On December 26, 2007, I took my family of 5 people to Defuniak Springs to see the Christmas light show and have dinner at Hotel Defuniak's Bogies "fine dining" restaurant. My family came up to the panhandle to spend our first Christmas since my dad's recent diagnosis with cancer.
Unfortunately, the total disregard for respect or quality service at Bogie's restaurant made our evening a horrible experience and left a very bad image of the otherwise quaint town of Defuniak Springs.
We arrived at Bogies and were told it would be an hour before we could be seated so we took this opportunity to see the wonderful Christmas light show. The attendants were friendly and the light show was wonderful!
We returned to Bogies at 6:45 and were promptly seated and our order was quickly taken. We got our drinks quickly but it took 45 minutes to get our bread and butter. We finally got our salads an hour and a 15 minutes after we were seated. 3 tables that were seated after us were served and finished eating. Finally after 1 hour 45 minutes, my mom went up to the hostess and said it's been nearly 2 hours and while we were told it would be a while because of a another large table, 2 hours is just ridiculous. We were then told 3 times that our dinner was coming and after 2 hours our dinner finally arrived - COLD! We told the waitress that we were leaving and to bring our check which came to $30 and we paid it.
At this point, we had received bad service which can happen at times but what happened next was the most appalling thing that I've ever seen in an establishment of fine dining. I asked to speak to the manager and was told to talk to the bartender who had me wait about 5 minutes and then finally approached me. I calmly and softly explained what had happened with our dinner, that we had driven over an hour from south walton and how disappointed we all were. The bartender was very rude and asked "What do you want me to do?" I told her the least that should have been done was to have our 3 drinks compted for the frustration and inconvenience. She looked at me and verbatim said "Nothing that I can do would make you happy because you're PISSED!" I couldn't believe the language and rude attitude at such an establishment. I told her that I was not "pissed" because if I was I would be upset and yelling at her which I was not. That I was trying to tell her how terrible the experience was. I then said, "This is just terrible, my sister is diabetic and asked where were we supposed to get dinner at almost 9PM". She just stood there and looked at me with a blank stare. I then asked her for her name - to which she asked me why. I said because I was told that you were the manager and I intended to contact the Walton Sun. She then told me that she wasn't going to give me her name and that I should leave. I really couldn't believe that the manager used profanity, was absolutely unsympathetic and refused to give me her name.
It is so sad that people are so unkind, especially at Christmas. As we drove through the beautiful light show with it's various lighted messages about peace and the spirit of Christmas, I never dreamed that the arguably "best" restaurant in town had none of the spirit of christmas of small town neighborly love.
The best food in the world is terrible when it's served cold, after 2 hours of waiting with poor and disrespectful service from the employees. I will stay on 30A where the restaurants strive for excellence but even if delays or problems do occur, people still treat others with respect and kindness.
Replies
134Beach Fanatic
Re: Bogie's in Defuniak Springs appalling
Most of us seem to agree that having many chef-owned restaurants in Walton County is a good thing.
So maybe Mr. Harding's response was not as gracious as it could have been.
I propose that we give this guy a "do-over", in the spirit of appreciating how locally owned and operated eateries, as opposed to typical chain restaurants, can enhance our community.
Most of us seem to agree that having many chef-owned restaurants in Walton County is a good thing.
So maybe Mr. Harding's response was not as gracious as it could have been.
I propose that we give this guy a "do-over", in the spirit of appreciating how locally owned and operated eateries, as opposed to typical chain restaurants, can enhance our community.
Skunky
Re: Bogie's in Defuniak Springs appalling
I want to go try the food, but Brad's response to Cork can be condensed down to 'We were too busy dealing with customers to deal with YOU'. If the gal at the bar would have displayed an ounce of customer service skill Cork probably would have left the place feeling better about it and not feeling the need to blast the establishment with both barrels. Ugly situation.
Most of us seem to agree that having many chef-owned restaurants in Walton County is a good thing.
So maybe Mr. Harding's response was not as gracious as it could have been.
I propose that we give this guy a "do-over", in the spirit of appreciating how locally owned and operated eateries, as opposed to typical chain restaurants, can enhance our community.
I want to go try the food, but Brad's response to Cork can be condensed down to 'We were too busy dealing with customers to deal with YOU'. If the gal at the bar would have displayed an ounce of customer service skill Cork probably would have left the place feeling better about it and not feeling the need to blast the establishment with both barrels. Ugly situation.
Banned
Re: Bogie's in Defuniak Springs appalling
I would buy that .... But ya know... I think this Mr. Harding needs to cook up some Humble pie first;-). Sorry just way to many "Pleasant" good food places around to just pass off this guys "Answer/😱Attack" to a paying customer. Nope.. Mr. Harding Pie Please...:wave:
Most of us seem to agree that having many chef-owned restaurants in Walton County is a good thing.
So maybe Mr. Harding's response was not as gracious as it could have been.
I propose that we give this guy a "do-over", in the spirit of appreciating how locally owned and operated eateries, as opposed to typical chain restaurants, can enhance our community.
I would buy that .... But ya know... I think this Mr. Harding needs to cook up some Humble pie first;-). Sorry just way to many "Pleasant" good food places around to just pass off this guys "Answer/😱Attack" to a paying customer. Nope.. Mr. Harding Pie Please...:wave:
Beach Fanatic
Amen BH25
Why go and support a NoWal restaurantor with attitude when we have all of these amazing and beautiful establishments in SoWal that LUV us......
Spend your hard earned dollars wisely....
Why go and support a NoWal restaurantor with attitude when we have all of these amazing and beautiful establishments in SoWal that LUV us......
Spend your hard earned dollars wisely....
Beach Fanatic
Dear Mr. Harding,
I eat at least one if not two meal out every day. I will never come to your restaurant. Your attitude is insulting at best. It is apparent that you are the roll model to your staff.
Your problems running your business are not my problems and they are not going to become them. I have enough problems of my own.
I work hard for my money and I choose where to spend it and I assure you it will never be in your establishment.
My decision was made entirely by your response to the complaint.
Good luck.
I eat at least one if not two meal out every day. I will never come to your restaurant. Your attitude is insulting at best. It is apparent that you are the roll model to your staff.
Your problems running your business are not my problems and they are not going to become them. I have enough problems of my own.
I work hard for my money and I choose where to spend it and I assure you it will never be in your establishment.
My decision was made entirely by your response to the complaint.
Good luck.
Edited
SoWal Insider
After reading this thread completely, my problem would've been with the manager. Her attitude was unprofessional and dismissive (read flippant & uncaring). When the chef/owner and the remaining staff are busy holding down the fort on a busy night of holiday diners (& hopefully repeat customers) the job of the manager is the most important position in the establishment. And to use profanity (yes, "pissed off" is certainly a profane term to use toward an unhappy customer) to only get the customer out of her hair - well, you have a pretty big problem that needs to be addressed directly.
I wish you much luck in what I imagine is one of the most difficult professions there is in which to be successful. But caring and welcoming staff will keep you in continued success - - & keep you off the defensive. That's what your manager is supposed to do.
I wish you much luck in what I imagine is one of the most difficult professions there is in which to be successful. But caring and welcoming staff will keep you in continued success - - & keep you off the defensive. That's what your manager is supposed to do.
Edited
Beach Fanatic
Ditto for me......the customer is always right......Who gives a rats _ss what Tim Creehan and Colleen Coffield said about your restaurant. I'm sure they were treated like everyday customers by your staff....NOT!!! I predict the words "For Sale" being heard spoken by you in the near future....JERK!
Beach Fanatic
Re: Owner's Reply- Appaling experience at Bogies
Mr. Harding,
It seems to me that the effort shown in this posting, would be better served in stressing a more professional and customer satisfaction guaranteed establishment, with your employees! The underlined points that I am showing in this post, are reason enough for your Restaurant's negative responses! Whatever happened to, "customer's always right"? In my opinion, your posting and overall response will cost you much more, than it had to!:idontno:Maybe there needs to be greater attention, to damage control!
Mr. Harding,
It seems to me that the effort shown in this posting, would be better served in stressing a more professional and customer satisfaction guaranteed establishment, with your employees! The underlined points that I am showing in this post, are reason enough for your Restaurant's negative responses! Whatever happened to, "customer's always right"? In my opinion, your posting and overall response will cost you much more, than it had to!:idontno:Maybe there needs to be greater attention, to damage control!
This is in reply to a customer's bad experience at my restaurant, Bogey's Bar & Restaurant in Defuniak Springs.
I feel like I?m doing damage control, something that I have never had to do in the year and a half that we?ve been open.
I am saddened that your experience was not up to expectations. The Tuesday night that you came was an unusually busy one for us, we normally do 30-40 covers on tuesday, that night we did over 70.
In speaking with the staff involved, I see that there needs to be some clarification as to what happened. You did arrive without a reservation and were asked to come back at 7:15, as you stated you came back at 6:45, we were still quite busy at this point. Your server was also waiting on a party of 15 and had other tables, we got unexpectedly busy and didn?t have enough staff on hand, this does happen in restaurants and if we called someone in, by the time they got to work it would've been too late. I did know we were getting quite busy and told the servers to inform the customers that were behind the party of 15 that their food would take some time. Your server informed you of this, and you replied that it wasn?t a problem. 45 minutes to get your bread... was it really that long? we bake bread fresh throughout the night and there is always some in the warmer. An hour and 15 minutes for salads is also a very long time and if it was really that long there is no excuse for it, although we did run out of salads completely and had to make more. (we ran out of a lot of things that night) We prepared your meals as soon as we could get to your ticket in the kitchen, if I recall, two of your party had split a stuffed shrimp entr?e, I didn?t realize that half wanted asparagus with b?arnaise and half wanted a baked potato, we had to re-do the plates which did take up more time and possibly did make that dish cold.. my bad for not checking the temperature of the food, I had been cooking food at full speed for 3 ? hours without a break at that point, I was a little bleary-eyed. The other meals were in the warming lamp for a few minutes while we fixed the stuffed shrimp mixup, I doubt they were COLD as you stated. Speaking with the server, she said that she put down the plates at your table, the person with the stuffed shrimp touched the rim of the plate and determined that the plate was room temperature and thus their, and everyone else?s food must be cold, at which point your entire party got up and left.
When we have a problem with a guest?s food, I have the server bring it back to the kitchen to see what the problem is. No one at your table had touched anything on their plates, so the determination that the entire party?s meals were cold is false in my estimation since no one actually tried thier food.
Our manager?s actions is another matter. She has been doing this for a long time, and has had to deal with disgruntled guests before, and there does come a point that there is nothing more to say to a guest who is ?Pissed off? (is ?Pissed? really profanity?) because they won?t listen. I don?t know if this was the case with you, but a lot of times it is what happens in my experience.
And where were you supposed to get dinner at 9pm? You had perfectly good meals right in front of you but refused them.
I thank you for CC?ing us on the email you sent to the Daily News because I did find something quite ironic contained in it. You stated that ?In my opinion, when the Chef/Owner knows that it has just taken 2 hours to get a dinner out, he should have come out to the table and personally apologized, at the least! Tim Crehan at Beachwalk in Destin would have been at our table, personally serving it and it would have been warm.? (had I done that, that would have left only one person on the cook line, it wouldnt be fair to diners who came after you)
There are a few ironic points there, Tim Creehan came and ate at our restaurant and was thoroughly delighted, he even sent a note back to the kitchen saying ?Great Job Chef!? in French. He also invited me to be on his television program. Also, when the daily news reviewed our restaurant, we received 4 stars which is the maximum possible, while if I recall correctly, Beachwalk got 3 ? stars.
While it?s obvious that Chef Creehan is a successful Chef and businessman, I?m sure that he has the time to meet and greet with diners and address their concerns because he most likely has a full brigade in his modern, fully equipped kitchen with a Chef de Cuisine overseeing them all. Leaving him with time to do other things.
I have personally cooked every dinner service (and lots of lunches) we have had in the year and a half since we?ve been open. Myself and my Sous Chef and a dishwasher are the only ones in the kitchen throughout the week, we have another line cook help us on the weekends. I am the owner, chef, a line cook, I do the accounting, payroll, I?m the webmaster and I even sweep and mop the floors 5 days a week and do dishes if necessary.
My point is is that I can?t afford to keep a full crew on hand at all times for every contingency, and our kitchen is 12? x 40? including the dish station, there wouldn?t be room for them anyway. If our diners have to wait because we are backed up in the kitchen, I?m sorry for that, but we never compromise on quality just because we?re busy. My goal is absolute consistency from meal to meal, but obviously some do slip by.
Another irony: Corky?s waitress that evening that she obviously did not care for, she even stated that she should be fired, has been with us since we opened, and was the one who waited on Tim Creehan. She also waited on the restaurant reviewer from the Daily News, Colleen Coffield. (Colleen ate with us again for lunch last week)
To others who have read Corky post and have decided that Bogey?s is not for them, I invite you to come try us for yourselves instead of making a decision based on one person?s opinion. We constantly get rave reviews from our customers on our food, service and atmosphere. We also have guests that routinely drive up from the beach to dine with us. They say that we?re as good as anything on the beach, and the money they save with our reasonably priced menu pays for their gas.
I invite all of you to come give us a try for yourselves, that includes you Corky, for had you stayed that night and actually ate your meals, my guess is is that we wouldn?t be having this discussion right now.
While I?m on an ?Ironic roll? here?. To the person who said that they love to eat at the Busy Bee Caf? when they?re in Defuniak because of the Panko crusted fish sandwich and the green tomatoes?.. We are the ones you?re speaking about. Before buying the hotel and restaurant, we owned the Busy Bee for the two years prior. We have the same wonderful lunch menu that you remember from there, still prepared the same way. The new busy bee is a barbeque restaurant now.
I hope to see you all soon and thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Brad Harding ? Chef/Owner
Hotel Defuniak and Bogey?s Restaurant.
http://www.hoteldefuniak.com
Beach Fanatic
Re: Owner's Reply- Appaling experience at Bogies
Backup there, Kat!:idontno: No matter WHAT if anything was left out(which I'm certain isn't the case), this character screwed up, in his half ***** handling, of this matter! NO customer deserved any, of this!:angry: Before, during or after, the incident!
Backup there, Kat!:idontno: No matter WHAT if anything was left out(which I'm certain isn't the case), this character screwed up, in his half ***** handling, of this matter! NO customer deserved any, of this!:angry: Before, during or after, the incident!
sounds like Cork left out a couple of details . . . truth is probably somewhere in the middle!?
Banned
Re: Owner's Reply- Appaling experience at Bogies
:scratch: Hummmmm Interesting... This person just joined and the 1st post is Pro Mr. Harding? And Cork has been here for how long.....:idontno: Hummm Sounds like "Damage Control" to me:floor:
The middle is where Mr. Harding should have left it. But IMHO he went way out of his way to "Piss Off" a bunch of people. :blink:
This thread has shown that the "Truth" is out there... Just read his answer to the thread. Burger King has better attitude than his... :angry:
Looks like you get a Whooper if you eat at his joint.😱
sounds like Cork left out a couple of details . . . truth is probably somewhere in the middle!?
:scratch: Hummmmm Interesting... This person just joined and the 1st post is Pro Mr. Harding? And Cork has been here for how long.....:idontno: Hummm Sounds like "Damage Control" to me:floor:
The middle is where Mr. Harding should have left it. But IMHO he went way out of his way to "Piss Off" a bunch of people. :blink:
This thread has shown that the "Truth" is out there... Just read his answer to the thread. Burger King has better attitude than his... :angry:
Looks like you get a Whooper if you eat at his joint.😱
SoWal Expert
Dear Bogey:
I know Cork and I know her experience had to be REALLY bad for her to even post. Your excuses are just that. Why not suck it up and admit your mistakes and offer to make it right, like so many others have said? Word of mouth can make you or break you. :wave:
I know Cork and I know her experience had to be REALLY bad for her to even post. Your excuses are just that. Why not suck it up and admit your mistakes and offer to make it right, like so many others have said? Word of mouth can make you or break you. :wave:
Beach Fanatic
COTO, these must be your reviews that you've posted, on the Internet. Good for you!:clap:Note to Mr. Harding, when anyone Googles your restaurant, this is what they'll find! [ame="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=HOTEL+DEFUNIAK+BOGIES&btnG=Google+Search"]HOTEL DEFUNIAK BOGIES - Google Search[/ame] I would also consider, The Better Business Bureau. Maybe they should keep these posts, on file!
SoWal Expert
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SoWal Insider
Mr Harding and his staff apparently have become adept at identifying and confronting "Pissed" customers...:scratch: could it be practice makes perfect?
After reading Mr. Harding's response, I'm assuming--nay, I'm absolutely sure--he is totally content with his current level of patronage and profit margin and has no desire to grow his business...fair enuf. :idontno:
.
After reading Mr. Harding's response, I'm assuming--nay, I'm absolutely sure--he is totally content with his current level of patronage and profit margin and has no desire to grow his business...fair enuf. :idontno:
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