Dear Cheesecake Factory

This is a real letter describing a real dining experience at the Cheesecake Factory...

On January 1, 2006 at 6:45pm three of my friends and I chose to celebrate a friend’s birthday at The Cheesecake Factory located in OAKBROOK MALL. The food was delicious and always is when I eat there but the quality of service that we were given was the absolute worse I had ever received. In consequence, I feel that you should be aware of my experience so the necessary actions to prevent any possible reoccurrence of such an experience, to avoid any negative connotations towards your brand and to eliminate the poor quality of service at your OAKBROOK MALL location.

My fiancée and I were visiting the area and meet up with two of our friends from Indianapolis, IN. It was one of their birthdays and we specifically chose The Cheesecake Factory because of previous great experiences we had enjoyed in Florida and Las Vegas. We chose to sit at the bar to avoid the wait. We ordered an appetizer and our main dishes. Specifically, there was an order placed for the catch of the day, salmon. When the food arrived at our table, mahi mahi was brought out in place of the salmon; our server, who I believe was Constantine, noticed the mistake before we could bring it to his attention. He immediately took the salmon back and told us that it would be fixed. Ten minutes went by and our server had not been seen since he dropped off the food. The rest of us were coming close to finishing up our meals. Our friend began nibbling on our meals and the bread at the table. He went to the restroom and the server stopped by to check on our food. When our friend returned he called over a nearby server and asked about his meal. She told us our server was in the back getting on the cooks about it. He continued to wait and the rest of us finished our meals so they would not get cold. With no sign of our server for another ten minutes, our friend lost his appetite. At this point we looked around for anyone to notify that we no longer wanted the meal but no one was around. It took at least 27-30 minutes from when they first took the incorrect meal away before our friend got what he had first ordered. Our server brought it out and didn’t make eye contact with any of us and dropped it down and walked away before we could say anything. Then we hunted down another server to inform them we did not want it any more.

Finally, a manager, Chris, came to talk to us. He formally apologized to us but never told us what had happened. He told us he would gladly wrap it up for us to take home but we declined because our guests were driving four hours back to Indianapolis just after dinner. The manager, Chris, then stated, “Well, I would hate for you to have to pay for something you did not eat.” None of us could believe he would say that and charge us for something that was not consumed. Whether this is policy or him trying to save on comp cost, I found it extremely rude. He went on asking again if we were sure he couldn’t wrap it for us. We then informed him of every ones traveling and that it would not possibly stay good for that long of time. Chris then told our guest that the meal could be wrapped up and that he could eat it in the car! In the end, he eventually took it off, but I remain shocked at the way our simple problem was handled and how your manager treated us. I find this to be totally unacceptable hope that you do as well. I just wish that the way this manager communicates with guests is adjusted and no other customers have to go through what we my friends and I did. Needless to say, my friends and I will not be dining at your OAKBROOK MALL location again.