatly appreciate it
I was an employee at Ruths Chris of Asheville N.C and just to get to the point the chef there PETE is a full blown racist,You wanna know why they cant keep good help its because of the NEO Nazi you have employed there- HE is strung out on Adderal sorry for the spelling but i dont do it so there for its not in my vocabulary. As im being hired there, i was told that if i had sum Adderal that i would be in his the good graces . Needless to say this trend of PROfessionalism was non exsistent/PETE is a total racist -had a great shift on broil -my food never came back-not once -so after the rush was over pete leaves the line-comes back 10 mins later and started talking about how black guys had it rough during slavery/where did that come from ?and proceeded to keep it going till he realized i wasnt getting emotional /Only because im a proffesional on anybodies clock and i was there to uphold my duties and did to the utmost but you let pete tell it and its always everybody else and im so sorry to say that its your Main man. And that would explain there turn over rate. You have a NEO NAZI running your kitchen and im sure RUTH doesnt know that. IF You dont fire him/ it will be confirmation of you approving this dysfunctional behavior and further proof of the racism hiding behind corporate entities.AND Ruth being JEWISH should be the first one to investigate these matters because i know she holds her and everyone around her to hire standards-and if not we can see what ABC NEWS thinks about the situation, I know in my heart that a Jewish owner doesnt know she has a lil fury Hitler working under and for her representing her like its the new normal- i definitively need some positive feedback so future employees know what there getting into before it happens,cuss your asheville location is still under Jim Crowe Laws.And if i dont get some feed back -imma take it to ABC NEWS
Was their ever a ruth’s in Pascagoula Ms. in the 1970’s
Ruth Chris Steak House in Reno NV. I’ve been going to Reno for Christmas Eve and Xmas Day. The four us decided to have dinner at Ruth Chris I was the only one that has been at Ruth Chris never had a problem until Dec 24 2018, the sever was Charlie and he was so bad didn’t get the order right one dinner had to go back it wasn’t cooked correctly by the time Jason got his steak the three of us were finish it took 20 minutes and the steak wasn’t a Ribeye that’s what Jason order. Shane order a Beer never received it and was charged for it. so one manager came back to us and said out loud that there wasn’t enough funds on my credit card, we said you just charged us 277.49 on the card and you charged another 83.00 on my card. All he had to do is take off 7.00 dollars for the Beer we never got. That manager didn’t know day from night!!!!! So now I have to explain to my credit card company to take off the 83,00 he charged me for NO reason. I have called 3 time to Ruth Chris in Reno and know manager will return my calls. I want my full amount back 256.26 on my credit card plus the 83.00 that stupid manager put on my card for no reason. Plus the void receipts I never received. It took 3 people to take care of the mistake and it really wasn’t resolved. This message is for CEO Mike O’Donnell CFO Robert Vincent COO Kevin Toomy I will put you on Facebook, Google, Yelp so please Respond to my message. Thank you Karen
darleendean@ yahoo.com
We had reservations for 6PM Christmas Eve in your Savannah restaurant which was confirmed on Sunday by one of their employees. When we arrived last night the restaurant was closed. Is this the kind of upscale treatment you offer your customers. You had my phone number, if you were closing, a courtesy phone call would have been appropriate. My Christmas Eve was ruined thanks to ignorant employees. This not only creates ill will for your restaurant but also reflects on Savannah as well. I am putting this experience on blast. It never should have happened.
My wife and I ate at the Mauna Lani Restaurant yesterday and the food was terrible! I smell bankruptcy…
Michael P. O’Donnell
Chairman of the Board and Chief
Executive Officer at Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc.
1030 W Canton Ave Ste 100
Winter Park, FL 32789
Dear Mr. O’Donnell,
My reservation is upcoming on 5/13/18 which is Mother’s Day at your Midlothian, VA location. My family and I are celebrating my brother’s graduation and 4 mothers in our party. Unfortunately your dinning room does not have the accommodation for the 13 people in our group and was told that we can have the semi private room which is a contract room for a minimum order of $800.00. I expressed to Robin Sorenson the Sales Manager that we may not spend that much as 2 people in our party are on restricted diets and 1 is a child. She stated that if we will not be spending that amount I need to let her know by 5pm today or my reservation will be given to someone else. This is Mother’s Day weekend and will be a huge inconvenience if we cannot keep our reservation due to this. I did explain that we will definitely spend close to that but cannot say for sure $800.00 will be spent. Please let me know what can be done as again this dinning room cannot accommodate our party size and your semi private room can. I understand this is a busy weekend but we are patrons to and would love to enjoy and celebrate both occasions at your restaurant.
thank you,
Natasha
My family and I have been customers Of you restaurant for over 15 years celebrating every New Years, Valentines Day our birthdays and Wedding Anniversary in addition to non celebratory dinners.
This past Valentines Day we made reservations for your Weehawken NJ restaurant and invited another couple to come also, whom have never been to one of your restaurants.
To begin with when we entered none even looked up from the front desk to acknowledge us. We stood there for quite a while till finally a gentleman asked “name”. In the past we were always greeted graciously by name and at least with a smile making us feel that our business was at least appreciated.
The coat check person waved us towards her from inside the coat room signaling that we should come to her. Of course without a smile.
We were then seated, menus left on the table and the woman walked away. Each and every other time we have been seated we were always greeted with a amike and advise as to what to order. Water was brought to the table without a word.
Our waitress cane and asked what we would like to,order, and orders were taken.
As a waiter brought our appetizers he placed the wrong orders in front of each of us. To reach the persons seated on the far side across the table he reached in front of those sitting on the near side almost hitting my wife in the chin with one plate.he spoke no English and we had to figure out which was which. I asked for more water which was never delivered,
The same waiter delivered the main courses and again had them mixed up, indicated that mine was rare in fact it was overdone. Once again he passed the plates in front of those sitting closest to,him almost hitting them in the chin. I again asked for refill of water which never came.
Once we switched our plates to get the correct dinners the food was excellent as always.
We asked for spoons for something we were eating but never received even one spoon.
Dessert was delivered without a word. Once again asking for water refills and once again never got the water nor did we receive spoons after asking several times.
I was to get my own water from the couple sitting at the next table who indicated that they were not going to drink it.
The waitress then came with the bill, reached over one of the women to drop it on the table and walked away. For the heck of it I asked for water but guess what never got it.
No one even asked if everything was OK or if we needed anything else.
The wait staff reminded us of those one would fund in an all night diner.
In our many trips to that same restaurant we have never been treated in this manner. In fact we have always bragged about the way people were treated.
There are other fine restaurants close by who might appreciate our business.
I can not believe how the the entire atmosphere has deteriorated in just a short period of time.
I was embarrassed as we always told the new couple with us how well we were treated and to be treated so rudely was terrible.
The day after I received a survey regarding our visit to your restaurant from Open Table. I indicated that my message was to be sent to you also.
I would have thought that maybe a note of appology might be in order however apparently you didn’t think it was warranted we received nothing. Which is why things are deteriorating as they have!
December 25 2018 reservations were made for a beautiful Christmas Day dinner party of eight in beautiful Chicago’s downtown restaurant on Dearborn, the waiter David comes to the table to take orders and explains to us expect the plate to be at least 500 degrees okay great ! well if you’ve ever been to Ruth Chris you no this is there signature sizzling plates! half hour later here comes David worst waiter I’ve ever had with eight plates of lukewarm food no sizzle what so ever ! The chip of butter was solid on my steak no one food was hot! He never came with bread never came to check it was a terrible experience. When he finally showed back up he said he had to go a long way to get the food totally ruined our holiday experience!
I made reservations for two at your Troy Michigan location. I made the reservations on Tuesday April 10, 2018 under the name of Ingram. I spoke with a representative by the name of Natalie. Natalie booked my reservation and before closing the call, she informed me that Ruth Chris has a business casual attire policy. I was shocked by her statement because I have been a frequent patron of your establishment on many occasions and I have never been informed of this policy in the past. It greatly offended me because I felt as if I was being targeted because I am African American. To test out my theory, I had two of my Caucasian friends call to book a reservation. They called within minutes of my call to see if this policy was stated to them. Natalie did not mention this to either of them. Proving that this is not correct needs to stop immediately!
The insult carried over to today April, 11, 2018. I received a follow up phone call from one of your representatives from your establishment at 2:50 p.m. They called me to confirm my appointment and to inform me that there is a business casual policy with your restaurant location. I am at wits end trying to figure out why this is happening?
My family and I were celebrating my son 25 birthday which we had made reservation for about 15 people in advance We came in on a Friday night March 23rd the lady at front said that my son and his friend couldn’t come in with sweat pants on.The lady at the front was very rude. My son question the lady saying that he had seen a group of other people in there with sweat pants on, In turn him and the lady at the front did a a few words.My son and his friend went to the car to change pants when three guys approach them saying that his mother was the lady at front that he had words with Never the less in return called a big confrontation in the front which while the police had been called, so we had to go somewhere else to celebrate Ruin our celebration.
Mike O’Donnel CEO
Ruth Chris Steak House Corporate
1030 West Canton Avenue Suite 100
Winter Park, Fl 32789
I am writing to let you know how a incident that happened to me at Portland Or Ruth Chris was handled..On March 7 2018 my husband and I celebrated my 76th birthday with a gift card.Our dinner was fine. But I had accidently left my purse in the car and my husband went out and got it. Our car was still parked in front of restaurant.Being in a 5 star restaurant I did not feel the need to check my purse.
But in the morning when I checked my wallet $20.00 was missing.I emailed the general manager Sabrina Moss and she said she was going to investigate but in the meantime she would like to offer me a gift card for the disappointment I feel that I may have had to use for another dinner and asked if I would like that and where to send gift card. To add injury to insult she did send a $20.00 gift card which I will be returning. Before Ruth Chris relocated to their new location having dinner at the old location I was given a free dinner because I requested no sea salt on my steak The manager came out apologized for mistake and I received the steak dinner free. Even if Sabrina could not offer a free dinner the $20.00 gift card was not appropriate to use towards my next dinner in a 5 star restaurant.
Very unhappy and still dissapointing
Dorothy Hadley
Michael P. O’Donnell
Chairman of the Board and Chief
Executive Officer at Ruth’s Hospitality Group, Inc.
1030 W Canton Ave Ste 100
Winter Park, FL 32789
March 18, 2018
Dear Mr. O’Donnell,
Prior to writing you this letter, while researching Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, I read an article written in the Orlando Sentinel about how you are attempting to “revive” the Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse brand. The story I am about to tell you is one of the reasons the company doesn’t have as good of a reputation in the Washington DC metro area as Capital Grille, Morton’s and Flemings.
My mother is staying near the Bethesda Ruth’s Chris steakhouse on Wisconsin Avenue temporarily. She asked one of her caregivers to go out and get some dinner for her. The caregiver went to the Wisconsin Avenue location and after a twenty minute wait she put in an order for food. The lady sat there for over an hour afterward and was completely ignored. When she finally spoke to someone to inquire about where the food was they said, “We are very busy,” with a complete lack of sense of urgency much less interest paying customers have come to expect in the “hospitality” industry.
Eventually my mother’s caregiver had to return to the hotel for her shift change. The second person came back to get the food and it took an additional forty-five-minute wait! The sad fact is that both of the caregivers who waited for the food are of African descent and believe, as do I, that they were discriminated against.
Although I have never been a victim of racism because I am white, it is behavior like this that will cause our entire family to take our business elsewhere.
-Veronica
Let me start by saying that my family and I have always enjoyed the food at Ruth’s Chris. We usually visit the downtown Toronto one and many in different States and are always very pleased not only with the food but also with the service. This being said, we visited the Ruth’s Chris in Niagara Falls Ontario and were mind blown at how that location boosted the prices. It was actually ridiculous. That Ruth’s Chris restaurant is ruining your good name. I strongly suggest that corporate visits that location and verifies the prices. For an example: a small filet mignon was 79$ on the Thursday and 82$ on the Friday! In Toronto I usually pay around 52$ for a small filet, This is actually laughing at the consumer. We should of just left but we ended up paying the extremely overpriced bill because we were hungry. As I stated before, please verify this establishment because they are and will ruin your good name.
Suzanne Church
Got bad food a wrecked car had 3 couples that spent 600 dollars over all that dined with me that night . Took them 3 weeks for the valet service A1A to submit a claim to their insurance company and to tell them they didn’t do it . Right off the bat A1A valet services owner Nick Csorna told me I must have brought the car there like that . I was appalled because any valet driver that saw the car damaged in the manner my car was given back to me in would have had to be retarded not to make note of it before parking the vehicle . I spoke to a general manager at the Ruth Chris Wiam Battah also spoke to the corporate office Mikella Gallagher Neither offered any assistance . My apologies Wiam did send me a gift card for 50 dollars to come back to Ruth Chris that I wont be using. Its too bad they don’t have the coos number listed anywhere. The corporate office only calls you back when they feel like it. As for Nick Csorna and A1A valet I guess you couldn’t lie and get out of the wreck with the Porsche and the Bentley that happened a few days after you wrecked my car.
This location was in Ponte Vedra Florida on A1A.
We understand that a Ruth’s Chris Steak House will be opening in the Eastern Long Island area, Shirley, NY a very up and coming sea side town, we noted there have been many investors looking in this area because of the demand for more upscale business
Thank you for your investment in Shirley NY
.Kathleen Lamprecht
We went to the Ruth Chris inn palm beach.
Big mistake! One issue after another. The manager said nothing about our horrible experience. I would never go back to Ruth Chris. There’s so many other amazing steak houses with good service.
I had reservations at the Ruth Chris New York City for Christmas with my son my daughter-in-law my three-year-old granddaughter and my nine-month-old granddaughter upon walking in Karen the general manager was mad because we had a stroller the nine-month-old needs to sit in the stroller she said she could not accommodate us that she would have to sit in a highchair so I said we need to highchairs they bring one highchair for the 9 month old about 20 minutes later they bring a booster for the three Road which never sat in a booster the appetizers came out like 40 minutes later they were cold and horrible the steaks and sides came out 40 minutes after that they were cold and horrible macaroni and cheese without the cheese I called the next day and spoke to Karen general manager she did nothing but Yell At me saying that nothing of this happened and that I gave her a hard time at the door about the stroller so I pulled the hospitality line thinking someone would call me and do something they have done nothing either I emailed several times and then finally about 10 days later I get a phone call from Karen again saying that there’s nothing that she can do for me and uninvited me to the restaurant how’s that for hospitality all after that I paid $350 and a tip thank you very much with Chris a phone call from the vice President would be nice that’s what I’m waiting for not from Karen
I made a reservation at Ruths Chris-Tampa, FL for Christmas Eve for 9 people. I made the reservation in October. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were seated in the bar–right near the lobby. The lobby was so crowded, people were coming into the bar to stand, and they were literally bumping into us at our table while we ate. Then a child started banging on the piano, which was also right next to us.
My lamb chops were served raw and i had to send them back.
I sent an email to the manager of the Ruth’s Chris-Tampa and have not heard anything. While my sister-in-law, who was also with us, was on a separate check, she got a call from the manager.
Very disappointed with the overall experience and the quality of the food. Will not return to this location.
I believe they overbooked for Christmas Eve and they were not able provide the level of service that is expected for this type of restaurant.
A response from the manager or corporate would be appreciated.
Thank you.
Grace Doumanian
Our children sent us to Ruth’s Chris for our anniversary. My husband was recovering from a hospital stay. We were looking forward to a special evening and wonderful food. We were so disappointed. Our steaks were mostly fat and gristle and there was a white sour cream glob inside my second tea glass. I contacted the manager at the Chattanooga location and he was kind and seemed sorry and understanding. He said he would send us a coupon for our meals and even told us to ask for him when we came so he would make sure everything was right. That was August 24, 2017. Why would he make this promise and not keep it?
On Sunday, I visited the ruth’s chris steak house in Manhattan. This is something we have done for the past five years. Luved their happy hours, apps., etc. This time, however, we were in the bar area waiting for seats to open at bar, there were tables but we wanted a bar area stool, as we even know the bartender who remembers us when we visit. We were standing there when a young black girl came over and told us we had to leave as we were not appropriately dressed. We had on Adidas slacks and nice shirts. She said “corporate” said we are not dressed right and would have to leave I am 71 years old , not a kid with torn jeans Was embarrassed and annoyed beyond, Don’t think I will ever go back!
I sent this email to the manager at the Ann Arbor location.
He did call and apologized and said he would send a gift card which I still have not received, it’s been 2 months. As a customer and investor this is disappointing.
We love coming to Ruth Chris and enjoying the awesome steaks. It’s a very big deal for my family and friends to get dressed up and go out to dinner at Ruth’s.
My last two dinning experiences were not the best. As the food was fabulous the serve from our waitress was not. Kelly was very slow serving drinks and food and she was not very attentive. On our visit Sept 11 the meal was delivered in a timely manner. We waited over 25 minutes for coffee and deserts after the meal. Then we waited another 20 minutes to pay the bill, she never returned so handed the bill to another wait staff. We think she did not put our desert order in until 20 minutes after she took the order.
This past Saturday was the same, she was very slow and not attentive. We had brought friends along to dinner and we embarrassed after we told them what a great place Ruth Chris is. They saw the poor serves and were very disappointed. The disappointment came in the money we all spend for such to dinner poor serves. After paying over $300 for dinner we except more!
Teri
734476XXXXX
Second time to contact someone about lack of pricing at Ruth’s Chris in Houston bar. Have gotten nothing but run around from the two managers on duty and ignored by Corporate here in Winter Park. In Houston night of June 29th and ordered two shots Mccallan 18 year. We pay $ 29.00 here in Orlando but there were no prices on menu in Houston. We believed it would be the same price. We were charged $59.00 for each shot which we would not have ordered if printed on menu. All managers contacted refused to do anything about the bill. Terrible customer service as have been a customer for close to 40 years and first time have seen this. Very disappointed and I think it is completely dishonest to not put prices on a bar menu. Got to be against the law somewhere.
Hi I was wondering and trying to find out if I have a Ruths Chris gift card, which came from Boston may I use it in Aruba
06/19/2017
To Executive Management
Ruth Chris Restaurant
To: Hilton Worldwide Corporate Office
Executives:
CEO: Christopher J. Nassetta
CFO: Kevin Jacobs
COO: Kathryn Beiser
Re: Embassy Suites
Centennial Olympic Park
Atlanta Georgia
My name is James Trainer on Saturday 06/17/2017 the Trainer Family hosted their family reunion banquet at the Embassy Suite hotel and Ruth Chris restaurant. This was an event that was two years in the making, We contracted this event with Embassy Suite and Ruth Chris on 02/10/2016 this is only to let you know how much effort time went in to making this a successful reunion for my family which hasn’t happen in 21 years.
After all the planning and considerable amount of finance that went to this event we were very disappointed with the treatment we received on the night of the banquet. I James Trainer am the chairman for the event and made myself available to the restaurant staff for whatever they may find necessary to contact me for. Your Banquet manager Ms Theresa Ilieva ask to speak to me in the back room of the banquet hall.
Ms Ilieva proceeded to tell me that she knew what was going on and that children was sitting in their parents lap and eating they needed to be in a seat, that we had more people than we had paid for and they were eating. The parent that she mention was my daughter and her 4 year old daughter which wanted to sit in her mothers lap, the chair which she was sitting in was empty and Ms Ilieva told my daughter that her child had to sit in the seat. She actually followed family member around the banquet room to see if they had a seat and did not want them to sit at another table to talk to other family members.
I ask Ms Ilieva had she did a head count to see if there was more people in the banquet hall than should have been and if not she needed to do that, I assured her every one there was paid for. She told me I would have to pay those extra people, I told her she needed to give me a head count and if there was more people than what was paid for we have a credit card on file would gladly pay for them. She was very insulting and accusing of thief of a dinner.
Needless to say it was a very uncomfortable situation for me and my family while trying to enjoy the banquet and our family member. The head chef Marquett arrive in the back and witness the confrontation with Ms Ilieva and ask her to leave that he would handle the situation, she didn’t leave right away and he had to ask her again to leave, I told her I had nothing else to say to her. Yes I was upset Chef Marquett extended his hand to shake my hand, I wasn’t very receptive to the hand shake because it wouldn’t and couldn’t appease the what I had just gone through. He assured me he was just trying calm the situation and he understood how I felt we shake hands.
Chef Marquett told me not to worry he would take care of the matter that he was the chef in charge of the meal. This was still unsettling with me on Sunday morning as I went to breakfast I meet manager George Igomobo I explain the situation of Saturday night to him he assured me that he would let the General manager know and I should expect a call from him on Sunday. I didn’t get the call, I call back to speak to George on Monday he assured me again that he had informed the GM Ryan Papp and he was speaking with Cierra Comb HanXXXX catering manager of the situation and someone would be contacting me, he ask if I would just be patient they were working through the situation.
I received an e-mail from Mrs HanXXXX on Monday this is what she had to say: I received an message from one of our restaurant managers, George, that you had an issue with your event on Saturday. Could you please share with me what happened and if there is anything I can answer or assist with?
This e-mail showed no empathy or care for the dynamic of the situation as I see it or Ruth Chris really don’t care how their clients are treated. I am a Hilton Honors member and have been for a very long time I didn’t expect this response it shook me to my core, to receive this response after all I have gone through and the assurance I was given that someone would be contacting me. Now I know you would ask how can I make this right with you and your family? I don’t know!!!, how can you take two years of preparation for and event and crush it in 10 minute by a person who has no compassion who flat out accuses you of stealing a chicken dinner.
These events as I have mention can be verified by your own Chef who witness the event first hand if he is truthful.
Respectfully
James E Trainer
Hilton Honors #490079352
Management,
This past Sunday was Mothers Day and my precious daughter wanted to treat me to a very special lunch at your restaurant. It was myself, my daughter, and her daughter. (Who felt SO special “like a princess”.)
Our family is not accustomed to indulging extravagantly on dining, but she wanted to treat me…and decided to bring me here for an elegant outing.
We were seated promptly, however, our table was in an area of VERY loud family of about 20+ people that were up and running about the whole restaurant—-and those were the adults. One of them ran into the waiter and dropped a whole tray of food…
The behavior was such as you would expect at a fast food chain (name not necessary).
As if that weren’t enough, we sat at out table after finishing eating with dirty plates in front of us for at least 20 minutes. When our waiter finally came back to our table with our deserts-she left the check…(the cheesecake crust had a strong taste leaving it to be taken away by the busboy). While we were picking at the cheesecake, she returned to our table to ‘take care of the check’ 2 times!!! Never asking if we were OK..seeing the deserts weren’t being eaten… Never attempting to make the situation with grown ‘children’ more tolerable…
We left feeling very cheated by the lack of management to handle its customers in order to maximize everyones experience…the lack if attention by the waiter…(who still received a 20% tip from me) was distasteful. We weren’t important enough to warrant attention during dinner, or to corrale a rough bunch— but she sure wanted that tip she didn’t earn…
The total experience left a lot to be desired…
–felt like our business is not appreciated…
First off, from seeing lack of response from any type of management in this forum gives me cause to believe that the company really does not care what happens to customers as long as the company gets our money.
This is in regards to the Tampa location. That afternoon, I kept saying to myself to cancel the reservation and go to Oystercatchers but I really wanted to go to Ruth Chris. Big mistake on my part!
Upon entry to the lobby, all you could see was a sea of people waiting to be seated. Apparently the restaurant was running behind on cancellations. I can understand that, no biggie but when I am there waiting, I see several parties who arrived at least 30 to 35 minutes late on their reservations and were seated. Those parties should have been turned away. If you are late for your reservation, let’s say after 10 minutes, that reservation should automatically be cancelled to allow for the next parties who are on time to be seated. You know what happens to me if I am 10 minutes late for work, I have to take an hour of annual leave.
Inside of the dining area, people are piled on top of each other; I guess it is to make more room for tables for more money. Our waiter was wonderful, he did the best that he could, considering he was slammed with too many tables. At other restaurants, the waiters have always taken their time and even cleaned off the linens from crumbs, but not Tampa. We did have to ask for water refills a couple of times. Anyways, we placed out order.
I ordered the Ruth’s Chopped Salad, requesting no red onions, no blue cheese ( I have reactions if I eat blue cheese) and light dressing. I truly believed I was ordering a salad, not a pressed salad, meaning all the items are pressed together and served as a cube. Horrible! There was so much dressing that the cube fell apart and I did try to eat the salad and took several bites of blue cheese not knowing since there was so much dressing. After realizing that I had eaten blue cheese I immediately stopped and returned the salad. Husband’s salad was ok. but not great. Yes, I did get sick from the blue cheese.
I then ordered the 2 filets with the grilled shrimp on top. I had requesting that the steak not be topped with too much butter and light seasoning. Easy request….nope. There was so much butter on the plate that all you could smell was the butter. The plate itself was brown from the charred butter and there was so much pepper and salt that is all you could taste. At this point, I was starving and just didn’t care. I scrapped off the seasonings and placed them in a pile on the plate and ate one of the filets. My husband ordered the cowboy ribeye medium rare. The steak was literally charred on one side and had to be returned. The cream spinach was fine but the grilled asparagus was another matter. I had asked no salt, pepper or butter on the asparagus. There was so much salt and cracked pepper on the asparagus that my mouth and tongue were numb from the burning of the spices. It was as if I had eaten a jalapeno. That too was returned. At this point, I asked for my bill and the waiter wrapped the remaining steak up to take home. Normally those items would have been eaten, not tonight. I was so upset that I went to hunt down the manager and told my husband to tell the waiter that we were not going to take our steaks home and that the chef could have them on his break, cause by the way he was cooking, he certainly needed some down time.
The manager asked for my address and said he would do something for us. We shall see on that! Simply horrible and will never go back. There are other very good restaurants in Tampa.
Stay away from the Ruth Chris in Tampa! Save your money!
The Ruth’s Chris located on Dearborn in Chicago has a dress code policy that needs immediate revising. The dress code policy is ambiguous, inconsistent and provides more than enough discovery for a discrimination law suit. Negative word of mouth and discriminatory acts regarding any establishment are key elements to its demise.
HI,
Would you please change my e mail to energyskech at gmail.com.
Thanks,
Gary Stern
301-537-XXXXX
To Whom It May Concern,
On January 20, 2017, my husband and I both had dinner at Ruth’s Chris at the Fallsview Sheraton, Niagara Falls location hoping to enjoy a lovely evening out and great steak dinner. However the experience we had left us extremely disappointed and disatisfied. The both of us are avid steak lovers, and have never had a problem with our steak dinners in the past at other steak houses, however, because of the experience at your restaurant, we felt the need to share our insight with you in hopes to better serve your future patrons and perhaps avoid such an underwhelming experience as what occured with us.
We had ordered two 8oz steaks (that were overly salty) with a Caesar salad and potatoes au gratin (which was smothered in cheese). The Caesar salad was made from iceberg lettuce (not romaine lettuce as it typically should), cherry tomatoes and no bacon bits. Now, considering the amount of money we had paid for this meal, I would have at least expected to have a FRESH Caesar salad, OR, as most other steak houses do, prepare a table side Caesar.
While I understand you are trying to remain a somewhat high-end establishment, the lack of effort when it comes to preparing the quality of food is evidently clear and disheartening.
In the past, we have never had an issue paying a few hundred dollars for a nice steak dinner, because if we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our meal, it’s been worth it. However, in this case, we felt as though we were completely ripped off! To the point that it literally ruined our entire night. We are both foodies and have vowed never to come to another Ruth’s Chris restaurant again due to that experience.
I would hope to assume your establishment carries high standards; even though it is a chain restaurant. Once again, having iceberg lettuce with cherry tomatoes and no bacon bits for a Caesar salad and charging upwards of $20 is absolutely ridiculous and unacceptable!
Our bill which included 3 alcoholic beverages (which were great btw, so kudos to your bartenders), Caesar salad, potatoes au gratin, two 8 oz steaks cost us over$300 which felt like we had been ripped off given the quality of what was served.
Our experience at Ruth’s Chris has left an impinging impact on us to the point where we felt the need to communicate our experience to you and to our family and friends so that they can be aware.
To be honest, we have had a much better steak and sides at the Keg, which ironically, is your “low ball” competitor.
We are truly disappointed with the entire experience and genuinely hope in the future that you will provide better quality and value to your customers.
We have never felt so upset about a restaurant experience that we felt we had to write a letter however this meal at Ruth’s Chris was poorly served and prepared that not only do we feel that this letter needed to be written, we also feel the need to refer people in our social circle AWAY from Ruth Chris and share our experience.
We thank you for allowing us a forum to express our opinion.
Neema
My son and I fly to NYC for his 30th bday trip to watch the Cowboys vs Giants game. We had dinner at the 51st street location on 12/12/16. Our meal was just not up to par. We eat at the Dallas location with some regularity and know when we go there we are going to have an excellent steak. This was not the case on this visit. I called to complain on 12/14 ( i think) and was told it is up to the local restaurant to handle such complaints but someone from the restaurant would contact me. It’s been almost a month and I’ve not heard anything.
The receipt says. Server 007564. 8633
TID 006. REF 00000022
Batch 150
Amount $ 170.28
Don’t hold your breath dear. I work for them. I have tried to get HR on the phone for two months now. Good luck…. If they treat their employees like garbage. It is not too far fetched for them to treat their guests the same.
I can see by the number of complaints with no response that they clearly do not care at all about you. They got your money. That is all that they care about. At my location, employees are quitting in droves.
Greetings,
At your CT Ave. NW location, our dinner party experienced service perfection in the form of Rolando, our attendant for that night.
However, the lamb chops I ordered arrived so greasy that I became queasy after just a few bites. Not only was this upsetting to me and unprofessional of the chef but even more traumatizing was the manager (subsequently) informing me that the meat had been previously slathered in veal butter – a fact that, due my knowledge of how cruel calves are treated in order to produce veal, I was extremely shocked and sickened to discover. To learn, afterwards, that was I was eating something that I am in extreme moral opposition to is, to put it mildly, infuriating.
The family member who delighted in treating us to a high-end, restaurant experience deserves to be reimbursed for, at least, my meal.
I just wanted to share a rare bad experience at Ruth Chris @ 724 9th ST NW on 12/09/2016.I have been coming to this location for over 5yrs without a problem on this date I was told that the policy that had been in place for the past 5yrs had changed and that you could not wear a hat in the bar area not the dining area where I always come and watch the games at while having dinner and some drinks. Me and my family was very offended and left the restaurant to go somewhere else to eat and drink. I am a Captain with the DC Fire and EMS Dept. and to me this is a policy that affects the African American community so if someone can give me some type of explanation it would be greatly appreciated. That night I watched another table of regular customers also leave out because of the same situation they also were African American who eat and drink in the bar area frequently with myself.
The Orlando restaurant: a black male leaning against the door and building outside approached us from behind begging for money. Your establishment did not handle that well. They took his side. He’s only trying to eat. We don’t come in to spend $100 only to be accosted when we leave and have the bejeebas scared out of us.
Tampa restaurant: the table was so small (a table for two) my husband and I could not sit without getting our feet on top of one another plus the table leg meant you had to sit with your legs sprawled on each side. Thanksgiving dinner….cold. We didn’t send it back but will not spend $150 there again when there are other fine steak houses in the area.
Dear Mr. Mike O’Donnell:
A friend and I decided to dine out for Thanksgiving this year since our families were engaged elsewhere. We decided on Ruth Chris Steak House in Raleigh, a restaurant I had not dined in before. I called and made reservations for 2:30 PM, and since I was recovering from shoulder surgery I asked if I could have a chair with arms. I was told no problem. This was reconfirmed several days before Thanksgiving. When my friend and I arrived, we were told that our table was not ready as “they were running behind schedule.” I reconfirmed my need for the chair. 45 minutes later, the hostess walked us into the main dining room and offered a booth that I could not sit in. Then 25 minutes later, we were led into a back room to a drafty cold corner table and a wobbly chair. Out in the main dining room was a perfectly good table for two. Finally we spoke to the manager and he moved us to that perfectly good table but was unwilling to move it so we could have more room. So, my friend sat wedged between the Christmas tree and another customer at another table- she literally could not move. The manager offered us a free appetizer and drink.
The appetizer consisted of 4 shrimp and a small container of sauce for both us. Really? Bread arrived but no butter plate to put the bread on. The turkey was okay, the bisque soup had too much sherry in it and was inedible. Another manager came over and asked how we were doing. Only an apology was offered. The pumpkin cheesecake had nuts in it – a very risky dessert if someone had a peanut allergy. We never did get our free beverage. This became a comedy of errors. This nightmare cost us $46.23 apiece. I think a wise manager should seen that two women of a certain age were having a stressful dining experience.
I have dined in many fine restaurants from Boston to SanFrancisco, and this was one of the worst experiences I have ever had. I seriously doubt if I will ever go back to dine at your restaurant. I might also add, the restaurant was ill equipped to handle holiday dining. So much for what was supposed a lovely dinner out.
I would like to share my experience at your fine dining establishment on 11/19/2016 in Chatanooga, TN. After my son’s state playoff game in Rome, GA my husband and I decided to take our two children, Jacob 16 and Samantha 11 to see the mountains for the first time and visit the Tennessee Aquarium. We are from Southwest GA (Bainbridge to be exact) and the Embassy Suite had an Aquarium package so we chose this hotel. The first thing that caught my eye when we pulled into the hotel was Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. After visiting the Aquarium we decided to eat before going back to our room and since this steakhouse was attached to the hotel we decided to try it (we did not research this place we were just going off what we saw). When we arrived to be seated we were greeted with a you are not really welcome attitude but we will seat you. My husband was told not asked to remove his hat that hats were not allowed in the main dining area and the look given to him was not very nice more like a snobbish look. Ok no problem he removed his hat. At first, I did not understand why the resentment of us being there loomed but as we walked into the main dining room it all became clear. We were dressed in jeans and hoodies (due to us just coming back from the Aquarium) and the few people that were in there were a little more dressier than us. We were very uncomfortable but decided we were already there we would just make the best of it. Again we had not researched this restaurant and did not know the dress code. Our waiter Poet greeted us and made us feel welcome . He explained to us the history and then went over the menu with us. He was a welcomed attitude. He served us as if we were his only customers the entire night. As the evening progressed more customers came in. Some dressier than others and I wondered if they were treated the same way we were. Then it dawned on me that the 2 hostesses looked at us as if wanting to ask if we could afford to eat there. We spent $225.00 at your restaurant that night and I do say the meal was wonderful. However, I would not recommend anyone of the working class to eat there due to the attitude and unwelcomed feeling we received from the 2 hostesses at the front. Had we known that we were underdressed we would have went somewhere that welcomed us no matter our dress but because your restaurant was conveniently located within our hotel we chose to dine with you. I am just frustrated that my two children had to feel uncomfortable eating somewhere for their first time. My 11 year old said she doesn’t want to go back to a fancy restaurant again because of the way we were treated.
We visited the location in Chicago on Dearborn St.
I am writing you about the most embarrassing experience of my life at Ruth Chris.
On October 8, 2016 I and a party o 13 came to Ruth Chris to celebrate my husband’s 50 birthday. We had a 7:45pm reservation however my entire party was not there so we could not be seated and I did understand that. We were seated at 8:05 in the upstairs dining room. Our drink order was not taken until 8:35. The bread came right away so we sat and ate bread and drank water. We kept asking Jessica when she would be taking our food order she said as soon as Lucas came to help her. Lucas was busy taking everyone else order in the room except ours. There was a party of 6 that came 1 hours after we did, they had eaten and was on dessert and we still had not put in a food order. We kept asking Jessica when she would take our order she said soon but the bread kept coming. Finally at 9:45 she finally took our order. The room had turned over 3 times by now (yes we were counting). Finally we just could not take it any more at 10:30 we all decided we were leaving so we called for the manager and explained our situation. All of a sudden the food came out but we did not want it. So the manager said do you want to take the food to go at no charge 4 of the people said no they did not want it. The rest of the people accepted. We all left the restaurant 5 minutes later I get a call on my cell phone telling me the manager had call the police on us. I spoke with the manager who stated that we took the entrée so she had to get the police involved. I stated that she told us that we could take the food she said no she was only talking to one gentleman but it was not that gentleman’s birthday party. I called everyone that had taken food and request that they bring the food back. The manager would not take the food back and stated that we must pay for it because it was taken from the restaurant. After everyone that took food paid she told me there was a balance of $300.00 remaining I told her that I was not going to pay that because she still had that food.
I just want to say how embraced I was and upset because my husband’s birthday was ruined. We was treated with disrespect and after all that the food we were charge for we did not get a complete meal. Who pays and average of $100.00 to eat out of a plastic container.
I AM SO ANGRY AND UPSET
21 September 2016
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with regret that I am writing this letter regarding our dining experience on Saturday, September 10, 2016 at the Ruth’s Chris Steak House Restaurant in Louisville, KY at Kaden Tower.
My husband and I drove from Tennessee to visit our daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, who have lived in Louisville for over 25 years. We made the trip to celebrate our Daughter’s Birthday and our Wedding Anniversary.
When we arrived at the Restaurant location, which is located on the 16th Floor. Our elevator was full of people and we experienced some unusual happenings, such as the elevator door kept opening on almost every floor and no one ever pressed a button? When the elevator reached the 9th Floor, the doors remained open for a lengthy period of time and when it finally closed, it started going down? We did end up back on the 1st Floor and everyone on the Elevator was a little shaken. Our daughter called the Restaurant to inquire what our options would be and were told there were Stairs or to wait for the Elevator to begin working again. Our reservations were at 5:30 so we decided to walk up the Stairs. (16 long flights in an unconditioned stairwell) Our granddaughter, my husband and son-in-law arrived at the door of the restaurant to find it LOCKED. My daughter and I had to rest of number of times on our ascent (I am in my 70’s).
After knocking on the locked door for nearly 2 minutes a (male) employee finally opened the locked door and let us in, as well as other guests with reservations out of the stairway into the Restaurant. The employee immediately told us that it is “not” the Restaurants’ elevator and that it was now bringing up people!!! That was not a professional comment to tell the people who just walked up 16 flights of steps and then find the door to the Restaurant locked!!! Not once did he apologize for our inconvenience in this regretful situation!!!! There were words exchanged between my son-in-law and your male employee as well as words between my husband and your male employee. My daughter, granddaughter and I were sitting down (trying to re-cooperate from the strenuous hike up the stairs). Your male employee told our son-in-law he could not be seated for dinner, due to using unbecoming language. I personally did not hear it, so it could not have been said very loudly.
The rest of our party was then seated and our son-in-law was escorted by the male and a female employee down the Elevator; which stopped at almost every floor, so it was still not working properly.
I must say, our waitress, Chelsea, was so professional, accommodating & apologized when we told her of the Elevator experience. She brought water immediately to the table and was very attentive to us during our dinner. Of course, the absence of our son-in-law absolutely dampened our Celebration for the evening. Chelsea brought us the dessert menu for all of us to pick out a dessert, compliments of the Restaurant. That was very much appreciated!!
At no time did the (male) employee come over to our table to apologize or ask how we were doing, during our dinner.
Needless to say, you have lost patrons to your Restaurant due to the attitude and very poor professional people skills of the (male) employee, who I assume was the Manager for the evening? His personal people skills are very pathetic and should be noted. He could have “defused” the entire situation immediately when everyone was finally released from the stairway behind the locked Door of the Restaurant. An apology should have been the “first” words from your employee instead of his Elevator remarks.
The entire situation could have been avoided, if your employee would have used proper professional people skills. I felt compelled to let his management team know of his inept abilities.
Regretfully,
Christopher & Patricia Vercautren
Fairfield Glade, TN 38558
September 19, 2016
Via Email:
Mike O’Donnell, CEO
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse Corporate
1030 West Canton Avenue, Suite 100
Winter Park, FL. 32789
Re: Complaint Ruth’s Chris Steak house Walnut Creek
Dear Mike O’Donnell:
On or about September 17, 2016, my family made reservations to celebrate a baby shower. My parents were ecstatic to learn that their pregnant military daughter was able to fly home to the bay area and dine at her favorite restaurant. Unfortunately, due to the horrific lack of communication and disrespect for military families we will not return to your establishment and encourage others to do the same.
A host identified as “Ashley” assured that the baby shower of 14 guests or more were to promptly arrive at 4:20 pm on Saturday September 17th to ensure proper seating in their private room. On Saturday, September 17th, guests waited outside of the unopened establishment in the heat for 30 minutes until the restaurant opened. Once the guest of honor and family members arrived we were unwelcomingly greeted by host identified as “Paige.” Baffled by her negative gestures, rolling of her eyes and obnoxious sighs she instructed waiter’s identified as “Cesar and Nick” to seat us in an open dining area. Note: we had already made reservations but were not waited on until an additional twenty minutes thereafter. The host ignored us and seated other guests upon arrival. My mother had made a personal appearance a few days prior to the reservation and met with “Paige.” “Paige” confirmed with my mother that the baby shower would be held in a private room and provided a menu in addition, stressed the importance of all guests arriving early.
After guests arrived and placed their orders, a 12-year old family member of the party waited for her mother patiently near the lobby. “Paige” rudely told her she was not welcome to stand near her and to go away immediately. Frightened and embarrassed our family member burst into tears and apologized to us on behalf of waiting for her mother in the lobby. Astonished that “Paige” would make a child feel uncomfortable to the point of making the child weep was disturbing on several different levels. I immediately asked to speak to the manager. A man who may have been “Rich Zamora” spoke to me briefly and claimed that “Paige” served the restaurant for years and defended her actions. Flabbergasted how a manager who clearly demonstrated poor leadership and condoned ill behavior was nauseating. I attempted to explain the lack of communication from the beginning however, the manager clearly failed to grasp the meaning of “Customer Service.” It’s humorous that Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse’s website states “Featuring custom-aged, USDA prime steaks, served with the signature sizzle and legendary hospitality.”
I commend waiters identified as “Cesar and Nick” for accommodating my family as best they could.
Regards,
GM
To whom it may concern…We visited Ruth Chris in West Palm Beach at City place like we done for the past few years..Found out our favorite bartender had been let go..He was a Loyal Employee there for 5 years and recently became a single parent with a 7 month old..
I’m not saying he did right, but the penalty was way too harsh…It was brought to my attention that all the employees have engaged in “horse play ” there for the last several years. If this has been going on this long, I believe the managers are to blame for not correcting it or even stopping it, not the employee.. I believe the managers there aren’t paying attention at this place to know what’s going on or don’t care…I was there the night a server O D in the men’s room….Again, do they know what their doing and should they be blamed…not the workers? I think there’s a bigger problem with managers not employees.. If he’s gone, Robert Mason, then so are we, my family, relatives, friends, and they WILL tell their friends, and the countless people I have sent there in the past…Please, please, look into this.Thank you……….. J. V.
To Whom It May Concern:
I treated a party of five to dinner last night (7/09/16) at Ruth’s Chris in Pikesville, Maryland for my mother’s birthday. We arrived for our 7:00 reservation and were shown to an area with only two tables (thus avoiding steps, as we were with my father-in-law who uses a walker). The table was decorated with rose petals, and the waiter, Christopher, greeted us immediately and told us that he would bring out a special dessert for my mother’s birthday. We were given water, and he took our drink orders, which we received in a timely manner. We also received bread and butter and requested a fifth bread plate, as the table was only set with four. We never received that bread plate, and I shared my mother’s plate with her. Our orders were taken. Three of us (including my mother) ordered from the Classics complete menu. The other two ordered from the menu. My husband and I were sharing two dishes and asked if they could be split in the kitchen. We were told that they could not, but our waiter offered to split them table-side. It was after ordering that I noticed that the couple at the table next to ours was getting an awful lot of attention– from our waiter, from the manager, and from a woman who I thought was the hostess but was, in fact, another manager. I didn’t know who this couple was; nor did I care, but I watched several people spend a great deal of time at their table, thanking them for coming in and telling them that they would see them soon. It was my impression that the man could have been a new Baltimore sports person and that he and his wife had recently moved to the area. Anyway, our salads/appetizers were delivered, and everything was fine, even though I had never received my bread plate. After our entrees were delivered, the person serving them said, “I understand that you wanted us to split these for you.” I told her that since they had already been served, we could split them ourselves but would like two additional plates. We sat waiting, as we thought that she went off to get them. After several minutes, our waiter returned and inquired, “Is everything OK? Does everything taste good?” I replied, “I don’t know. We’re still waiting for plates.” At that point, he rushed off to get them, as I told him not to bother–that it was too late. My mother offered her used bread plate to me, and my brother offered his to my husband. As we split our entrees, the waiter came back with not two but five additional plates. I told him that it was too late. We ate our meals, which were quite good, but never saw the waiter again at our table until he brought out my mother’s “special birthday dessert”. This was the dessert that came with the meal but had a candle in it, and “Happy Birthday” was written on the plate in chocolate. We sang Happy Birthday, and the waiter disappeared, never asking the rest of us about desserts or coffee. When he returned 10 minutes later, he said “You still have two other desserts coming.” He brought out the other two desserts, followed by a check. At this point, I took out my credit card and was ready to go. I always tip 20% but chose to only tip 15%, as I was that upset. After waiting several minutes longer and thinking about the events of the evening, I changed the tip to 10%, something that I have never done. Upon leaving, I remained behind to “vent” to the woman who I thought was the hostess. I explained to her what had happened, because I was upset and somewhat embarrassed to be leaving a 10% tip, but I was also embarrassed that this was a special occasion for my family, and I felt that we were treated like second-class citizens. When I spend several hundreds of dollars on a dinner, I expect to be treated like a valued patron. I told Lindsay that I assumed that the couple at the next table was a high profile couple and that I didn’t care who they were. I only cared that I had never received such poor service in a fine restaurant. She introduced herself to me as Lindsay and told me that she was one of the managers. She was one of the managers who spent a good deal of time with the table next to us. She apologized to me and told me to ask for her the next time I am there. After this experience, there may not be a next time. My intent in sending this e-mail is not to get anyone “reprimanded” or cost anyone a job; however, this was perceived as discrimination to me, as we were aware that there was a significant difference in the way we were treated and the way the table next to us was treated (apparently, at our expense). I might also mention that there were very few customers in the restaurant when we arrived at 7:00 and even fewer when we left at 9:15. This was not the evening I had planned.