Where Southern Hospitality Does Not Exist

 

I hardly ever post bad PR on establishments because everyone has a bad day. But come on, some levels and experiences are so low, you simply must share.

Paula Deen's Family Kitchen Restaurant I had never tried and saw relatively good reviews. I reserved a large party for my husband’s birthday over a week ago.  Cutting to the chase, these folks will never get my business again .

If you are visiting Nashville and go to the Grande Ole Opry or Opry Mills Mall, don't believe the hype.  It is family style eating so it seemed like a real good pick for a group dinner and some of their PR on their website makes it sound inviting. 

You would think, but you would be WRONG. When I called to confirm it the day before the party, the hostess was not friendly. Customer Service: 1 out of 10.  She lays it on me that they will not seat anyone till everyone is there. Keep in mind, we are talking 20 people coming from all different parts of town and on a Friday night!  All of which they knew, as I told them when I placed the reservation to be certain it was not an issue! She then tells me that if everyone is not there for ANY REASON at all (God forbid someone would have an accident) the reservation will be canceled. I wanted to ask her, WTH, is this a doctor’s office?  At that point, she said we would be treated, I quote her “as walk-ins and seated accordingly.” She went on to tell me, incase I was a moron, that means they would have the right to seat us where ever they wanted, whichever tables needed filling or some nonsense like that.  Hence, we would not be put near each other at all.  

She elaborates more, if they seat only part of us in the group, they will be using up table space they could be using for others. Excuse me, I thought I was bringing you business and that kinda entails tables would be used when you took the reservation! Maybe it would have been a good proactive idea to tell me sooner than one day in advance of the reservation, like when I placed it!

 Okay, if you are giving them a free pass still, hold on to your hat.  Next, I am told they cannot accommodate the group. Yup, their tables will not hold groups that large.  When I asked if they could be moved together, she said "absolutely not! The tables are bolted to the floor so can’t be moved' like if I wasn't a moron I would know that. I reminded her I have never been there before! How would I know that?  Here is my confirmation I was finally sent today and note, it DOES INCLUDE the number and clearly states Table for 16. If you can't seat it, novel idea, don't take the reservation or tell the person when they place it!

 Okay, I asked then, can our group have tables by or relatively close to each other. You guessed it, she said NO!  "Once we seat a table we will seat the next table where we want it filled and chances are your tables may not even be in the same vicinity".  So accommodating huh? At this point, I wanted to take a stab at Ms. Nasty so I asked her if they could sing Happy Birthday to my husband. Her response, said with a PMS attitude, “NO!  We don’t do that here.”  I followed with "Do you do anything for birthdays at your restaurant?  She told me they can give him a Paula Deen picture with her signature on it.  Oh boy, how much will that go for on Ebay?   

Let folks know this is not what southern hospitality means. In the south, we all pride ourselves on excellent service.  Exactly what I got from a competitor of theirs in the area.  It is treating people with kindness, accommodating and thankful for the business.   Anything I thanked her for was met with “This is what we are here for, our customers!”

Paula may be a great cook but she needs to be on the TV show Undercover Boss so she can hear what is being said at an establishment that bears her name!   It is anything but the description below 👇