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Oct. 16th, 2009

Monkey

California Pizza Kitchen: Unsatisfying at Any Speed

Let me tell you about my most recent trip to a CPK restaurant. Specifically, the CPK in Deer Park, Illinois.

My wife and I arrived around 8PM. My wife reached the hostess first, and received a rather unexpected reaction. The hostess looked up, made eye contact with her - and then resumed some form of animated conversation with her co-workers. It was only when my wife cleared her throat and resorted to -glaring- at the hostess that she broke off her conversation. It was no more than a momentary annoyance, to be sure. But this was an omen of things to come.

We were seated in ten minutes - a usual and expected delay for that time of night on a Friday. The server asked for our beverage orders - I ordered an iced tea, and my wife ordered a water with lemon. But we were then asked specifically if we wanted a spirit, to which we indicated we did not. I can understand some zeal in regard to selling these high-margin items - but in this day and age, is *pushing* alcohol consumption really appropriate? He returned with our drinks, and there was no lemon with the water. The iced tea had a lemon (part of the standard iced tea kit, apparently, as I also received a small rack of sugar packets). I simply gave her my lemon wedge, and we accepted the error. But this was an omen of things to come.

For our entree, I ordered the new Meat Cravers pizza, and my wife ordered "the garlic cream fettuccine with chicken". There was some crowd noise, and the server asked her to repeat herself. She replied, "Chicken with fettuccine." The server acknowledged this, and took our menus. Seeing that he was about to leave, I was forced to ask, "Is there still complimentary bread?" The server said there was and that he would bring us some. I was disappointed that I would not otherwise have received this relatively inexpensive and standard pre-meal item. Sure, times are tough - but that's exactly when service and courtesies like this are needed to retain the loyalty of customers. He brought the bread and we talked while our food was prepared. Another server brought our dinner - and my Meat Cravers pizza was indeed quite appetizing. However, he brought my wife a bowl of plain fettuccine with dry chicken slices on it. Something few people would order, and fewer would find actually appetizing.

So this concept, this idea that my wife wanted dry chicken and noodles, had spawned itself when the server took her order of chicken and cream sauce on fettuccine, or had introduced itself as a miscommunication between server and cook or second server and cook. Here is the bare pasta she received:



I don't say that NO ONE would order this, as it is a low-fat meal. But I would certainly think that if the server is going to push alcoholic beverages on people, there is a general lack of concern for "healthful eating" that would provoke the question of why the cream sauce was being withheld. I am surprised that all three employees failed this simple sight test and presented the plate to my wife without question or comment. She was not even asked if she'd ordered the chicken *tequila* fettuccine - the only other item on the menu with both chicken and fettuccine in it.

Needless to say, my wife called the server over after determining that there was no garlic cream sauce underneath the pasta, and told the server this was not what she ordered. The server apologized, and said he would bring us the cream sauce. He left the pasta dish on the table, and returned after about ten minutes' delay - while other customers in the restaurant received their meals. Sure, there were many customers in the restaurant - but to ask someone who has received poor service to sit and wait while she watches others being served is needlessly provocative and inflammatory.

The server brought us a ramekin on a saucer. Here it is:



The ramekin plainly contained garlic butter. No cream, no flour, no *ANYTHING* other than garlic butter.

This was INSULTING. The menu item is fettuccine in a white garlic CREAM sauce with chicken - plainly a variety of fettuccine alfredo. It is about as simple a sauce as can be imagined, and has a wide variety of applications. There is no reason why there should not be sufficient quantity of the sauce on-hand in the restaurant to provide for all dishes requested - and CERTAINLY no reason why more cannot be prepared on a contingency basis for problems such as this.

At this point, my wife was understandably upset by the whole affair. She called the server over and told him that she was no longer even interested in the suspect dish - and with her last vestiges of goodwill for the restaurant, ordered a pizza. The server told her he would see that the pizza was prepared as soon as possible, but then LEFT the offending pasta bowl on the table - apparently at this point too concerned with rushing to attend other customers to consider the consequences of leaving the evidence of poor service right on the table.

And this proved the fatal error. After a few minutes of staring at this glaring reminder of the staff's carelessness - and discussing with me that the garlic butter was *ridiculous* as an idea given what had been explained regarding the serving of the bare and dry chicken, my wife became alienated at the whole process. She could not rid herself of the idea that either the staff was so careless that the replacement pizza would also have problems, or that the double-complaint would mark her out as "a whiner" and that angry waitstaff might tamper with the food. I tried to reassure her that this was a somewhat unreasonable concern - but I kept coming back to being offered the garlic butter as cream sauce. We're not stupid.

So the kitchen manager came out to our table, and my wife asked for boxes for our pizzas. It was obvious she hadn't been able to bring herself to touch the pizza she'd been served. The kitchen manager mentioned that the restaurant manager was on medical leave, and offered his apologies and gave us a free piece of cheesecake. But he compounded our agitation by attempting to offer -excuses- for the evening's disappointments. Miscommunication among the staff, new people handling key positions, and the Friday night rush. These excuses made him appear defensive and even arrogant. The fact that the staff saw my wife couldn't even eat the pizza should have suggested the situation had moved beyond simple annoyance. A simple "I'm sorry this experience was so upsetting to you - let me cover your entree, so that you know we are sorry your meal here was unsatisfactory." would have been appropriate and appreciated. But no, he comes over and gives us a bill with both pizzas charged at full. To charge for a pizza that the staff KNOWS has been looked upon with so much suspicion as to be inedible is plainly inattentive.

I suggested, and my wife agreed, that we tip $0.02 as an unmistakable signal of our dissatisfaction. At this point, we may be willing to give the Schaumburg CPK a chance - but the unreduced bill was the final straw for our willingness to revisit the Deer Park location.

I do not wish anyone to lose their jobs over this incident. I suggest this situation can be prevented in future with a few simple steps:

1) Hire more people to cover dinner rush. One reason the staff were so distracted and inattentive was that they were darting from table to table. Less tables per server means better service, better tips and more repeat business.

2) Extend the training period for new hires. The art of meal service is NOT one that can be covered in a seminar. If the server had been more aware of both the restaurant's dishes AND the likelihood that someone coming to a CPK would order dry chicken on noodles, this whole situation could have been avoided. Invest in your staff, and it will be returned in customer satisfaction.

3) Ensure enough management personnel are on staff so that each area is properly and independently covered. The fact that the kitchen manager has to act as restaurant manager diminishes both areas. If a defensive coach has to coach offensive teams, you get poor offense AND poor defense. There is no difference here.

4) Widen the scale of the restaurant open spaces. This would help in reducing cross-traffic between servers and customers, which is a partial cause of server tension and server distraction - and therefore, server error.

If I have reason to believe that the situation at Deer Park has improved, I may visit the restaurant again - and if I find the service to be relaxed and attentive, I will certainly report so here, and make some attempt to convince my wife that the restaurant has seen the error of its ways. But right now, I cannot recommend the Deer Park restaurant to anyone reading these words. You, my friends, have been warned.

Jun. 13th, 2009

Monkey

Tech Support Request

All PC Wonks Invited )

May. 28th, 2009

Mii

JeffCon 2009: Eight Days Remaining

Just an informational post for those not on Facebook:

Rules and Schedule )
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May. 18th, 2009

Mii

JeffCon 2009: Approaching Outer Marker

Snipped from my post to the Facebook page:

I can finally announce a long-awaited feature - prizes! Each day, there will be a Go Jeff GoH (Guest of Honor) event. For each event, there will be a prize T-Shirt naming the wearer as one of the generic types of gamer. I'm only spoiling the back of the shirt now - which is up in the pictures. Check it out!

Go Jeff GoH Video Game Friday: Super Smash Brothers Brawl tournament (basically unlimited)
Go Jeff GoH Board Game Saturday: Android (five players, Jeff running the game)
Go Jeff GoH Role-Playing Sunday: Jeff Runs Paranoia (for six players)
(or, in contingency, Jeff runs emergency Amber)

In addition, let's remind people of the Saturday breakfast at Walker's - which I think will be meeting at the Lake Zurich Walker's at 9AM. We *might* try for a second breakfast at Sweet Tomatoes Schaumburg, depending on mood and availability.
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May. 4th, 2009

GeekHeaven

Day 5: And Then, It's All Over

Show's over, folks. )
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May. 1st, 2009

GeekHeaven

Day 4: You Know, Maybe It Isn't Dead

It Must Be Hell When You Have To Wait TWO Days To Pay For Your Prius )

Last entry will be short - spending Friday just flying home. Thanks for keeping an ear out for what I've wanted to share with you.
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Apr. 30th, 2009

GeekHeaven

Day 3: The Soft Spray of the Sea

I'm on a BOAT! )

I've had a few comments of envy on our vacation surroundings. I offer sincere regrets that our current surroundings are so dang cool. :D (They are rather weak regrets, but they're sincere.)
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Apr. 29th, 2009

GeekHeaven

Day 2: Sometimes, Life's a Beach

Let's See If This Golf Cart Can Do Ninety! )

Oh, and the complimentary binoculars came in handy. Watched a boat go by. Wheee!
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Apr. 28th, 2009

GeekHeaven

Day 1-2: The Long Trail to Rest

Black Legless Lizards, huh? )

Greetings and friendly salutations from the West Coast - where people trust unquestioningly and the highway design seems to be more or less random.
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Apr. 26th, 2009

GeekHeaven

But I *didn't* start from there!

Been gone a while, no new news to report. But tonight, Myra and I prepare to board a plane early tomorrow for a trip to California! She's wanted a vacation for some time, and while my own life remains at a stress level low enough that no vacation is really required, I defer to her in this regard. So we're on a plane tomorrow from Midway, and I gots a new laptop to use to keep in touch while I'm there. And I'll *need* to keep in touch - more news on that tomorrow. I'll try to post here each day with the highlights (not many, as we're not going out much).

Oh, and I'm using Vista and it's okay.
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Apr. 9th, 2009

Mii

JeffCon 2009: June 5 - June 7, 2009

Happy Happy Joy Joy! )

I look forward to seeing any and all of you on my personal celebration of my life as a gamer.
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Mar. 13th, 2009

Mii

JeffCon 2009 - 1st Entry, Nearly-The-Last Entry

I will primarily be using Facebook to organize JeffCon this year. I will put at least one more entry here for planning for people who aren't on or willing to join Facebook - but the event scheduling tools there are stronger.

Poll #1365137 What weekend is best in life, Conan?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 5

Is there, from your schedule, a best weekend for JeffCon 09?

View Answers

May 22 to May 25 (Memorial Day Weekend)
0 (0.0%)

May 29 to May 31
0 (0.0%)

June 5 to June 7
3 (60.0%)

June 12 to June 14
0 (0.0%)

As long as we pick soon, any choice is good
2 (40.0%)

Bit too many games and/or gamers for me - sorry
0 (0.0%)

What weekends are off-limits to you now?

View Answers

May 22 to May 25 (Memorial Day Weekend)
1 (33.3%)

May 29 to May 31
2 (66.7%)

June 5 to June 7
0 (0.0%)

June 12 to June 14
2 (66.7%)

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Dec. 11th, 2008

Monkey

NOT Just a Christmas List

More just a "wanna have" list. But I've been asked, and it's useful for me to think about it.

Goody Goody Gumdrops )

I may ADD to this list, or tweak some of the non-video game specifics - but nothing's coming OFF the list unless the item is right in front of me.
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Nov. 5th, 2008

Monkey

You'all Enjoy Your Party...

But I just can't work up the energy. )
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Oct. 6th, 2008

Mii

Cake entry still pending, but...

Myra's going to St. Louis this weekend - so I'm free to frolic with the fisheses!

I am hereby planning a trip to Guvnor's in Crystal Lake on the afternoon of Saturday, October 11th, for their fish'n'chips. I would welcome any companions for an evening's meal and fine conversation. Carpooling encouraged, and I have space for three potential co-diners.

I'm thinking of a 4PM departure time, but would modulate based on the needs of others.

Any takers, leave word here please.
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Sep. 30th, 2008

Mii

Goin' to the Auction, and I'm Gonnnnna Get Monnnney

Here's what Jeff is selling at the auction. )
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Sep. 16th, 2008

Monkey

Deliciously Evil...

But once you see it, you can't just look away.
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Sep. 7th, 2008

GeekHeaven

The Igor Effect

And I'm gonna get it for PS3, but only because 360 Oblivion crashes on me )
Monkey

Launch Emergency Distress Beacon

Are you better-equipped for tech support than me? Let's find out. I've got two problems with Firefox that Internet Explorer solves. Don't know why, don't know how - and I'd RATHER not be using something as vulnerable as IE.

1) When I look at Myra's Myspace page (not anyone else's, and it doesn't matter if I'm logged in or not), it's like there's a glass wall between me and any links - nothing is active. I click ANYWHERE, and I'm launching that bogus crapware Antivirus XP popup window.

2) I can't look at Adobe Flash videos in Firefox any more. Have no idea what minor update did it, but suddenly comedycentral.com is telling me to download it. I download it, install it - and nothing happens. I download the UNINSTALLER, get rid of it, re-install it - and nothing happens. And it IS the Opera/Netscape version I'm downloading. When I download the IE version, IE auto-detects the download and handles it inside the freakin' BROWSER window. What's up with IE out-cooling FF?

I'll take questions here, so that more people get more information. Any clues, anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Aug. 25th, 2008

GeekHeaven

Too Damn Late: Midwest Edition, Episode 001

Mooing around Gamespot a bit, thought I'd put down what games I'm thinking about for the rest of the year:

Force Unleashed for 360
Force Unleashed for PS3
(haven't decided which system to get that one for)
Silent Hill 5: Homecoming for PS3
Motorstorm 2 for PS3
(renting this one - if it doesn't support two player split-screen, no way)
Monopoly for Wii
(definitely an addition to my board-game-on-TV collection)
Fable 2 for 360
(Pub Games rocks)
Fallout 3 for PS3
(Getting it on PS3 instead of 360 because my copy of Oblivion for 360 crashes the dang machine)
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