West Seattle Blog...

WSB Forum » West Seattle Rants & Raves

(156 posts)

ALKI CAFE!!!!!!

Started 4 years ago by LKimball
Latest reply from Crowe

12…4 Next »

LKimball
Member Profile

I wanted to share with all of you a very upsetting incident that happened to me last Saturday, April 12th.

Here is the email my husband wrote to the Editor of the West Seattle Herald after I came home very upset.

Dear XXXXXXX,

I know that the Herald does stories on restaurants that are just opening, have amazing food, or are just generally a great place for a meal.

Does the Herald do any stories on restaurants that create such a terrible experience that we feel all of West Seattle should know?

First a little background....my wife and I found out 2 weeks ago that the little baby girl that we had been expecting for 8 months had died in the womb. All our expectations, hopes and dreams for our little one had been dashed in a moments time. This has been an absolutely devastating blow not only to us, but to our 4 and 3 year old daughters who had been anxiously
awaiting the arrival of their new sister. The things we have had to endure in the last 2 weeks (giving birth to a child that you know will never take a breath, planning a funeral, lowering your child into the ground instead of a bassinet, telling your other 2 daughters that their sister has gone to heaven instead of coming home to them, etc.) I would not wish on any parent.

Today, Saturday the 12th was another hurdle on this new road that we have been thrust upon. Today was supposed to be the baby shower. It was supposed to be a joyous event with friends and family coming in from all over. Instead it was destined to become a reminder of what could/should have been. My wife\'s friends were determined to change that.

A lot of the ladies got together and decided that they would take my wife out for a day of pampering. There was only one problem with this well intentioned plan. The problem was that they began the day at Alki Cafe.

When the first person arrived at the restaurant, they told the hostess, who is one of the owners, that the group needed seating for 11. When my wife arrived 5 minutes later, she told the hostess that they actually needed seating for 14. The Owner/hostess had a huge attitude with my wife for having such a large party and acted very put out for having to add 3 more chairs. My wife explained to her that her friend had called a week ago to make a reservation for a large party and were told that they don\'t take reservations. They were also told that there wouldn\'t be a problem seating a party of that size at 9am. My wife decided to let the attitude go and just try to enjoy the time with friends and family. 3 of the people were running late so the group decided to go ahead and order instead of wait. When the 3 eventually showed, one of the ladies had brought an extra person with her so the group asked for one more chair which would have easily fit. The waitress, who was very accommodating, decided to pull up a two person table
to give extra room. This is when the real fireworks began.

The owner...the OWNER(not the same as the first confrontational owner) stormed over and started yelling at my wife. He said
\"NOW YOU ARE JUST GOING TO TAKE ANOTHER TABLE WHEN I HAVE ALL THESE PEOPLE WAITING?\" He kept ranting at my wife and BROUGHT HER TO TEARS. The decision to bring the table over had nothing to do with her. Even if she had asked for the table, is that how an owner should be treating patrons?
Everybody, not just my wife\'s friends but other people in the restaurant, were aghast! The server went and told the owner that is was she that brought over the table but he rebuffed her. 2 of my wife\'s friends and my mother went over to tell him that he was out of line and that they were all there trying to do something positive in the face of a huge tragedy. Not
only did he make it very clear that he didn\'t care, he was very rude to these three women. I believe his actual words were that he knew why they were there, and that HE DIDN\'T CARE. He proceeded to glare at the group as they hurriedly ate and left.

Where is the sensitivity? Sensitivity aside, where is the professionalism? Shouldn\'t patrons be treated like gold? Shouldn\'t you want to cultivate an atmosphere where people feel like the establishment is a warm and inviting place? Shouldn\'t this owner be held accountable for his actions?

We have all been treated rude from time to time, but when an owner...an OWNER goes on a tirade at my wife\'s expense as she is trying to do a little something to ease the pain of the death of our child...well, that goes above and beyond rudeness. I just think West Seattle should know.

Best regards,

Todd Kimball

I know we are not the only ones to experience this owners unbelievable rudeness.

Posted 4 years ago #
Anonymous
Member Profile

Although this experience pales in comparison to your true loss, I am sorry you were treated this way. I hope your family is being surrounded by love and healing.

Posted 4 years ago #
Bonnie
Member Profile

First of all, I am so sorry for your loss....

Back to the Alki Cafe. I am shocked by the owner\'s behavior. I know of several other people who have been treated badly by the owner of the Alki Cafe. (note: I always get the Alki Bakery and the Cafe mixed up but I know this is the CAFE)

Thanks for your post.

Posted 4 years ago #
charlabob
Member Profile

First of all, we\'re so sorry for your loss and so impressed by the sensitivity and love of your friends and family.

I\'m shocked and appalled at your treatment. We\'re not regulars, but we\'ve had our last meal at the Alki Cafe.

Posted 4 years ago #
JP
Member Profile

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. I can\'t even imagine the pain.

I won\'t go into detail, but wanted to let you know that we had a really bad experience with the owners also.

I\'ll never go back.

Posted 4 years ago #
Heinz57Mom
Member Profile

The best part of West Seattle is the small town sense of community here that isn\'t found anywhere else in the Seattle area.

It is shocking to me that a business OWNER would treat a client like this. It\'s enexcusable. I\'m so sorry you had to deal with such poor behavior. West Seattle has NO PLACE for such inappropriateness.

We\'ll NEVER set foot in the establishment again. Let\'s drive them out and bring in someone who KNOWS how to treat customers!

BOYCOTT ALKI CAFE!!!!!!

Posted 4 years ago #
jbd
Member Profile

My heart breaks for you and your family over your tragic loss. I am so sorry.

I will never eat at the Alki Cafe again. The way you were treated was inexcusable and downright cruel. He should be ashamed of himself.

Thanks for your post.

Posted 4 years ago #
RonM
Member Profile

We are truly sorry for your loss. We have made only one visit to the \"Alki Cafe\" and it was already our last. We didn\'t know who the owners were, but the surley attitude we received put them on our no return list. I\'m happy to know we weren\'t the only ones...

Posted 4 years ago #
Kayleigh
Member Profile

So sorry for your loss.

I won\'t be giving them my hard earned money.

Posted 4 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

there is never any excuse for that kind of rudeness... i hope that you didn\'t let a jerk overshadow the enormity of the love your friends and family felt for you that day. you are lucky to have so many who care deeply about you. it is never easy to lose a child...

Sometimes hearts are in the right place and things just don\'t work out.

It sounds like poor behavior has already lost the Alki Cafe local business... and i think this tale will lose them more.

thank you for sharing it with us.

Posted 4 years ago #
DJSonsteng
Member Profile

I\'ve ate there once and wasn\'t really impressed either way. After reading your letter I know I won\'t be eating there and I will tell my friends to do the same.

I\'m very sorry for your loss.

D.J.

Posted 4 years ago #
WSMom
Member Profile

I am so sorry for your family. I hope your wife was still able to feel loved and supported by her friends (even after the rude treatment). I feel badly that the owner of Alki Cafe wasn\'t able to see beyond his own concerns to show your wife and friends basic respect and kindness. It sounds to me like that man needs prayers and kind thoughts as well.

Posted 4 years ago #
JanS
Member Profile

I\'ve always found it interesting how widespread the readership of the blog and forum is. Perhaps someone involved with this owner, or even the owner himself, will read this and take it to heart. One can only hope.
We\'ve already seen what a positive thing this forum/community is when the members pull together, like the fundraiser at the Adm. Pub last night. I\'m sure that there can also be a negative experience created through this forum/community, too...look at how many have said they won\'t go there any more...and I am now on that list. And maybe that will turn out to be a positive thing...

Posted 4 years ago #
Gina
Member Profile

To the Kimball family, bless you in this time of loss.

I don\'t usually mention places I no longer visit in West Seattle, but the Alki Cafe is one of them.

Posted 4 years ago #
lintle
Member Profile

I love the alki cafe and would never boycott them. the food is consistent and the staff has always been accomodating!

I am sorry for your loss. I have also experienced this loss some time ago and I know you\'ll come through .

back to the cafe. are you kidding me. in the bigger picture, aside your loss, that place does alot of business. especially on the weekends. if you\'ve been there before you would know this. at first they show up with 12, then 14 + stragglers?! this is not a very large place and there are generally a ton more people waiting to get in. they\'re trying to work around a huge inconvenience suddenly thrust upon them and continue to serve their other customers, both seated and waiting. they\'re impacting everyone when they show up to a small restaurant like this with such a huge party with no time to prep! food is coming slower, the waitress, which may have other tables to attend, is socked into a giant unanounced table of 15. imagine if suddenly a group of 15 people showed up to your place unanounced during a bbq you planned for just a few. things would change, and you\'re not running a business. with such a large group it would be better to plan. your wife and her friends could have called to let them prepare. I\'m willing to bet things would have went alot better for you.

It\'s too bad the big guy \"owner\" snapped at you but your blaming him for for an inconvenience you caused. duely noted, he\'s not the nicest chap and he\'s all business. I can appreciate that. I\'m also certain he could/should have dealt with things differently. but he\'s not the only one at fault here. also, in real life, people don\'t have to empathize with you. there is no \"sympathy law\" in place that was broken. even smarter, you put them and everyone else there in a stressful situation and expected the world to crumble to your whim. 15 people out of the 100+ eating then the 20 waiting. you may not get it now but when you\'re over your loss you\'ll understand.

As human was your loss it\'s equally human to anger in an inconvenience. reading this is a steady reminder of there are people who think it\'s not only their right, but job to inconvenience everyone around them and treat the world as though they\'re the only ones on it.

I will never boycott the alki cafe and will befuddle any attempts within my power. endolyne joes is better for a party this size but then you\'ll have to deal with that slop they call food as well

again, I am sorry for your loss. I also had a co-worker lose his first child and it hit pretty hard while they were in west seattle. they\'ve come through strong and you\'ll do the same.

Posted 4 years ago #
charlabob
Member Profile

I think you missed the part where they called and were told a large party would be no problem at 9 a.m. I have seen larger parties than that in Alki Cafe, before we decided that the indifferent service, the inflexibility, and the boring food weren\'t worth the view.

What the hell inconvenience was this party foisting on the owners or the other patrons?

There is absolutely no excuse for their rude behavior or your rude post. Your attempt to rationalize rudeness won\'t help them keep business.

Posted 4 years ago #
Bonnie
Member Profile

lintle, there is NO EXCUSE for his behavior to any group. That is terrible. And you...you should be ashamed of yourself.

Posted 4 years ago #
JanS
Member Profile

lintle...I really don\'t care what an inconvenience this might have caused the Alki Cafe. The owner was wayyyyy out of bounds on this. There is NO excuse for rude behavior when it\'s your business. None whatsoever. He could have handled this much differently, but chose th low road. This woman\'s circumstances aside, if it had happened to me, to you, or to any Joe Blow off the street, I\'d feel the same way. Yes, I empathize with her. And it was beyond her control who showed up with whom.

The reasoning that they weren\'t prepared for a large group doesn\'t cut it with me. They\'re a restaurant...they have a freezer, and a well equipped kitchen. And think of the business that they would have generated, how big their bill would have been, how great the word of mouth at being graciously accomodated would have been. But...they\'re a popular place, so you don\'t count, and the owner gets to cop a \'tude because there\'ll always be more business? Give me a break...he won\'t have my business. The guy was a jerk !

Posted 4 years ago #
Kayleigh
Member Profile

\"it\'s equally human to anger in an inconvenience.\"

Giving you a chance to clarify here: you really didn\'t mean that grieving the loss of a baby is equal to becoming angry and yelling at a customer because you have to work harder than you want to? One is tremendous sorrow and loss; the other is annoyance and stress. Working hard is no tragedy.

(and I say this as someone who really does understand what it feels like to be overworked and inconvenienced.)

Posted 4 years ago #
Anonymous
Member Profile

Not to mention, you couldn\'t support the arson fund raiser b/c you dislike the pub. The same pub who offered the space for free, held a tournament with prizes,and donated profits from drinks. That doesn\'t deserve your patronage, but an admittedly rude owner is worth defending.

Posted 4 years ago #
JanS
Member Profile

JT..^5 !

Posted 4 years ago #
lintle
Member Profile

one in the same for me kayleigh. you choose your reactions to life.

I must have missed the part where they called but my opinion remains the same and i would never boycott the cafe. I do admit that its run better when he\'s not there. I would imagine he won\'t be doing it much longer. still love the cafe though

knew I could count on you \"JanS\"
the place can only move and turnover customers so fast. they\'ll still be limited on how well they would handle this. the admiral pub is gross, bland and I would never tell others not to go there. much like I would never go to the rocksport again either though I\'ve had personal experiences at both places I would\'nt tell others not to go or boycott. I do my share of fundraising attendancees as well \"JT\"

\"charlabob\" and \"Bonnie\" I am not advocating him at all nor am I ashamed of myself for my posting. I am just aware that the world is bigger than me and my personal life experiences. nor do I think it was ALL the fault of the cafe.

this is just MY opinion. I was not looking to hurt any feelings. I have learned in dealings with human beings that nothing is predictable and people are as different as you can imagine. none of us have any idea of what happened btw

I promise to believe and follow blindly from this point on and will never disagree again! I do, however, love this forum and west seattle! so from now on I\'ll just sit in the corner and keep my mouth shut because I have nothing of value to offer and I\'m, completely purposely rude!(not at all, really!)

Posted 4 years ago #
barmargia
Member Profile

lintle, while I don\'t 100% agree with your point of view, but I don\'t really agree with the whole \"ban the place\" view either. Because with my luck I would be one of the people who would have had to wait for seating because 14+ people showed up, but don\'t get me wrong I do send my sympathies to the woman who lost the baby. I don\'t think it was right of the owner to be such a jack*ss, but like you said lintle, we only have the one aspect of what happened. We don\'t know if the owner said he doesn\'t care what just happened to the woman, and we don\'t know if the woman\'s friends had a fit and assumed everyone would know what happened. I also agree with you in your last paragraph, sometimes on this forum it does feel like if you don\'t believe and agree with what everyone else is saying then you are not necessarily ganged up on, but you are pretty well chastised. I really dislike a deli by my work, and I have my own little boycott, but I don\'t care if other people want to go there. If you don\'t like somewhere don\'t go, if you choose not to go because of someone else\'s reasons that\'s fine, but if someone chooses to go there don\'t give them a hard time.

Posted 4 years ago #
DJSonsteng
Member Profile

If someone had such a bad experience that they took the time to write a letter, that is good enough for me. Why would I want to reward them with my money? I heard somewhere along time ago that if you have a good experience some where you will probably tell one friend. If you have a bad experience you are going to tell at least 10 of your friends. Anyone that runs any sort of business should know this. What the owner did was just BAD business! Not to mention that is no way to treat someone else for any reason!!

Posted 4 years ago #
barmargia
Member Profile

Thats great DJ and that\'s your business, but what about the people that wrote and said they didn\'t like EasyStreet Records Cafe because the service was bad. Those people had bad experiences and they wrote about it, but other people wrote in and said that oh what you have to do is...

I\'m not judging you by you not going there anymore, I\'m just saying if someone chooses to keep going there then don\'t judge them.

Posted 4 years ago #
jbd
Member Profile

I just reread the original post and lkimball never asked that anyone boycott The Alki Cafe. They were just posting their experience and like DJSonsteng said \"that is good enough for me\".

Posted 4 years ago #
Bonnie
Member Profile

It\'s good enough for me too because I have a friend who went to the Alki Cafe and made the mistake of asking to be seated somewhere else because the sun was in her eyes. (note: the restaurant was almost empty at the time) The owner started yelling at her simply because she wished to change seats and refused to allow her to change seats. Well, after reading about the experience of this other poor woman...that is enough for me. I won\'t go there. Ever.

lintle and barmargia, please do post your opinions...we may not agree but post them all the same.

Posted 4 years ago #
Heinz57Mom
Member Profile

I\'ve been online for at least a decade. I\'ve seen a lot of drivel and a whole lot of attention whores I\'m selling the foul smell of an attention whore in your post lintle. It smells so foul I suspect that you are the owner of the Alki Cafe.

Do us all a favor. Pull your head out your a$$ and get a clue!

Posted 4 years ago #
TheVelvetBulldog
Member Profile

Regardless of whether 15 people showed up at once, or in groups of two or four, the restaurant is still having to accommodating the same number of paying customers, right? It seems disingenuous to claim that a group of people is putting a restaurant out by their attendance - most restaurants HOPE for lots of people to show up. As far as the server having to deal with extra folks in his/her section - either add another server to help out, or realize that someone is about to get a REALLY huge tip!

Posted 4 years ago #
Anonymous
Member Profile

lintle and barmargia, don\'t retreat to a corner and not post. This is an unusual thread in that it combines a tragedy with a rant. Hard to pick a response.

The ganging up on can be more of an perception than a reality. WSB states they receive almost 5000 unique hits a day, not including business multiples. If more people would be brave enough to venture in, I don\'t think the dialog would appear so one sided. As it is, only a few like minded individuals do most of the posting. Take up your space. It\'s just as much yours as anyones.

And lintle, my comment about the pub wasn\'t a reflection of your giving. You said the only reason you didn\'t go was because you disliked the place. Since the event had nothing to do with the environment, other than the generosity of the space being donated, it seemed like a lame excuse. That\'s all.

Posted 4 years ago #
Bonnie
Member Profile

I agree VB, I think that a restaurant would love the fact that a big group wanted to come to their restaurant. I would think they would be honored that they chose the Alki Cafe over somewhere else.

i have heard that Christo\'s has good breakfasts. (is that the name?? actually never been there but my SIL goes and likes it)

Posted 4 years ago #
JimmyG
Member Profile

I read the OP and thought why should the restaurant treat a person poorly at any time? The whole background of what the poster\'s wife went through is immaterial to the treatment from the owner, it would be inappropriate at any time.

When writing a letter of complaint you must leave the emotion out of it and state the facts.

The facts as I read it is a large group went to the Alki Cafe and they were treated poorly. If I had been in the group I never would have placed an order, but left almost immediately after the attitude.

While I appreciate the outpouring of support for the loss of the OP\'s child, it is a separate issue from the bad service received.

And everyone has a right to their opinion. Some of you here seem to think if it doesn\'t fall into lock-step with yours it shouldn\'t be posted. I for one hope lintle sticks around WSB.

Posted 4 years ago #
Bonnie
Member Profile

JimmyG, I agree. It is two separate issues, but believe that the Alki Cafe owner should treat people with respect no matter what.

Posted 4 years ago #
DSV90
Member Profile

I won\'t patronize Alki Cafe any longer and here\'s why ... they CHOSE to handle the situation badly.

Restaurants fall into the category of hospitality business don\'t they? It could very well be that whoever told them they could handle a party that size was mistaken. If it honestly was not possible for the large party to be accommodated then wouldn\'t it have been better to tell them up when they arrived? Why then decide to seat and berate the customers DURING THE MEAL? In full view of other customers enjoying their meal no less! It\'s obviously difficult for the owner to deal with people on that level. Fine ... DON\'T WORK THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE! THAT KIND OF BEHAVIOR FROM A PROPRIETOR IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE!

There are so many other restaurants in West Seattle. THE FOOD AT ALKI CAFE IS NOT THAT SPECIAL!!! Luna Cafe has wonderful food and fantastic service ... ALWAYS!!!

Quite frankly, most people would rather have mediocre gourmet food and superb service than above average diner food with wretched service.

Posted 4 years ago #
lintle
Member Profile

I am not the owner or an attention whore and I appreciate those with the personal awareness to take a bi-partison view of what I posted as I appreciate the views of others.

I have learned not to take things at face value because most I\'ve experienced do not fit neatly in their appropriately morally imposed labelled boxes. life is much more than our personal experiences, as real as they are or seem. there is almost alway another perspective to everything, different shoes to stand in and other opinions to challenge your own. etc...

again my condolences to the threads originators for their loss

Posted 4 years ago #
DSV90
Member Profile

Okay lintle, here\'s the deal ... if you do a little research about Alki Cafe you will find the same complaints of rudeness from the owner separate from this incident. What of those perspectives?

Posted 4 years ago #
faithful1
Member Profile

ok I seriously feel the need to reply to LINTLE, first of all who do you think you are? you have no idea what happened at the the restaurant,or what it\'s like to deal with this kind of loss. this not something that you just \"get over\" like you stated in your post. I am offended that you would write such things about Lori and the whole situation. it\'s like you didn\'t even read the letter. even if you did, you took it apon yourself to assume that Lori thought everyone should cater to her and that was never her thought or intention. why do you feel it\'s okay for someone(yes even a large party) to get yelled at by an owner of an establishment for simply being there? we tried to call ahead but they do not take reservations...so some people got there early to let them know.To your comment about had we ever been there we would know not to have that big of a party, we have been there many times, with large parties. I have worked in the service business (at a very high stress and high volume restaurant) this kind of behavior is unacceptable. it was amazingly unprofessional, and to say that WE inconvienenced them? by being there? that is a load of crap! yes we were a large party,but there were other open tables and I\'m sorry but that\'s part of the business. It\'s a restaurant...people wait to be seated, you serve them food, that is what you get paid for. if you can\'t handle it(which the owner obviously couldn\'t) then you should find something else to do. I just can\'t believe that you would blame this on her!!! that outrages me! you need to open your eyes and talk about something you know about because obviously you know nothing about the service industry or about this situation, so you should just shut it!

Posted 4 years ago #
Sue
Member Profile

First, my condolences to the person who lost the baby - I am not a parent and cannot even comprehend such a loss. I am sure it has been extremely difficult to deal with, and I\'m sorry for that.

I\'m also sorry that you had to deal with that incident at the Alki Cafe. There really is no excuse for that kind of reaction from the owner of the restaurant.

I probably have breakfast every other weekend at the Alki Cafe. This has never been my experience at the cafe. That doesn\'t mean this didn\'t happen, or that the owner doesn\'t have issues, etc. It just simply means what I said - my experience there has been absolutely different, with wonderful employees who serve us well, we enjoy the food, and we have no intention of boycotting them.

The first thing I thought of after reading the original post with respect to the cafe, however, was \"where the hell do you put a party of 15 in there?\" The place isn\'t very large. Yes, a group of that size would be an inconvenience. Frankly, the person on the phone who said that a party of that size on a weekend morning was okay really should have said that they\'d either do a one-time special reservation for an event (so they could set it up ahead of time, bring in more staff, etc.), or that they couldn\'t accommodate.

Now, think about this for a second. The place is busy on a weekend morning. Most people are going to be in and out of there in under an hour. You go, eat, have some conversation, and leave. A large party isn\'t going to be out of there in an hour - you\'ll be visiting, chatting for a long time, probably spend 2 hours in there and take up a lot of tables and energy of waitstaff. For a place of that size, it\'s an inconvenience, and they (cafe) should have thought about that before agreeing to said group coming in.

My thoughts on this in no way discount the horrible way you were treated - that really is inexcusable. But do try to look at it from all sides.

Posted 4 years ago #
LBG
Member Profile

wow...it\'s funny how some people can call out an original poster, but then are absolutely horrified if anyone dares to disagree or take them to task for what they posted.

The major thrust of your original post lintle is how hard it is to deal with such an inconvenience of such a large party at a restaurant. paragraphs 3,4,5 and 6 are a tale of how this evil group of women descended upon this vulnerable, unknowing place of business. I believe the phrases you use are....they expected the world to crumble at their whim(ridiculous hyperbole)....not only their right, but job to inconvenience everyone around them and treat the world as though they\'re the only ones in it.

You are absolutely entitled to post your opinion, but don\'t try and say you are taking a bi-partisan approach. to declare that you need to put yourself in other peoples shoes and then to not heed your own words is very hypocritical. Your post absolutely puts you in the owners shoes, but by the above mentioned comments, you don\'t bother to put yourself in the shoes of the OP. Sure you throw in a...sorry for your loss...and the \"chap\" could have probably handled things better, but c\'mon....the whole of your post seems bent on demonizing the OP.

A few interesting points from the original post.

1. The original poster, as mentioned above, was never asking anyone to boycott the ALKI Cafe...this is in stark contrast to you saying that you will befuddle any attempts (of a boycott) in your power.

2. The poster actually has the full name of her husband at the bottom of the email. How many people who rant actually put their name to something?

3. If the OP\'s husband\'s email is correct, the group called and asked beforehand. A little different than just showing up and saying..hi, we need a table for 14.

4. the husband does say that the waitress was very accommodating and pulled up an extra table. Just seems to me that he is giving kudos to the waitress and that if there was an extra table, that it couldn\'t have been that crowded.

5. It seems like her husbands letter is tell to their story with the point being that an owner should \"treat patrons like gold\"...he even says at the end of the email \"sensitivity aside, where is the professionalism?....Shouldn\'t you want to cultivate an atmosphere where people feel like the establishment is a warm and inviting place?\" It seems that the message trying to be conveyed is that you never know what someone is dealing with so you should always treat people with kindness. Especially if you are the owner of a business.

This was not a backyard BBQ that someone crashed....it is a place of business. If 14 uninvited people that I didn\'t know came to my backyard for a BBQ i would tell them to leave. If 14 people that I didn\'t know came to my place of business and said we would like pay you for good food and good service, I would say welcome in!

Now remember lintle, this is just MY opinion of your post in regards to the OP...feel free to fire back.

Posted 4 years ago #
apattalochi
Member Profile

First of all, if anyone has any doubts of any part of what the original post said, dont. Everything is fully accurate. I was there.

I have always been under the impression that if you are a business owner, then you WANT customers who will pay for your services. My husband is a restaurant manager, so trust me, you want to have 14 people just walk in. That is NOT an INCONVENIENCE in ANY WAY. $$$$$$$, thats what that is. Loyal customers who tell friends and visit on a regular business, that\'s what that is!!

This obviously isnt what the owner of ALKI CAFE wants or thinks he needs. No the original post did not ask anyone to boycott this restaurant, but you know what? I AM.

BOYCOTT ALKI CAFE!!!!
Unless of course you want to be treated like garbage in your free time. And those of you who are defending this crappy restaurant, go ahead, eat there, you\'ll see what we are talking about.
But dont get too comfortable, because they are losing customers every second and we wont stop.
Soon you\'ll have to find another crappy restaurant to eat in!!
ALKI CAFE SUCKS!!!

Posted 4 years ago #
lintle
Member Profile

OK. We\'ll agree to disagree but ALKI CAFE RULES!!!!

Endolyne is a much better place for a party like this on the weekend. Seriously! Or Charlestown for that matter! Or even better Salty\'s has way more room and better equipped than the fore mentioned 2. There are other ways around things. They should have just left. We would have and we love the Alki Cafe.

Posted 4 years ago #
Franci
Member Profile

Charlestown really?? You don\'t get out much do ya? They have been closed for a couple of months now.

Posted 4 years ago #
Bonnie
Member Profile

well, lintle...lucky for you because there should always seating for you at the Alki Cafe. Hopefully you won\'t ask to move your seat though.

Posted 4 years ago #
JoB
Member Profile

lintle...

have you ever tried to change venues on a large party at the last minute? not such an easy thing to do... especially if people don\'t arrive all at the same time.

once committed.. that probably wasn\'t an option.

i am sure every person at that table wished it was...

it just wasn\'t an option to add one more stress to a breakfast meant to surround someone with love because of their loss...

that one more seemingly little thing can be one thing too much to get through the next minute, let alone a gathering of friends where you know you are going to lose it from all of the love and concern.

large party.. small party... that was no way to treat a paying customer...

i don\'t know whether the owners were having a particularly bad day themselves or not.. but i do know that it\'s up to them.. not their customers.. to surmount their issues... and to provide a positive experience.

It\'s hard to know what to do when a fuss occurs during an occasion like that one.

Had it been merely a gathering of friends.. i would have called the owner on his behavior and let him know that i was fully prepared to leave with my entire party without eating or paying for his food. Had he persisted in being abusive, i would have called 911.

But not for that occasion. i would have done the same thing that her friends did.. i would have bit the bullet and tried to get through with as little fuss as possible.. because the last thing the mom needed was fuss.. and i would have complained afterwards...

If you have been eating at this cafe for years, you must love the space or the experience or even the owners.

i can think of one of my past favorite places (in another city) where i ate regularly simply because of the owner... crusty on the outside... demanding and bossy with her staff... but a heart of gold and a kitchen that only served her regulars the best.

i hope this is that kind of place for you.

i hope it was simply a bad day for them...

But you can\'t fault the readers on this blog for reacting with the only way they have to show support for the way this woman and her friends were treated that day...

sometimes you do everything right... a good choice of place. .. notifying the owners ahead of time.. showing up early to make sure things worked out... and it still doesn\'t matter. Because in the end.. the responsibility for service.. and for the food.. rests with the owners.

You can have a really bad dining experience on a bad day anywhere. It\'s waht a business does or doesn\'t do to make it right that matters...

In the service business there are always accommodations that have to be made to create positive experiences... Unless you are dispensing fast food at a counter... the dining experience has more to do with the way you are treated than with the food.. or even the place...

The way this group was treated from start to finish didn\'t create a positive experience... and especially on this occasion, they really wanted that experience for their friend.

It\'s like bringing a fruit basket and unwrapping it to find all the bottom layers were rotted...

Think how you would feel.

No cafe gets it right every day... Not even one of your favorites...

this day the Alki Cafe got it really wrong.

Posted 4 years ago #
LBG
Member Profile

lintle...I am a little disappointed that you didn\'t address me personally like you did to others earlier in the thread. I thought that you would welcome the opportunity to rebut the points that I made. It seems like it would be a prime opportunity to incite. Maybe I could entice a response if I posted a rant on my passive/aggressive Seattle driving skills(another fine lintle post).

Your business philosophy is just silly....I use the word silly because I apparently have to combat the juvenile phrase \"Alki Cafe rules!!!\" most, if not all, business owners polled would say that they would absolutely welcome a large party of paying customers, especially with the state of the economy. Sounds like this group even called ahead and were told that it shouldn\'t be a problem. Obviously they had been at the establishment before and were worried that a large group as theirs might be an issue. The very fact that they chose Alki Cafe says they must have enjoyed the establishment in the past to choose it for such a special day. Just turns out that the owner made the experience something other than special and they told their story about it.

You told your story how you love the place, they told their story how they don\'t and the reasons why. To put the blame on them for their patronage is asinine. How is anyone to believe that you received good service BTW? nobody really knows what has happened when you have eaten at the cafe. You might be one that revels in terrible service. I think that this evidenced in the fact that you comment on the shortcomings of the owner yet \"Alki Cafe rules!!!\". Maybe that train of thought is silly but not any sillier than your posts on this thread.

Again, this is MY opinion on YOUR posts and as everybody has repeatedly stated, we are all free to have our own opinions. The funny thing is, the more you defend the Alki Cafe and defer the blame on this group of women, the angrier people seem to get. It seems that you are doing more to create a boycott than to befuddle any attempt in your power. Might want to rethink your strategy a bit.

Posted 4 years ago #
Kayleigh
Member Profile

Anybody else hear trolls under the bridge?

\'-)

Posted 4 years ago #
beachdrivegirl
Member Profile

First of all, I am so sorry for your loss. My sister went though that five years ago and it was the worse thing she as well as our family have experienced.

I have been reading and sceeming through this post this morning and although I am not trying to take \"sides\" I do have to say it is absolutley unacceptable for any business OWNER to turn away a party based on thier size unless it is for fire safety capacity issues. If you are in the SERVICE industry it is your duty to SERVE your customer and to those customers who might have to wait an extra 15 minutes tough S**T -get over it.Although I have never personally be offended by the owner, and I know that the original poster did not ask me to boycott the Alki Cafe I will be and I will be asking my family to do so as well b/c that is just not acceptable and there are plenty of other restaurants out there that do deserve my business and $.

Posted 4 years ago #
JimmyG
Member Profile

JoB, you can\'t be serious--you would call 911 if the owner of an establishment was being \"abusive\"?

That\'s not what the cops are for, and what would the crime be? Being rude, having no manners, etc. isn\'t what 911 is for.

And as stupid as it is for the owner of any establishment to treat customers like crap, it\'s a private business and if they want to provide poor service that\'s their choice, it\'s not in any way a police matter.

Posted 4 years ago #
faithful1
Member Profile

Jimmyg...
I was there and I have to tell you that if the owner had gotten any more verbally abusive than calling 911 would NOT have been out of line, he yelled at many of us and did not back down, we tried to talk to him calmly so that it would not grow into anything bigger but he got louder and more intimidating...he stood over trying to use his non verbal body language to scare us. Because of the way he reacted to us we had no idea what he was going to do next. he has serious anger issues.
I will never go back because of they way we were treated for no reason. who knows what he will do next, he is a time bomb ready to go off.

Posted 4 years ago #
faithful1
Member Profile

Hey kayleigh, I\'m just curious who you are referring to when you wrote the \"trolls under the bridge\" I hope your talking about Lintle and his association to Alki Cafe ;)

Posted 4 years ago #