Another beach trip story! This one has to do with the service at all the restaurants. In years past, we have always been impressed by how busy the restaurants are at Myrtle Beach, but that they never seemed out of control or backed up. We always had good service and great food.
This year was different. It seemed that almost every restaurant had a sign saying “help wanted” and there were plenty of times when a place would put people on a waiting list because they did not have enough help.
Dick’s Last Resort was the first place we ate and obviously the theme there is that waitstaff acts like jerks to you. Our server was pretty funny and she definitely played her part well. However, there were a few times where she snapped at a table that sat down outside, basically saying “did the host tell you to sit there? Why did they have you sit there, that table is not even set up!” So she then moved them to a different table. My food ended up coming out cold, it was good, but not at all hot. Made me think it had probably sat there for a little bit.
Next up we had Dave & Busters. The service was just so slow. I think Kayla saw our server playing one of the video games. Also, my food was really good, but it was not enough. For $30, I should not leave a place still hungry. There was no salad or bread with a pasta dish. Before you ask, I added the play card to my meal which is why it was $30. Our server tried to explain something about adding more to the card, but he said it so fast that no one understood, so we just said no thanks.
Another night we tried to go to this place called the Keywest Grille. Ugh, what an experience. We went inside and told the hostess that we needed a table for six: four adults and two kids. Kayla asked if there was anything available outside (it was not busy out, so we assumed we could sit outside). The hostess said she would go check (she was very annoyed by it) and then she came back, told us to come with her and put us at a table inside. It was a little confusing, since we could see that there was almost no one outside. She dropped us at a table and just tossed the menus down and walked away. We were annoyed and our kids were starting to get a little crazy, so we sat there for like ten minutes and no one came over. We decided to just leave.
The worst experience was at Joe’s Crab Shack at Barefoot Landing. It was raining and around 5:00. I figured it would be packed. I went inside with Logan because he needed fed and told everyone that I would get a table, while we waited for the whole group to get there. I went to the hostess and told her there were eight of us: six adults, two kids. I said that we preferred to sit outside since it was covered. The place was pretty dead, there was like no one outside.
The girl says that they might be able to put us outside. I said that my party was not here yet, but if possible, could I be seated so I could feed a baby. She says “well here is the thing, we are really understaffed in the kitchen, so we are holding back big parties. It will probably be about twenty minutes.” I said that is fine, but could I just sit there to feed my kid. I was like “look, no one has to come wait on me or anything.” She says “well, we are putting you at this table (she indicates on the chart) and that server is not here yet.” What?
Allow me to explain something. I have never told someone they could not sit somewhere to feed a baby. I have sat a party and then got the parent feeding a baby a drink or something because I am a nice person. And that was before I had kids of my own. It just makes sense. Also, if we seat someone in a section that does not have a server yet, we just have another server pick the table up. We do not say “oh, you have to wait until the server gets here.” That is just stupid!
Anyways, I went outside to wait for everyone and once they arrived, my phone went off and our table was ready. I do like that system instead of getting a buzzer or something. They just text you when the table is ready. They take us back to this outside picnic table and it is small. It will only fit six people, definitely not eight. Right behind this table is another picnic table which is longer. I ask our server if we can move to the bigger one. He says sure. Again, the entire area was empty back there.
Our server is trying to get drinks, but he has not given us a chance to even get seated. So half of us order and the other half do not. He comes back with a few of the drinks (sodas and waters) and takes drink orders from the rest of us…minus Lindsey and Payton. He brings the drinks out and starts taking orders. We order and Lindsey says she wants a watermelon sangria and a chocolate milk for Payton. She also orders a cup of clam chowder.
After a little bit, another waitress comes out and tells us that our server is helping in the kitchen and it might be a bit before he can come back. Then a few minutes later, he comes over. So was he helping in the kitchen? Lindsey asks about her soup and drink, he is like “oh yeah, I will be right back.” He comes back with both and says that the bartender is taking tables and is behind on his drinks.
While we were waiting, another table was sat. It took the guy awhile to get his beer. Then two other tables were sat out there with us. The first table did not want to sit outside, but seemed to have been forced. They were annoyed. The other table was laughing about the hostess because she asked the lady if they needed highchairs for her kids. She was like “he is 8 and the other one is 10.” These kids were pretty tall. I have said some dumb stuff to parents (usually asking if babies want crayons), but I have never asked if a kid who is like 4’3 needs a highchair.
Those two tables sat there for a good ten minutes (again, we still had no food and no one had come back). Both tables said screw it and got up and left. It was a few minutes after that they brought our food. I ordered a big meal that had Mahi Mahi and scallops. The picture made the scallops look like the jumbo ones. What I got were tiny ones and they tasted like rubber. The shrimp skewers were super bland and the fish was just meh.
The other table out there got their food and some of the order was wrong. They had to bring out a few different sides. The manager was walking around picking up stuff off the floor and making sure the table top stuff was set correctly. He seemed clueless.
Now look, I am not perfect and my restaurant has had it’s share of bad days. But I have been aware of what is happening enough to at least make it right. If you told me two tables left, I would be out there figuring out what was happening.
Lindsey and I wondered if the summer help is just not in the area yet. It was senior week while we were there. I wonder if that attracts many of the summer workers that end up moving there?
I figured that a place like Myrtle Beach probably pays cooks pretty well. I mean, places with tons of restaurants generally have to pay cooks more to attract people. I decided to look up jobs online. Guess what? Not the case. What I found on two sites shows that Joe’s pays around $9/hour for cooks. I am sorry, but if you want to be fully staffed and convince people to work there, you need to pay them more. It actually looked like most of the cook jobs down there paid around the same. Most of the people that come down there for a job probably figure it is easier to just make money as a server.
I hope that this trip was just a fluke. I would hate to see Myrtle Beach become a place where bad service becomes the norm. I read Yelp reviews about Joe’s and most of them said the same thing from the past two months or so. Yelp is not the best indicator though, but some of those stories sounded similar.
