Easter at Woodlands
 

This is my first bad experience at Woodlands and I was away on vacation the day after Easter, but wanted to make sure Eric and his staff knew about our experience.

My husband and I have gone in for dinner several times and have always had good service at the bar and good food. However, Easter was different. We could tell that our server was new, because my water glass was never re-filled and I was DYING of thirst after we left. She also was very quiet and didn't know about questions such as wine and forgot to ask how people wanted their steaks done. I get that she is new, but maybe with a large group another person should have been helping her.

The group of us ordered off the special Easter menu and my husband ordered the Tavern Chowder for his appetizer course. What came out, we were later told, was a white fish in a beef broth with lentils. I'm not a chowder person and while I did taste it and it wasn't bad, that is NOT a chowder. My husband wouldn't even taste it, cause he hates lentils, and was pretty disappointed. Who has ever heard of a chowder in a beef broth?

Then out came the main course. A majority of our group ordered the steak with the gravy on it, my husband ordered the gravy on the side and I had the chicken. All the steaks and my chicken were COVERED in gravy and it totally took away from the favor of the meat. I tried my husbands plain steak and said "wow, why would you cover this perfect piece of meat in that terrible gravy?!"

Overall, wasn't too impressed, but dessert and drinks were good. As I said previously, this was our first bad experience, but am sorry to say, most likely won't dine as a group to Woodlands for a while.

I sure hope you told all this info before leaving there and not just via this thread. Personal contact with owner/manager is the proper way to do even if the place is busy. All this info could have been told to them as it happened even. I have eaten there many times as it is my families favorite place to go when they visit.:)

Actually, I'm not sure where the server went after dessert, as someone else re-took our dessert order and then my husband and I both left before the rest of the group and wasn't able to find anyone, like a manager, on the way out to let them know. I enjoy the restaurant, I'm just disappointed in this experience :(

Staff should never be trained at the expense of the customer.

I think it's a little harsh to call your server out by name in a public forum, particularly a new server. It doesn't feel very supportive. :( Since neither she nor the manager on duty were named specifically in the complaint, it seems you could have handled your concerns with them privately, while still offering your public acknowledgement of the issues. Personally, I feel that I can tell a lot about an establishment by how they treat their employees.

response to blacksheep
 

Our employees are treated very well. We value them all.

I was just trying to convey that whenever there is a problem with a service that anyone is provided that you should talk to a manager before you leave the establishment and allow them the chance to fix the problem.

That is why people should talk face to face in the first place.

Call a lawyer
 

If I was that young server right now I would be calling a lawyer .

Call a Lawyer?
 

What would be the reason? What has happened to accountability? Also, the employer only used a first name and no last name?

That is todays menatlity, I do not like something call a lawyer, see if I can pry some unearned funds from a hard working business. Unbeleivable!!

Call a lawyer??? Oh for crying out loud it was one meal at a restaurant. Everybody step away and take a breath. That's what's wrong with everybody today...Just call a lawyer and all will be good...

Calling a lawyer is a ridiculous and frivolous suggestion. The first poster should have addressed their issues directly with management whether that day in person or with a phone call or email. If given the opportunity to right the situation, I would think management would have been happy to turn your experience around. Seems a bit unfair to call them out publicly without first seeking other alternatives.

That said, I believe Woodlands management had no business publicly embarrassing their employee by calling her out by name. If you think she needs more training, then pull her aside PRIVATELY and let her know. You don't throw her under the bus on the internet. Shouldn't management's role be to lead by example, teach and promote respect for both staff and customers alike?

Yup, training a server does take some time, and it is always at the expense of the customer. How else can they get trained. I'm certain that they would have loved to have a full staff of fully trained professional waitstaff, but on a busy holiday, when staffing is tight at best, something's gonna give sometimes. I'm sure they did their best and expressed aplology for your experience.
Maybe the name of the server shouldn't have been mentioned, but the suggestion that she call a lawyer is over the top for sure.
We have not yet been to Woodland's but we have heard really good things about it. It is on our bucket list for this season.
We will be sure to ask for Karissa when we go,

How are you supposed to finish training? At some point a new server, needs to be left alone with his or her tables.

That's true but maybe in this case she wasn't ready to be left alone.

She evidently missed the section of training about what a "Table Sweep" performs.

One of the most common tasks is known as "table sweep", and involves visiting every occupied table in an assigned section to replenish beverages, answer questions, and ensure that all is going well in terms of customer comfort. During a table sweep, customers may also have specific needs, such as a change in their order or provisions for additional guests.

Also a well trained server will answer questions about items on the menu, including how certain foods are prepared — as such, it is important that she is familiar with all menu items, including common allergens and specific ingredients.

Well, I would guess that like with most jobs, you get trained with a partner for a while and at some point you go solo. Going solo doesn't mean you are expert, just that you can usually get by on your own. I can't think of a job I ever had where I was assisted until I was expert. I made mistakes, fixed them, and learned a bit more.

As for doing table sweeps, my guess is that is done when you have gotten all your customers settled, orders taken, and all ready food to tables. In other words, when you have gotten other things under control. When you are learning, often it takes a while before things feel under control and you may be backtracking and taking more time than you should. That's a normal learning process. Table sweeps might be only occasional at first.

Some places only want experienced servers to minimize the impact on customers. Hiring inexperienced people keeps costs down and gives new people a job opportunity. Almost guaranteed that there will be some slip ups. I have had waiters explain that they were new at the job and asked for me to point out any opportunity for them to do a good job so I am more proactive with them.

I will agree that upper management should be a little more present when new people are on the job. They should be doing table sweeps themselves to see how the new people are doing AND to help the new people feel less crunched.

One thing I really appreciate with a new server...
 

...is when the server comes to our table the first time, tell me your first name, and tell me that you are new and still learning. The server gets a whole bunch of latitude with me when they let me know they are new.

I also agree that management can certainly provide a little more presence by stopping by their tables and checking to make sure that all is going well. The manager can easily shortstop a problem, turning a negative into a positive quickly.

Woodlands
 

I agree with u-saukee about giving a new server some slack - good idea.

My wife and I had a late lunch there today on our way home from Gilford and the experience was just great. Granted, this was a 'late' lunch, so we were after the lunch crowd and before the evening crowd, the only patrons on board, but, we got great service, and food was delicious. I am pretty timid with choices, but Baked French Onion Soup goes a long way with me, and this was very good, and the Woodlands Burger was delicious. My wife thoroughly enjoyed her house salad and chicken sandwich. Dessert was extremely tastey (who needs it!).

We will certainly be return customers.

Some of you guys are pretty ruthless. God forbid someone tries to defend their business, they totally get lambasted and skinned alive.

My wife and I went there last Friday and had an excellent dinner and dessert--I highly recommend the shrimp po boy sandwich on the croissant. Service was fantastic and quality was what I've come to expect from there after going a few times.

Tavern Grub
 

We stopped by about 5 pm yesterday, sat at the bar, and sampled the craft beer and tavern grub.

Very good selection of craft beer/ale.

http://www.woodlandstavernnh.com/tavern_snacks

I had the grilled chicken ciabatta with house salad and Ms slickcraft had the steak and mushroom pie with side of mixed veg. both very good; prices very reasonable.

Goodness gracious me . . .
 

I have been searching for info on this restaurant and all I see is drama. I've been feeling adventurous and have a feeling I won't be venturing here which is unfortunate. The local Gilford circle of restaurants are good, but it gets old after eating at the same establishments for years. Maybe when the tourists go home I'll venture over. I do miss "The Tell".

On a side note, tried East of Suez last week. Fabulous!

Easter at Woodlands
 

To you, misha888, I say, eat where you want, make up your own mind, and don't let the personalities of this site sway your choice. You can tell almost the minute you enter any restaurant if you want to stay or not. Go for it.

True . . .
 

Thank you.

Another fine meal under my belt
 

Two friends from Ohio who were staying at New Found Lake came over for a visit last Wednesday. I took them out for dinner at the WT. By a remarkable coincidence, it turned out that they had stopped there some months ago on the way through. [We dined at their "regular" table.]

Our dinners were excellent (french onion soup, shepherd's pie, apple crisp) and the service was excellent. [I never had to ask or wait for my water glass to be refilled; a small point, but an important one.]

The William Tell was my favorite restaurant of all time and the Tavern has not replaced it... HOWEVER, I have eaten a number of times at the Woodland Tavern and I and my friends like it very much. We will return for future gastronomic adventures and would recommend that you give it a try.

I had dinner with family at WT a couple weeks ago, and while my meal was OK, it was not at all memorable.

The only thing memorable was the high cost of the tab: not a good value.

I suspect they are a bit adrift, looking to fashion their own identity.

The William Tell was a tough act to follow.

Their sophomore year was a bit of a flop for them; hopefully they'll come up with something new to keep the doors open for many years.

Ellacoya is thriving; WT could, too.

Best of luck, and hey, think outside the box.