LongHorn Steakhouse

I have sent two emails to longhorn corporate office with no response. First email on Feb 22nd and 2nd email on Feb 28th. I had planned a birthday dinner for my daughter at Longhorn Steakhouse located on 95th Street in Oak lawn, IL with my family. My daughter, mother and I walked into the restaurant at 4:47pm. I was promptly greeted by a gentleman named Todd who asked me how many people were in my party, to which I replied seven. He asked if we wanted to sit towards the back of the restaurant and to which I stated was fine and then he asked us to follow him to the table. I informed him that the rest of my party was en route and that I would prefer to wait until everyone arrives to be seated. Todd then stated that was not a problem and to let him know when the rest of my party arrives so that he could seat us. We sat down in the waiting area for approximately three minutes before deciding that we would like to be seated and to place an order for appetizers and beverages order while waiting for the rest of our party.

As we approached the desk, a young man by the name of Nick appeared and asked how he could help. I simply greeted him and told him we were a party of seven and wanted to sit down so that we could start ordering our appetizers and drinks before the rest of our party arrived. He replied in a disagreeable manner that I couldn't be seated because my entire party was not present. I informed him that no one, including Todd whom I had spoken with minutes before had mentioned that to me. He repeated himself again in a very condescending tone. I refused to be spoken to in that disrespectful and unprovoked manner, so I asked to speak to his manager. Nick's response was "okay, I will do that" in an extremely hostile manner. As he started to walk away, he flung a piece of paper that he was holding towards me which actually fell to the floor. I continued to remain calm and polite despite Nick's appalling behavior.

I could hear Nick speaking with his manager and explaining his version of the story. The manager then came over and it was Todd. I was unaware that Todd was the manager. I explained to Todd that Nick was extremely rude when I asked to be seated. Todd then changed his entire demeanor and not once even acknowledged my concerns, let alone addressed the young man's unprofessional behavior. Todd then proceeded to tell me that it is Longhorn's policy not to seat guests in advance if it is a party greater than four and the entire party is not present. I explained to Todd that he had never referenced this policy when I initially arrived at the restaurant and requested a table. In fact, he was ready to have me promptly seated until I told him that I would prefer to wait for the remaining members of my party. Todd's response to me was that he never told me that and my daughter and mother whom were present reminded Todd that he had never stated this policy.

During our conversation, a waitress walked by and nicely stated to Todd "I'll seat them. I can take them, " to which he turned to her and sternly replied "no!" Todd proceeded to tell me that they had guests come in requesting large seatings only to have two or three people sit for half an hour or more without placing an order. I again explained to Todd that he never initially mentioned this policy beginning and that, we simply wanted to be seated so that we could begin ordering appetizers and not take up space in an relatively empty restaurant.

During the six minutes of this exchange, my remainder of my party arrived. I asked Todd for his manager's name to which he replied that his manager was on vacation all week. I told him that I still wanted the information along with the name of the unpleasant young man. I also informed him that I would never dine in that establishment again. My entire party was disappointed and not to mention this displeasing occurrence put a damper on what should have been a nice family celebration for my daughter's birthday.

Todd walked away and returned with his direct report's information and left. Not once did he ever apologize, offer us a different option, or seemed concerned in trying to remedy the situation. He walked over by the bar and essentially ignored us to chat with the bartenders. I would have been understanding had he explained this policy upfront when I first walked in and spoke with him. I could also understand if the restaurant was packed, was busy which it was not. This incident occurred on February 20th, a Wednesday evening at 5pm where there were about 6 tables of customers.
I am extremely disappointed that a manager would treat a potential patron in such a dismissive manner -never offering an apology, an acknowledgment of the lack of communication of the company policy, or a solution to the situation. The extreme level of disrespect that I received from both Nick and then Todd while I continued to be calm, reasonable and professional is unacceptable. This is the worst dining experience that I have ever had to deal with during what should have been a very happy occasion. As someone who is part of the service industry, it is unimaginable to me that this is the standard set by The Longhorn corporation.