Shockingly Poor Service - Saratoga Spur

To Whom It May Concern,

On Saturday, the 6th of June, my family and I expected to have an enjoyable family experience at your Saratoga branch in Burgundy Square. Regrettably, not only was this the worst experience that we have had at a Spur, but it was the worst experience of any restaurant that we have had, ever.

Both the waitress and the shift manager (Mikhail) exhibited inexcusable behaviour and I am saddened by the employment and association that Spur now has with such contemptible individuals.

My wife and I arrived shortly after 20h00, informing Mikhail, the shift manager, that we require a table for 4 as our guests would be joining us shortly. We decided to order drinks while we waited, only to find the waitress insistent that we order our meals. As our guests were yet to arrive, we declined and she became visibly annoyed at our request to wait for the rest of our party. This is where the evening started to sour.

Our guests arrived around 20h30 and the poor attitude of the staff continued as the waitress rolled her eyes at us when we informed her that we would be ordering starters to precede our main meal. At this point, my wife was suspicious of their behaviour and decided to enquire about the closing time. It was only then, after our orders were placed, that we were told that they closed at 21h00, a matter of minutes away. As this is an exceptionally early closing time for a Spur branch, on a Saturday, we had not considered it at all as a relevant factor.

Why did none of the staff members inform us when arrived at 20h00 that the branch would be closing within the hour? They didn't even inform our guests when they arrived after 20h30. We only discovered the closing time because WE asked and we only asked because the staff made us feel uncomfortable. Had we known the closing time, we could have managed our expectations better by either having a quick meal or simply going to another branch.

As our meals were already being prepared, we felt it was too late to leave and decided to continue our evening. When the main meal arrived, it became apparent once asked about missing sauces, that the waitress did not only forget to bring part of the order but had not placed it at all. We overheard her shouting at the kitchen staff about it. We were then further disappointed to find out that the ice cream machine had been switched off, so there was no chance of enjoying a Don Pedro desert to bring some joy to a miserable mealtime.

It was, however, fascinating to see how her mood shifted from disdain to smiles and apologies once the bill was requested. What an interesting coincidence. We complained about the poor service, yet she continued to smile psychotically while showing no empathy for the situation. We then tried to raise the issues to Mikhail, the shift manager, but he was unable to hear our complaints due to the wireless earphones he wore while we spoke to him. We were not aware that earphones were a part of the new Spur dress code. He did not attempt to resolve any of the issues raised and just simply uncaringly apologised while ushering us out the door.

Pathetic service.

The evening was a total embarrassment for my wife and I. The quality of the service at Saratoga Spur was so bad that having a sit-down meal at Burger King would be considered fine dining.

We love Spur. It was a place that we knew could always provide an enjoyable evening with our friends and family. This is no longer the case. We will not support this branch again and have advised those we know to avoid it at all costs. As our attempts to resolve the matter at the branch were met with nothing but apathy, we now resort to publicly warning others about the poor service that they can expect from Saratoga Spur.

Yours regrettably, Richard H.