Wolfeboro Inn

[MaryS]

well after 16 seasonal years in the Lakes Region, we tried the Wolfeboro Inn....what a disappointment!!! This Wolfe's tavern had very tough prime rib, "white" iceberg lettuce at the salad bar, and loaves of bread at the salad bar where each customer cut/handled the whole loaf to cut it, just not sanitary, the salmon was cooked ok but bland, luke warm mashed potatoes....this was Tues night and it was very busy.....never had the waitress return to see how our food was, no water served, and a leaky toilet in the restroom....I always thought this was an upscale place....dont waste your money folks! Nothing compares to the Canoe or Cornerhouse, and WolfeTrap.
MaryS

[fpartri497]

I ate there two weeks with with wife and friends and we all had very good food and service.

[secondcurve]

Mary:

I'd agree that the food at the tavern is a cut below the rest of the restaurants you mentioned. However, I think you may have caught the restaurant on one of its off nights. The crowd may have had something to do with it. That being said, I have always thought that the Tavern's wait staff could benefit from a class on customer service. The positives of the restaurants are the atmosphere in the bar and the truly wonderful Sunday brunch.

[Waterbaby]

Originally Posted by MaryS

well after 16 seasonal years in the Lakes Region, we tried the Wolfeboro Inn....what a disappointment!!! This Wolfe's tavern had very tough prime rib, "white" iceberg lettuce at the salad bar, and loaves of bread at the salad bar where each customer cut/handled the whole loaf to cut it, just not sanitary, the salmon was cooked ok but bland, luke warm mashed potatoes....this was Tues night and it was very busy.....never had the waitress return to see how our food was, no water served, and a leaky toilet in the restroom....I always thought this was an upscale place....dont waste your money folks! Nothing compares to the Canoe or Cornerhouse, and WolfeTrap.
MaryS

Sorry to hear you had such an unpleasant experience at such a well-established place. You said it was very busy there, were they perhaps under-staffed? Did you ask for water? A lot of places - still - don't automatically pour water unless you do ask.... Did you attempt to find a person of authority to complain to? I'm assuming there was someone who brought the check to your table and there was someone who cashed you out, there should have been ample opportunity to make your dissatisfaction known.

Am I playing devil's advocate here? Yes. I feel if you are unhappy with service at any establishment, be it a restaurant or retail or other place of business, you let the management know. By the same token, if you are happy with the service you received, you do the same.

[secondcurve]

Waterbaby:

Any restaurant that operates under your rules will likely be out of business quickly. Most people won't speak up, they will just leave and not come back or perhaps worse, they will tell friends and/or post their displeasure on a board such as this.

[Waterbaby]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Waterbaby:

Any restaurant that operates under your rules will likely be out of business quickly. Most people won't speak up, they will just leave and not come back or perhaps worse, they will tell friends and/or post their displeasure on a board such as this.

Not quite sure I follow you, SC....... what rules? I don't believe I was stating any rules a restaurant should operate under; rather, I was saying I speak up if I'm dissatisfied with the service or quality of product. By the same token, I speak up if I'm happy with either. I realize most people won't speak up, but with both my husband and I having been in the hospitality industry in the past and with my currently being in the food service industry, comments of either nature are welcome. Thanks.

[Kylie]

I spent many years as an a owner/manager in a quality food establishment highly regarded by its patrons. I never thought it the responsibility of those dining in my establishment to tell me what might be off or going wrong. I think it's presumptious of a restaurant owner to expect patrons to do quality control. Diners are not there to be experimented upon. They're not paying to provide feedback on their experience. Patrons enter the establishment expecting quality food, service and overall guest experience. To Pepper specifically, I greatly respect what you have accomplished, but for the guest who is dining on an evening when you are too busy to monitor the dining room, should they bear the frustration and the cost of a poor experience? The restaurateur is at fault when a patron is charged for a dissapointing evening out. And, this is not about money, it's about unfulfilled expectations, peace of mind, relaxation, etc. The opportunity for a quality dining experience with family and friends is very special and too infrequent. Poor service and questionable food quality/presentation is not acceptable. A complimentary dessert doesn't fix the problem. The damage is done. Time is precious.

[WakeUp]

Kylie - you are 100% correct. Not only is it the burden of the operator, but the responsibility and job of the operator/manager/owner to insure the restaurant presents the best it possibly can every time it opens the doors. Each time a owner/manager/employee cashes their check, they are assuming that responsibility. However, I've been an owner in the business long enough to know that things will happen. I've always had the attitude that if something was to go wrong, I would do whatever it took so that the people would feel guilty down-talking the restaurants. That's because they would remember someone who went 100% out of their way to remedy the situation.

[chipj29]

Wow, I couldn't disagree more with Kylie and Wakeup. If you read the other thread, you will see that Pepper and I agree on this. First let me state that I am a former (reformed?) manager of a large restaurant chain. Our philosophy was to make every guest happy the first time, and if that was not possible, to do what it took to make the guest leave happy...the first time. In the case stated above, that was not possible. Why? Because it was not known that that guest was not happy. Of course the server should have asked, or known. In the absence of that, the restaurant has almost no way of knowing. The guest could have said something, which hopefully the restaurant would have done something to turn things around. If the guest had left with that done, then this thread may not even exist. The original poster (MaryS) would have said, hey we went to the Wolfeboro Inn, and honestly we didn't enjoy the experience. However, when we said something to the manager, he/she did what it took to make it right. We left happy. The manager took a bad experience and turned it into a good experience. Without the opportunity to make things better, we have a guest leaving saying they will never be back. Poof...there goes that guest, and they don't grow on trees.

On behalf of restaurant owners and managers everywhere, if you have a bad, or even a good experience, please make it known to the manager or staff. It can only help them get better, and gives them a chance to make you...the guest...happy.

[Pepper]

Originally Posted by Kylie

... To Pepper specifically, I greatly respect what you have accomplished, but for the guest who is dining on an evening when you are too busy to monitor the dining room, should they bear the frustration and the cost of a poor experience? The restaurateur is at fault when a patron is charged for a dissapointing evening out. And, this is not about money, it's about unfulfilled expectations, peace of mind, relaxation, etc. The opportunity for a quality dining experience with family and friends is very special and too infrequent. Poor service and questionable food quality/presentation is not acceptable. A complimentary dessert doesn't fix the problem. The damage is done. Time is precious.

Kylie - in a restaurant where servers take the orders, serve all beverages, and serve each course, there are multiple opportunities to monitor the quality, presentation, and portioning of the meals as well as the satisfaction of the customer.

In a place like mine, where the customer orders at the counter, there is no one person who is constantly in contact with any given table. It is precisely for this reason that I routinely monitor.

Obviously your comments are in response to my recent post in another thread - and I strongly suspect you misunderstood my post completely. The point I was making is that if something is wrong, and someone is stopping by to see how you are enjoying your meal, TELL! If I don't get to the table fast enough, flag me down! No consumer should ever keep their mouth shut about a problem with any product, be it a meal, a retail item, or otherwise.

[SIKSUKR]

Pepper,your so right that I'm telling you now my cheesesteak was not up to par last time I was in.I will be in for a freebie next week!I love owners like you! Errr,you do know I'm kidding right?

[Lin]

Originally Posted by Pepper

Obviously your comments are in response to my recent post in another thread - and I strongly suspect you misunderstood my post completely. The point I was making is that if something is wrong, and someone is stopping by to see how you are enjoying your meal, TELL! If I don't get to the table fast enough, flag me down! No consumer should ever keep their mouth shut about a problem with any product, be it a meal, a retail item, or otherwise.

We had an experience last week at a local pub type resteraunt up the street from us (not a lakes region resteraunt). But with all these comments about service I thought I'd post this.

We were seated in an ell with four booths for large families off the main dining hall. Our family had ordered something different for each and with a variety of appetizers. The family seated across from us consisted of grandparents, parents and three older children. I have never heard so many complaints in a resteraunt as this family. They had at least two waiters/waitresses addressing their problems. The chef came out numerous times to please them. All resteraunt personnel were curteous and attempted to please them with other dishes and assistance to the family. After eating they rudley expressed their distain with the place, left no tips, left the place a mess including where we had to walk and they were given other meals and had some meals taken off their menu.

This left my husband and I discussing the fact that they probably do this at other resteraunts to get free or discounted meals. Our family, who eats at this established resteraunt many times, did not have a good time because of the idiots across from us. I thought the family was way out of order with the resteraunt personnel and management and causing an unenjoyable atmosphere for others around them.

[Frdxplorer]

The Wolfe Tavern is the Wolfe Tavern. That's the best way I know to describe it. There have certainly been times that I have left less than completely satisfied with the service. I would not suggest anyone go there when they are in a hurry, it is just plain slow. That said, the food has never been terrible I didn't think. It's not the Woodshed or even the Wolfetrap for that matter, but I've always thought it could be worse. Its sort of just one of those places that is there and sort of an old standby. Wouldn't suggest it for a dining experience.

[Waterbaby]

[QUOTE=chipj29]Wow, I couldn't disagree more with Kylie and Wakeup. If you read the other thread, you will see that Pepper and I agree on this. First let me state that I am a former (reformed?) manager of a large restaurant chain. Our philosophy was to make every guest happy the first time, and if that was not possible, to do what it took to make the guest leave happy...the first time. In the case stated above, that was not possible. Why? Because it was not known that that guest was not happy. Of course the server should have asked, or known. In the absence of that, the restaurant has almost no way of knowing. The guest could have said something, which hopefully the restaurant would have done something to turn things around. If the guest had left with that done, then this thread may not even exist. The original poster (MaryS) would have said, hey we went to the Wolfeboro Inn, and honestly we didn't enjoy the experience. However, when we said something to the manager, he/she did what it took to make it right. We left happy. The manager took a bad experience and turned it into a good experience. Without the opportunity to make things better, we have a guest leaving saying they will never be back. Poof...there goes that guest, and they don't grow on trees.

On behalf of restaurant owners and managers everywhere, if you have a bad, or even a good experience, please make it known to the manager or staff. It can only help them get better, and gives them a chance to make you...the guest...happy.[/QUOTE]

.......because you said what I was trying to say!

[Waterbaby]

[QUOTE=Pepper]Kylie - in a restaurant where servers take the orders, serve all beverages, and serve each course, there are multiple opportunities to monitor the quality, presentation, and portioning of the meals as well as the satisfaction of the customer.

In a place like mine, where the customer orders at the counter, there is no one person who is constantly in contact with any given table. It is precisely for this reason that I routinely monitor.

Obviously your comments are in response to my recent post in another thread - and I strongly suspect you misunderstood my post completely. The point I was making is that if something is wrong, and someone is stopping by to see how you are enjoying your meal, TELL! If I don't get to the table fast enough, flag me down! No consumer should ever keep their mouth shut about a problem with any product, be it a meal, a retail item, or otherwise.[/QUOTE]

[Nadia]

This left my husband and I discussing the fact that they probably do this at other restaurants to get free or discounted meals.

Lin, you and your husband couldn't be more correct. It's not just those people that do it. I've been in this business since I was a youngin, some of the things I've seen and dealt with are amazing. But the wonderful people are worth it all.

As far as the rest of the conversation, personally I think, if there is something wrong with your meal or service, you should let a manager or owner know immediately. Give them a chance to make it right.

[Senter Cove Guy]

We ate out last Sunday for our daughter's birthday. One member in our group had a less than satisfactory dining experience - her steak was way undercooked. She was reluctant to send her steak back for fear that the "unspeakable" would happen to it before being returned. She did complain but opted for a full refund. Needless to say, she won't be returning to that restaurant. The motto is, get it right the first time and every time thereafter.

[Rose]

Originally Posted by Nadia

As far as the rest of the conversation, personally I think, if there is something wrong with your meal or service, you should let a manager or owner know immediately. Give them a chance to make it right.

Nadia,

What should a customer do if their meal is being ruined by a disruptive table. I was at a nearly empty restaurant (it was Super Bowl Sunday and the Pats were playing...figured it was a perfect time for a non-football fan to celebrate finishing her MS degree at a normally "3-hour wait" restaurant). The only other party there consisted of 4 adults and 2 children, who were allowed by the adults to have the run of the restaurant. One of the girls was named "Artemis" which I know because I must have heard her name 1000 times..."Artemis, stop...Artemis, come here...Artemis, sit down." Should I have complained to my server or the manager about this other table, especially since this was a higher-end establishment?

Thanks for any advice,
Rose

[Nadia]

Senter Cove Guy...obviously you have never worked in or owned a restaurant, and from the looks of your post, maybe never even cooked a steak. Steak is one of the most difficult things to serve in a resteraunt and probably causes the biggest commotion in any establishment nowadays. Furthermore, a lot of people have a different idea of what each temperature should be like, and most of the time, the customer is right, and the resteraunt is wrong. Most places may undercook the meat a bit so that if the customer is not satisfied, they can send it back and have it cooked a bit more, rather than having to throw the entire steak away, and start off new, with the customer waiting.

It's hard to get it right the first time and everytime when everyone has different expectations. Most resteraunts around here do their best.

If your daughter or anyone you dine with is afraid to send something back due to fear of what may be done to it, than she has to accept it the way it is, and probably should reconsider whether or not to eat out anymore. Cause I'll tell you one thing, no matter how hard the owners or management try, it's never 100% all day, every day.

A lot of the resteraunts in the Lakes Region are "owner occupied". I highly doubt anything would be done to meals sent back for correction in these establishments. What she fears is not unheard of, but I certainly don't think she should assume it will happen everywhere. Most likely you will irritate the chef, but the chef will get over it. You may hear a few objections and pans slamming around, but that's about it.

Owners and managers need the customers feedback and comments.

[Coolbreeze]

Owners and operators should always "stealth their operations" sometimes it is by pulling a group of customers aside and tell them they are the test table for the night, maybe comp them some wine for the honesty and work. The lessons learned may be worth the bottle.

[Nadia]

Rose,
I can completely comprehend your feelings during this situation. I don't want to say I don't like kids, that's not true. More so I'm not used to kids. I don't have any children yet and I was raised an only child. My tolerance for children tends to be a bit lower. Although I run into just as many wonderful, well behaved children. The problem with situations like this is, it's certainly not your fault, it's not the resteraunts fault, and it's not the kids fault either. It's the parents fault.

When I visit a high end establishment I ask the hostess to be seated away from children and babies, most of the time I opt for the lounge or bar area. I'll take a smoke filled lounge over a screaming kid any day, but that's just me.

If I were you I would have let the server know I was unhappy with the disruption, and asked to be moved. It wouldn't hurt to tell the manager either in a polite way. The only problem is, like I said, it's really the fault of the parents. The best way I think, is to make a suggestion to the actual owner or manager to implement a policy like Nadia's and Canoe both have in regards to young children in certain areas of the resteraunt. I believe Canoe has a certain dining room that is 13+. One half of our establishment is "adults only", including the bar area as well. Let the owner know this is something you'd like to see in the future. I know there are people who strongly disagree with me, but in a higher end establishment where guests are spending considerable amounts of time and money, they should be able to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing meal.

Generally most places are big enough that they should have ample space to put between you and the disruptive table. If not then I think it's definately the responsibility of the owner or manager to ask the adults to keep the children seated and as quiet as possible. Other than that, like I said, it's really the parents fault. I was never allowed to run around any resteraunt. The things I see people doing even in my own dining room blows my mind. There are times when we've had to step in and ask parents and/or children to please keep their children seated, to not draw on the specials board, to not pull the curtains down, and even once, to stop spitting spit balls. In all honesty I watched a woman sit there and watch her two sons spit spitballs back and forth at eachother until a staff member asked them to please refrain from doing so. Absolutely disgusting. If I ever spit a spitball at my parents table...

On the same token I think sometimes it's unfair for parents to bring young children in higher end establishments and expect them to sit still. Kids generally don't like the food, don't want to sit still, and get frustrated and cranky. Upsetting the experience for those at the table, and even those seated around them at times. I think it's totally unfair to the kids, not to mention having them wait for tables and food in busy resteraunts. Basically, I think the responsibility really rests with the parents. The only thing you can do is suggest to the owner what I mentioned above, and certainly voice your complaints for a case in point.

[Rose]

Thank you, Nadia, for your well-thought response. I'll try your advice the next time I'm in a high-end restaurant.

Rose

[luna]

My one major complaint about the Wolfe Tavern, which will make me never go back, was the cigarette smoke from the bar. The place is so small you can't even breathe. The food was fair.

[Zee]

I agree, the cigarette smoke in the front "no-smoking" section is too much. We usually request non-smoking in the room near the salad bar. It isn't affected by the smoke.

[The Big Kahuna]

I would like to add that when I go out to dinner, and have one bad experience, I will usually give the place we went to a second chance. If I have a second bad experience, they are off my list of places to go. So far I have been to just about every place mentioned on this Forum. I have had one bad experence at every place mentioned (except for Waldo's), but have gone back and had two or three great experiences. I look at going out to dinner like playing baseball, if I only have one bad experience out of 4, I am batting .750, and that is all star stuff. I figure when you go 0 for two or three, its time to call it quits on that place and know that you a least gave it a chance.

[MaidenCove07]

Well I've been up here all my life and am ashamed to say, I haven't been too adventurous with my dining selections....SO I made a pact to venture out some more this summer.
I started at the Wolfeboro Inn and am already thinking I should stay put.
I'd never been to the Inn and was dining alone this particular evening. I entered through the pub and was overwhelmed by the smoke (thanks goodness THAT won't be a problem anymore come September). I waited at the bar for a bit while the bartender chatted with 2 patrons then wandered through the place trying to find a hostess station as not a single staff member (waitress/bartender/etc.) asked to help me.
I was quickly seated in the Maple room after asking to sit in a non-smoking section. My waitress was friendly and attentive, but the food....YIKES. For the prices, I expected much better.
The foods at the salad bar must have been there all day with no attention as there was a dry crust on all of the salads, the cukes were dry, the bread was rock solid, and the dressings were all separated (like in the bottle when you need to shake it first). Even the cole slaw was tough and dry.
The menu offered a Sea Scallops, Haddock or Baby Shrimp plate and described the combo platter as some of each of these. I ordered the seafood combo plate without shrimp as I don't care for baby shrimp and the waitress said they would just give me more haddock and scallops. I took that to mean that my meal was supposed to consist then of Sea Scallops and Haddock. I was wrong. What I got was 6 bay scallops (one of them was almost as big as a quarter) and some fish flavored crunchy batter with a baked potato (which was good) and some sweet, but obviously all day soaked baby carrots. I was too hungry to send it back so I suffered through it, but for my money in this high end restaurant, I was terribly disappointed and won't return.

I'll keep you posted on my other dining excursions if I dare!!!