Founding Farmers Fails First Impression
What went down:
I called Founding Farmers on a Thursday around 2pm to make a reso for that Sunday. No one answered, so I left a voice mail clearly stating I wanted to make a reservation for Sunday at 11:45am for the DC Brunch Club and to call me with any problems.
First off - why was I leaving a VM at 2pm? That is hardly still lunch rush and don't give me the cop-out "shift change" answer. If you can't do a shift change and answer the phone - you have a problem. For argument's sake, let's say it was shift change time or they were in fact still bombarded with a lunch crowd munching on their farmy faves, at some point there is a lull before dinner starts during which time someone should have listened to my voice mail. If you can't listen to VM - don't have it.
After not hearing anything back, I assumed (wrongly) that my reservation was fine because I clearly stated my phone number and for someone to contact me if there was an issue. However on Saturday, I decided it was better to be safe than sorry - I certainly didn't want 12 people showing up to the restaurant sans reservation. I called and spoke with a young woman who said there was in fact no reservation for the DC Brunch Club. I was livid, of course. Her manager got on the phone and said she wasn't aware of the VM and that they could get us in at 1pm. Um, brunch at 1pm? That's called late lunch - not brunch. What about DC BRUNCH CLUB is not clear? If I wanted DC LUNCH CLUB, I would have bought that URL. Then I was stuck having to make a last minute change of locale and let the 12 attendees know -- very irritating and time consuming.
Because of this experience, I have placed Founding Farmers on the DCBrunchClub.com Banned List - you are banned. I will not approve comments about brunch experiences at Founding Farmers. This is not a democracy - it's a dcbrunchclubocracy.
I am appalled that you would actually call a restaurant to make a reservation when they are on opentable. That's almost as bad as using a travel agent!
I think you should give them another chance, and chastize yourself for depending on an unconfirmed voicemail reservation. Everyone makes mistakes.
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I am hardly a tech neophyte, so of course I have used OpenTable and frankly, no offense, I find it is not reliable. I can't tell you how many times it has said a reso is not available only for me to call the restaurant and get the desired date/time. Especially for big groups, OpenTable is not the answer and therefore I do not retract and Founding Farmers remains banned.
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Well you are obviously terribly informed thinking that you can make a reservation for 12 a few days in advance for a hot (not to mention delicious) new-ish restaurant. And really, who assumes a reservation is made without a confirmation. This place is great and this is a poorly done article.
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Which is why I said to please call me if there was a problem with my request when I originally left my reservation voicemail. And which is why I did call to confirm on Saturday when I found out they had no record of my request. My issue is not that I couldn't get a reservation - did you read the post? Perhaps you are a poor reader. My issue is their customer service and that they should have CALLED ME BACK!!! I LEFT A MESSAGE! If you don't want people leaving messages either a) don't have a voicemail box or b) answer the phone when it rings. Poor customer service for a "hot new-ish" restaurant is inexcusable. Poor customer service is inexcusable for any business.
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Well of course I know you aren't a tech neophyte, you register domain names using your blackberry! That's why I'm surprised you would actually pick up a telephone to make a restaurant reservation.
I've personally never had any trouble with opentable and used it dozens of times. And I can safely say it would have worked at least as well as the calling in this case
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I am not saying OpenTable does not work...it does, for small groups. However, for large groups many restaurants put a block so you can't make a large group reservation and it doesn't tell you such a block exists - it just keeps saying "No reservations available," but if you call, then they can usually accommodate your group. That is why I call for big groups.
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Opentable doesn't do large groups. There was an article on it awhile back (I think NYT or WSJ) and said this way by request of the participating restaurants. Also, most restaurants do not put all of their open availability on Opentable, b/c there are still folks who don't use it and they want to make sure they have space available for walk-ins, etc. Always call if you want a particular restaurant, unless you are like me and just lazy :o)
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That's what I'm talking about! Thanks Angela!
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I can not believe I did not think of banning places!!! I just asked for a boycott of Creme due to their stupid expensive club sodas. I like!!!! Keep carrying the flag Erica!!!
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wow...you are seriously harsh, and assuming a lot. why don't you try breakfast during the week to at least give the food a try? i've called recently and they have a dedicated reservationist that is prompt, polite and is very accommodating, even when OT has indicated there were "no times available". seriously...not even setting foot in the restaurant to define your first impression is a hard recommendation to follow.
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I know I'm being harsh - but customer service is my thing. It can make or break your business. I just feel there is no excuse to have a voicemail system in place that doesn't get checked. Had they called me back that day and said the reservation was unavailable - no problem. But doing nothing? Unexcusable in my opinion. For me, screwing up the reservation does not bode well for what the brunching service will be and thus, I opt to not give them a chance to screw up again.
Thank you for the during the week recommendation, but I will leave that to a different blog. We are a brunch club....dedicated to brunching and post-brunching.
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Don't worry...i've been twice...and seriously...the food is ok..not bad but certainly nothing to return for..Just because a place is environmentally and socially charitable, doesn't mean their cooks can blow your mind.
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Don't worry...i've been twice...and seriously...the food is ok..not bad but certainly nothing to return for..Just because a place is environmentally and socially charitable, doesn't mean their cooks can blow your mind.
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I've eaten there twice. I won't be back.
The first time they acknowledged that we had a reservation, but still couldn't seat us for 30 minutes. Once we were seated we got a repeated, hard sell on wine. (Hey, I like wine. But after the table has told you twice we're not having any, that ought to be enough.) We got an extra appetizer plate delivered to us accidentally - apparently it didn't belong to any other table either, so the server asked if we'd like to just have it. I thought this was very friendly...until it showed up on the bill! The two people at our table who hate olives carefully picked out a salad that didn't list olives in the ingredients (others specifically did). Based on my last few sentences, you won't be surprised to hear that the salads had olives. Server = not particularly concerned.
All in all, not a success, even ignoring the whole reservation issue. To top it off, because we'd gone there specifically with out of town guests who were excited about the concept, we sent a polite note to the manager saying that the food and the environment were good, but that service had been rough. So sorry, replied someone managerial, we'd love to change your view of us and we'll send you a gift certificate to have you try us again. Like the appetizer plate, a nice gesture...though we never heard another word or received anything.
I went a second time with a friend who really wanted to check it out. It was so-so.
It's a shame; it's an approach I'd like to support. But it seems like they must have gone over budget on building it out to be environmentally friendly, and had to cut back on training and service quality.
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That's a really hostile article. I don't think you should have assumed they got your message, and as the brunch organizer, I would not have assumed anything until I confirmed details and got the name of the contact person. True they should check voicemails, but who knows what their reasons were? Nobody's perfect. That you can assume, and try to cover all your bases.
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You are right Mary, it was hostile. I have learned my lesson, however I stand by my point of customer service and they were the example and will remain such. After writing this, I have discussed it with others and have heard more than a few horrible stories about Founding Farmers and at this point, have no interest in ever eating there.
One person told me (we happened to be at Eatonville for brunch - review to come) they went a few months after opening and after waiting forever (even though they had a reservation) were seated and then after getting their drinks, the hostess came over and said she need to move them to a different table. They refused - good for them - and asked to speak to a manager. They explained that up to this point, their experience had been poor at best. The manager apologized and agreed, the waitress was wrong to try to move them. However, when they received their food it was served luke-warm and mediocre. One of the attendees went onto yelp and gave FF a very negative review and explained everything that had happened. Surprisingly, the manager contacted him and apologized and offered him a free meal to come back and give them another chance (this was a good move).
The group wasn't able to reassemble for quite a while and by the time round two happened, Founding Farmers had been open for a good 7-8 months, so the excuses of "they are a new restaurant - give them a break" were no longer valid. Unfortunately, yet again, the dining experience was a fail. The food, again, was not up to par and for the price they paid and what they had already been through, Founding Farmers got a big FAT F!
So, while my judgement may seem hasty, turns out, I wasn't really missing anything.
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