A Test

Interestingly, most of my tests do not actually come with a dollar sign.  They did at first in my walk, but now most of my purchases are high end investments for the project or livestock, so the deals are pretty cut and dried.  They are made and paid or don't take place.  The other day, though, was an interesting dilemma that came wrapped in disappointment and debilitation.

The other day, I went to lunch with Mr. B.  I make a point of patronizing a particular place for a number of reasons.  It's family owned and operated, the food is really good . . . or was, and the prices are quite reasonable.  This restaurant doesn't include pork on the menu, which is rare in this part of the country.  This business was established about a year ago, and it has been consistently quality food with excellent service, until the new Roman year.  Just before the end of last year, my waiter had brought a dessert on the house, saying it was his gift.  I had a twinge that he was saying, "good-bye."

When I went in January, the place seemed different and he wasn't there.  Upon receiving my salad, I knew something had changed.  Then the entree arrived to confirm, not only had the waiting staff changed, so had the kitchen staff.  When making inquiry, the waitress assured me, the only thing different was the south wall had been painted.  I didn't press further, until I revisited this past week.  There was another new waiter, very few customers through the lunch hour, and another customer asked regarding the authenticity of the Italian chef.

The service was poor, but the kid was new, so I cut him some slack.  When the food came out, it was inedible.  It was truly terrible!  When the waiter asked how the meal was, I simply asked him, when the place had changed hands . . . not if . . . He fessed up, the first of the year.  Apparently, there'd been a problem with too much management, so the former chef and staff had moved on to start their own restaurant.  He then also asked me how I knew.  I told him the food was obviously different.  The poor kid had the nerve to ask if it was better or worse.  I tried to be kind, but I did say, the flavor and quality were inferior to the former fare.  He said he'd heard that a lot, and he'd just started this week.

Lousy food and disoriented service wasn't the worst of the deal.  When it came time to pay the check, the disappointment reached a new height or low, as the case may be.  The waiter was also the cashier . . . which should be ending with "nuff said," but it didn't end there.  He spent ten minutes trying to ring in the total, with the cash drawer opening several times, but for some reason, he continued to press keys.  Since Mr. B and I were in town on business, our one ticket consisted of two meals, each under $7.00, with mine in a carryout container to be fed to the chickens.  When a figure of "twelve something" finally appeared in the total screen, I thought the ordeal was finally over, but I was mistaken.

The young man proceeded to count back the "twelve something" for change from a $20.00.  I let him finish, in hopes of avoiding confusion, then proceeded to explain to him, the "twelve something" was the total for two meals and the change should be $6.00 something.  His expression was completely void of understanding.  I tried it again, even showing him the two meals on the check, to which he replied, "I'm new."  With that, I stopped trying to explain and simply handed back $6.00 plus change and told him to have a nice day.

  Bad food and lousy service is a sure way to an empty restaurant, but giving excess change is the fast track to an empty cash register.  I have no idea if the young man ever figured out what I was trying to convey, but I'm so glad, I insisted that he take the full amount.   As I headed to the vehicle I thought to myself, how sad it was that this business would soon be shuttered.