Magnolia Cafe: Disappointing Experience

Hello!

I've been reading LTH for over three years now -- gleaning tips and great information. I'm finally an official member and wanted to see if anyone knows the owner of Magnolia Cafe and if he has any other restaurants.

I'm writing to let you know what a disappointing experience a group of friends and I had at Magnolia Cafe on Saturday. I had gone there many times before, but now I will spend my money at a restaurant where my business is of value.

We had reservations for six at 7:30 -- at 7:00, I learned that two friends couldn't join us. We were on to celebrate a friend's graduation from Cornell's Hospitality program. Of course, I called to let them know of the change.

We arrived and learned from the hostess that Magnolia does not "hold tables". I said that I wasn't asking for a table to be held - we called half an hour before we arrived to let them know that our reservation, that was made weeks in advance, had changed from six people to four people. She told us it would be some time before we could be seated because there were now two tables ahead of us.

We chose to wait and were seated after 9:00. The next day, I called to talk to the owner, someone named Kasra Medhat, to tell him how disappointed we were with the way our reservation was handled and what happened so at least in the future he could direct his staff to tell callers that their table will not be held if there are fewer than five people in their party. He started YELLING at me, asking if I knew how hard it is to run a business, that tables cannot be held! I said that I didn't want to be yelled at, and that I think he would want to know what happened so it doesn't happen to anyone else. He YELLED into the phone, cutting me off mid-sentence: I DON'T CARE! and hung up on me.

Although there's no excuse for yelling, there's one bit of information I need before I deliver my verdict on your case. Does Magnolia have a policy where reservations are only accepted for parties of five or six or more? Or will they take reservations for a party of four? If they will not take reservations for a party of four, then I think they were correct not to honor your reservation, since you had become a party of four. (Otherwise, they would have been giving your party special consideration that they were not giving any other party of four.) On the other hand, if they do take reservations for parties of four, they should have honored your reservation even though it had been made for a party of six, because you did give them a heads-up. Which is it?

Yikes! I've eaten there a few times over the years and I don't recall any problems with the service there. Certainly no one screamed at me.

I'm trying to understand what went on here. You called a half an hour before your scheduled arrival and no one said anything about losing the table? What did they say? Were all four of you on time for your 7:30 reservation?

I don't understand what they mean by not "holding" tables. They take reservations but don't hold the table? Were you late and they gave it to someone else?

There really isn't any excuse for the way the owner treated you if you were acting reasonably. Are you sure you didn't say something that might have been interpreted as being rude or hostile? I don't know this person at all but, Soup Nazi excepted, I can't believe someone who is always this easily enraged by a customer complaint could successfully run a restaurant that's been around as long as Magnolia Cafe has.

enjoyfood wrote:We chose to wait and were seated after 9:00. The next day....

enjoyfood,
Welcome to LTHForum.

So, between being seated at 9pm and the next day, I'm deducing that you ate a meal at Magnolia. How was the food?

Best,
Michael

Hello -

I learned at the restaurant at 7:30 -- the time of our reservation -- that they do not "hold tables" for less than five people.

When I called to change the reservation from six to four, the hostess said nothing about our reservation not being valid or their policy of not "holding tables".

To anser the previous question, there was no malice or hostility from my end -- we were on to celebrate my friend's graduation from the hopitality program at Cornell -- and very excited to be going to Magnolia since several of us had been there before many times.

I'm sharing this experience, which could have been stemmed had the hostess told me over the phone about their policy we might have chosen to go somewhere else. In addition, had the owner apologized about the experince, I would have also been okay.

Since the owner told me he didn't care about my experience AND hung up on me (why he started yelling - I don't know), I will never go to Magnolia Cafe again. I want to support restaurants with ethics and those that appreciate my business -- Magnoliga clearly does not.

not to make light, but as long as the Soup Nazi's been brought up ....

Enjoyfood: I don't understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?

Kasra : Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of tables.

Enjoyfood: But the reservation keeps the table here. That's why you have the
reservation.

Kasra : I know why we have reservations.

Enjoyfood: I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a table. See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation and that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them.

tem wrote:not to make light, but as long as the Soup Nazi's been brought up ....

Enjoyfood: I don't understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?

Kasra : Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of tables.

Enjoyfood: But the reservation keeps the table here. That's why you have the
reservation.

Kasra : I know why we have reservations.

Enjoyfood: I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a table. See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to *hold* the reservation and that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them.

Hello -

I think there is someone else posting using the user name "Enjoy Food" - is this a possibility? I'm reading responses that are now posted that I did not write...

That was someone comparing your situation to a classic Seinfeld episode.

Please forgive me...I didn't realize you were quoting from old Seinfeld.

Thanks for the explanation.

When I called to change the reservation from six to four, the hostess said nothing about our reservation not being valid or their policy of not "holding tables".

This doesn't quite answer my question. Does, or does not, the restaurant normally except reservations for parties of four?

Seriously, though, how was the food? I know it was tainted by the poor service (and it was inexcusable for the person on the phone to not tell you your reservation was now void), but beyond that part of the experience, how was the meal?

The food at Magnolia is good, and I had been there with large groups several times before.

To answer the riddlemay's question: I now know Magnolia does not accept reservations for less than five people.

We had a reservation for six, and I courteously called half an hour before our 7:30 reservation to let them know the number in our party changed from six to four - it was not until we arrived at the restaurant were we advised that our table was "not held".

Great, I like "good" food. I'll have to check it out.

Seriously, although slamming bad experiences is all part of a balanced breakfast on LTHForum, when someone reads it for years and yet never posts until they have an ax to grind publicly, that isn't really helping other people with the positive part of LTHForum, finding and sharing good experiences.

I'm not picking on you, Enjoyfood, but I do find this a little dispiriting, and it would be nice if you could either give us a fuller picture of your previous experiences AND FOOD at Magnolia, including some clues as to where it is, what they serve, etc., which are conspicuously lacking here; or at least do that for some other restaurant, or something that would help people, to coin a phrase, Enjoy Food.

To answer the riddlemay's question: I now know Magnolia does not accept reservations for less than five people.

See, that changes everything. Should they have told you on the phone (now that you were no longer a party of six, but a party of four) that you no longer held a valid reservation? Yeah, that would have been nice. But were they wrong to deny you a reservation when you showed up? No, they were not wrong. In fact, honoring your reservation would have been wrong. Because it would have been unfair to the other parties of four who were waiting their turns, all without reservations.

I'm sure you see that now.

Magnolia Cafe
1224 W. Wilson
Chicago
(773) 728-8785

riddlemay wrote:See, that changes everything. Should they have told you on the phone (now that you were no longer a party of six, but a party of four) that you no longer held a valid reservation? Yeah, that would have been nice.

I think the OP's objection was not so much that they lost the reservation, but that they were yelled at and hung up on when they called to find out why they were not informed about losing the reservation. Obviously, if a place has such a policy then the person answering the phone would have known about it and should have informed them. If they were calling to make a reservation instead of changing one, wouldn't the person have said "I'm sorry but we only accept reservations for 5 or more"?

Regardless, it is unforunate that one bad customer service experience can make a person write off a favorite restaurant. Often times the experience is due to disgruntled employees or stressed out management, and has nothing to do with the resataurant's actual customer service policies.

d4v3 wrote:I think the OP's objection was not so much that they lost the reservation, but that they were yelled at and hung up on when they called to find out why they were not informed about losing the reservation.

I agree that this was half of what enjoyfood objected to. But I'm pretty sure the other half was being kept around waiting for a table till 9:00 when ef's party (thought they) had a 7:30 reservation. (Otherwise, why mention the delay?) But I do see, rereading the original post, that this is not the only interpretation. ef might have been totally cool with being made to wait an hour and a half! And only perturbed because he/she wasn't told on the phone that this would be necessary. I doubt it, but I do see that possibility.

I also agree with you that ef should have been informed about losing the reservation when he/she called to change the size of the party. And I agree there's no excuse for the owner yelling at ef the next day. But I said both those things upthread.

riddlemay wrote:But I'm pretty sure the other half was being kept around waiting for a table till 9:00 when ef's party had a 7:30 reservation.

Yeah, I see your point. But that also raises the question of whether they were told it would be a 1 1/2 hour wait. In fact, the whole evening sounds like 3 different Seinfeld episodes rolled into one. The bottom line is the restaurant lost a repeat customer, which is not a good result, any way you look at it.

Short and not sweet: There can be no reason for an operator of a service business to yell at a paying customer, and then also hang up on that customer. Period

Enjoyfood,

Does Magnolia Cafe serve actual food? If so, how about a little something more than "good" as a descriptor.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:Enjoyfood,

Does Magnolia Cafe serve actual food? If so, how about a little something more than "good" as a descriptor.

Enjoy,
Gary

Amen brother

Though I understand that going to Magnolia would be to take a service risk, I am a big boy & forewarned. What is the place like when one is at a table and eating?

dicksond wrote:Though I understand that going to Magnolia would be to take a service risk, I am a big boy & forewarned. What is the place like when one is at a table and eating?

While we're waiting for someone with a better memory than me to answer that question, I can tell you that the night I was there John Callaway was at the next table!

I do remember that I liked whatever I ate.

Short and not sweet: There can be no reason for an operator of a service business to yell at a paying customer, and then also hang up on that customer. Period

Let us also remember that this is the internet, where it's easy to make more or less anonymous accusations and we all have to look at the totality of the circumstances (which in this case, much like the Sweets and Savories thread a while back, involve hearing only one side of the story) and make up our own minds.

On a lighter note, here's complaining a la Onion.

riddlemay wrote:While we're waiting for someone with a better memory than me to answer that question, I can tell you that the night I was there John Callaway was at the next table!

Did this enhance or detract from your dining experience, pray tell?

Last Thursday, Victor and I showed up at Magnolia Cafe at 7 PM without a reservation. We were on our way to a Pegasus Players show and asked whether it was reasonable to be served and done by 10 to 8. We were told no problem. We were seated quickly, served courteously, and given the check promptly in consideration of our rush. So the folks at Magnolia Cafe are certainly capable of fine service.

Oh, and the food. We loved it. (We were also starved.) We shared a salad, a crab cake appetizer, and a short-ribs entree. They split everything for us on two plates, beautifully (they charge $2 for this service, which we didn't begrudge a bit). I don't remember details of the salad, except that it was fresh, lightly dressed, on almost a nest of little bits of mild goat cheese. The crab cakes (2) were small, but meaty and tasty. The short ribs, though, were just fabulous. Amazingly tender, flavorful, with potatoes deliciously soaking up the savory gravy.

No dessert for us, because we were in a rush, but it was a terrific meal, and we would definitely return.

dicksond wrote:Did this enhance or detract from your dining experience, pray tell?

Enhanced it. It always enhances my dining experience when I see famous people dining in the same restaurant. Validates my worth as a human being.

My wife and I met Kasra (aka Kas) and his wife (who may have been the hostess) when we were vacationing in Oaxaca and Puerto Escondido. In his defense, I must say they were two very cool people and have a passion for good food. As far as him snapping..... it is unacceptable for any business owner to yell at customers. Of course the story we have is a one sided opinion. BTW, the food in Oaxaca was heavenly!!

riddlemay wrote:

dicksond wrote:Did this enhance or detract from your dining experience, pray tell?

Enhanced it. It always enhances my dining experience when I see famous people dining in the same restaurant. Validates my worth as a human being.

I'm not sure that's what the people in the background of this photo are feeling...

gleam wrote:I'm not sure that's what the people in the background of this photo are feeling...

Ouch. I have to go wash my eyes now.