Anyway, we had a miserable dinner in Tampa at Shula's. Between the poor service and the food quality making me cringe it just was not what anyone expected. I did writer a length letter which is below in italics and they did appropriatley respond with gift cards to a few members of the group. (I don't know if it was ever about what was free but I really did not feel the sincerity in the apology.) Just my feelings.......
Good Afternoon:
Last Saturday I organized a ‘Boys Weekend’ for 10 of my buddies to come out to Tampa and have some fun. A yearly tradition that changes theme every year but one main component stays the same. A ‘Steakhouse’! This year based off of some feedback from some colleagues I was told that Shula’s was a great choice for the event. (Last year we went to Council Oak at the Hard Rock)
Needless to say I am writing today because on how disappointed I was in the service we were provided. We called four hours before our reservation to inform that we would be added two more seats to the reservation. The hostess took it down and stated it would not be a problem. We arrived promptly at 8PM and were seated immediately. (2 members of our party were 15 minutes behind.) We noticed that only 9 seats were at the table. We asked 4 times for an additional seat. 20 minutes later the remaining two members arrived and one of them did not have a seat. We asked again the assistant waiter and he said they would get one out. I stated “its been 20 minutes”. He then acted quickly and pulled a chair around.
Problem-- Drink orders we placed and we waited an unusual amount of time for them to be delivered. Water was replenished frequently but drinks were not. Look at our bill and you will see we probably would of spent more money at you bar if your orders would have been replenished or taken. I finished my red bull vodka and never was asked for replenishment. On top of that two members of our table ordered a glass of wine that was never delivered.
Problem-- Salads were ordered an a member of our party ordered a special salad. He had a salad delivered that was similar to the house salad. He asked if a mistake was made and the assistant waiter said no. When reviewing the bill a mistake was made as it stated it was a house salad
Problem -- Overall service was SLOW! Our waiters seemed confused when delivering the food and when we requested the obvious: Particularly condiments for a baked potato (butter, sour cream, etc.) (Anticipating needs of a customer can be difficult but when you order a baked potatoes and ask for butter and sour cream and nothing comes out? Come on! Or broccoli with the sauce…..)
Problem -- I talk a lot about the assistant waiter…That’s because we never saw the head waiter. When we did he either walked away as we tried to speak to him or seemed overwhelmed.
Problem -- Apparently your POS system does not allow check to be split. It was frustrating as we asked for it to be set this way when we were seated and weren’t told until our bill was delivered that its not possible. They were able to divide the bill by ten instead of individual checks.
Problem -- After 15 minutes waiting for our credit cards / change back the waiter came bye and did not have enough change. He pulled out his wallet and exchanged change with members of the party.
Problem -- My party of ten were split of some sorts here. I was not a fan of the quality or preparation of the food. I had a 24 oz. porterhouse, not only my order of medium/rare seemed to be missed but the flavor of the meet seemed to disappear. When asked by the head waiter if it was cooked correctly I did not speak up but then again he was gone before I could answer.
Overall , I know you can see my disappointment and that I took the time to let you know. The slow service, disappointing response time, and the inability to grant a consumer request are all major deterrents from recommending or dining at Shula’s again. All ten of us are in the hospitality industry or connected to a serviceable industry in Orlando which I typically don’t discuss as it can sway reactions. I have to state this was one of the worst dinners I have had.
