More about Hard Rock Times Square
So now that I am at my computer instead of typing on my Blackberry, I can elaborate and clarify my earlier posting:
I have a great relationship with Hard Rock Cafe. The restaurant in San Antonio is one of my favorite vendor partners. I have also had great experiences at Cafes around the globe – from Beijing to Dublin to Orlando. That said, I have never had a great experience at the Hard Rock in Times Square.
Tonight, we were seated late, overcrowded, and rushed. We received our food (that was cold and soggy) before we received our beverages, and the entire staff was so oblivious that it wasn’t worth complaining.
To be fair, this sometimes happens when feeding large groups. Restaurants either have to pre-cook or the customers have to wait a considerable time for food. The problem is that our order was pre-cooked for a 7:30 PM seating and we did not order until almost 8:00 PM – resulting in tired and wilted food.
In addition, the staff had no choice but to either rush us, or risk being late for the next batch of group reservations. I get it. The problem is that the other group-friendly restaurants in the immediate area do not have the same service and food issues.
Quick Aside – If you don’t know me, you should know that I am a VERY polite and optimistic customer. I always help my vendors look for solutions, and applaud effort even if the results are less than stellar. I say please and thank you, I tip well, I don’t yell, and I get that problems happen. Tonight, when told that we had to sit 5 to a table, I respectfully told the server that I felt that was not a good call and asked if we could sit at one of the 10 empty tables next to our group area. The response was simply – “I don’t care who splits up, but those are your seats”.
Unfortunately, the Times Square location is batting .000 with me. I accept 100% of the responsibility for this. I obviously have some kind of a curse with that venue that makes them provide me with unacceptable food and service (I have the same curse with a DFW based airline). But for me, the answer is clear: I no longer need to sell HRC Times Square. I am sure that the rest of the world has great experiences at this restaurant, and I encourage you to keep supporting them, as I will continue support their other locations.